Crotch Photo Puts U.S. Congressman in a Pickle

A U.S. congressman sharing the same name as a common slang word for penis was in a growing pickle Thursday over a photo of his crotch sent to a young female fan.

Anthony Weiner, a fast-talking New York Democrat seen as frontrunner to become next mayor of the Big Apple, found himself the butt of innumerable jokes -- and allegations that he may have lied in his desperate attempt to bury the scandal.

It started with news that a lewd close-up of a man in underpants had been sent from Weiner's Twitter account to Gennette Nicole Cordova, a 21-year-old student in Seattle.

Claims by Weiner -- whose name is pronounced the same as the sausages used in hotdogs, and also is a synonym for the male sexual organ -- that he'd been the victim of a "prank" failed to stem intense media questioning.

Late Wednesday, Weiner dug himself deeper by saying in TV interviews that he could not exclude the crotch shot actually was of him -- even if he had not sent it out over Twitter.

"There are -- I have photographs. I don't know what photographs are out there in the world of me," he told CNN. "I can't say with certitude," he told MSNBC.

That attempt to wriggle out of the bulging scandal prompted jeers from the U.S. media Thursday and late-night comedians.

"Battle of the bulge. Weiner exposed," the New York Post splashed across its front page.

Political humorist Stephen Colbert deadpanned that the non-denial left "only two options here. Either Anthony Weiner has too many photos of his junk to keep track of, or 'certitude' is his nickname for his penis."

Others pointed to possible legal implications for Weiner if his initial claim to have been the victim of a crime proves made-up.

"I think he's in trouble," former New York mayor Ed Koch said on NY1 television.

Weiner faces reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives in November next year and could run to replace Mayor Michael Bloomberg in New York in 2013.