Weller update

LieParDestin, Kos diarist and friend to this humble blog, offers his cautious take on the Jerry Weller accusation. That piece references this Illinois political site, CapitolFaxBlog, whose proprietor has tried to verify the story. Bottom line: High-level reporters have not been able to find any solid evidence, and Weller's spokesman denies the claim:

Weller, he said, flatly denied any such thing had ever happened, couldn’t understand why the rumors were flying around and insisted that nothing would ever come of it.

The spokesman called back a half hour later or so and said the office now believes that the rumor began when reports surfaced that “one of our pages or interns was hit on by another congressman,” and then morphed from there.

So, the rumors that Weller is holed up somewhere and is “about to resign any minute” don’t appear to be true. The rumors that he is being pressed to resign by House GOP leadership also don’t appear to be true. The page rumor itself seems unsubstantiated at best and malicious at worst. There was even a rumor posted on some blogs that Weller had pulled his campaign website offline this week. Not true.

The reliable CrimeBlog has a good summary of what we know so far. Weller is indeed a scoundrel (at least by my lights), but the page story remains unproven.

Some have floated the idea that the rumor functions as part of a Rovian mega-conspiracy: By drawing attention to a false claim, one could -- theoretically -- discredit the real ones. Such tactics have worked in the past, but I just don't see that scenario playing out in this case. Bloggers who have mentioned the rumor have tended to offer a caveat emphasizing the unverified nature of the claim. If Karl came up with a fake tale, surely he would have come up with something more salacious...?

Weller's wife Zury is undeniably lovely. She is also a member of the Guatemalan Parliament. More than that: She is the daughter of mass-murdering dictator and noted religious nut Efrain Rios Montt.

Right now, I would not bet the rent money on the Weller-and-the-page story. I might, however, bet the pizza money.

(Not that it matters, but there's an old episode of Dharma and Greg in which Dharma gets vengeance on a sleazy developer who, among other sins, makes crude sexual advances toward her. Something about Weller's look reminds me of that creep.)