Dancer: Weiner asked her to lie about emails

NEW YORK – A former porn actress who exchanged emails and messages over Twitter with Rep. Anthony Weiner said Wednesday that he asked her to lie about their interactions, while a growing chorus of lawmakers pressed for his resignation as the scandal enveloping the congressman enters its third week.

Weiner has told friends he wanted to speak with his pregnant wife, Huma Abedin, before deciding whether to resign. She returned to Washington early Wednesday from a trip to Africa with her boss, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Nightclub dancer Ginger Lee is the latest in a series of women who said they received sexually charged messages from the seven-term congressman. The scandal began when Weiner posted a picture of his underwear-clad crotch on Twitter, then lied about it and said his account was hacked. Weiner acknowledged last week during a teary press conference that he had sent lewd photos and messages to about six women over three years.

Lee, from La Vergne, Tenn., said she and Weiner exchanged about 100 emails between March and June, after Lee posted a supportive statement about the congressman on her blog. He then contacted her on Twitter, Lee said. They mostly discussed politics, but he would often turn the conversation to sex, she said.

The 46-year-old congressman, who has taken a two-week leave from the House, was in treatment for an undisclosed disorder at an undisclosed location. A spokeswoman declined to comment.

House Democratic leaders planned to meet today to consider their next step in handling the scandal, a House aide said. They could decide to strip Weiner of his committee assignments and could take other actions to punish him.