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Congressman Anthony Weiner to Resign; Does Al Qaeda's New Leader Affects the U.S.?; Fight Over Same-Sex Marriage Takes Center Stage in New York

Aired June 16, 2011 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get you up to speed for Thursday, June 16th.

We begin with breaking news. Disgraced New York Congressman Anthony Weiner plans to resign. He has come under intense pressure from his Democratic colleagues over a sexting scandal involving several women and lies that he repeatedly told about that.

Want to get straight to Capitol Hill for details. Our CNN senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash, she joins us live.

Dana, tell us, how did he come to this conclusion? Do we know where the congressman is now? And how is this going to unfold in the next couple of hours?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, to answer your first question, how he came to this conclusion was with great, great difficulty. Just look at the calendar, the fact that here we are, almost three weeks after he sent that initial picture on Twitter of himself in his underwear to a college student in Seattle, and then wouldn't answer questions about it, said he was hacked, and then lied about it, and then it just keep going on and on from there. It was not an easy decision for him to make.

But we are told that he made a final call -- a final decision, and then a call -- last night at the White House picnic, which is a picnic for members of Congress and their families. And at that picnic, we're told he got in touch with Steve Israel, who's his colleague from New York, and also the Democrat in charges of getting fellow Democrats elected in the 2012 election.

He told Steve Israel that he had made the decision to resign, and then Israel, I'm told by a source familiar with this conversation, went and found the Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi. Weiner talked to the two of them together, I'm told, near a tree to try to find some privacy because there were so many people around at this picnic. And that in that conversation, I'm told that Weiner was very remorseful, very apologetic about the fact that he had done this to his family, done this to his friends, and politically caused such a distraction for his party.

And that distraction, of course, Suzanne, was what ultimately, last Saturday, pushed these leaders to say enough is enough. They took their private shoves, if you will, for him to resign in public and said it's time for you to go.

MALVEAUX: And Dana, do we now at what point the congressman made this decision where he realized, I just can't survive this? Because he had said before that he was going into treatment, taking a two-week leave of absence, and clearly he has now changed his mind.

What was the tipping point?

BASH: Well, it's unclear if there was one particular thing. Maybe we'll never know the answer to that question, but it is obviously a very intriguing question.

He had been making clear that he wanted to stay. He had been making clear privately to some of his colleagues and friends, I'm told, that he obviously realized he did something terrible morally, but he felt that he didn't break a law, he didn't necessarily break the rules here in this House, and so he wanted to stay. But the fact that the story kept going, Suzanne, with picture after picture, more information, the fact that he was corresponding with a 17-year-old girl in Delaware who he says and his family says was not indecent, but it just kept this going.

And finally, what he was waiting for, everybody was saying, was for his wife Huma, who works for Hillary Clinton and was traveling abroad with her, to return back to the United States, back to Washington, so that the two of them could have a face-to-face conversation before he made that final decision. We are told that that did happen yesterday, and it was late yesterday that he at least informed the Democratic leadership that the decision was made.

MALVEAUX: Sure. And we know that Huma returned, that they've had conversations.

She was not by his side before, when he had announced that he had lied about all of this, when essentially he had come clean about the lies and about these lewd texts that he sent. It was pretty apparent that she had other work to do, and she would be doing that.

Do we expect or do we have any idea whether or not this resignation, whether we'll see her by his side this go-around, kind of a final farewell, or if she'll be in this picture at all?

BASH: That's a great question. I'm not sure of the answer to that question at all.

Local stations in New York are reporting that he is going to have an actual conference, which, to be honest with you, surprises me. We thought that he was at a treatment center, and that it probably will be more likely that he will put out a written statement. Whether or not she is going to be there is anyone's guess.

But, look, the fact is that throughout all of this, even when he had that tearful press conference, he kept referred referring to his wife, kept referring to the fact that she loves him, that she wanted him to stay. And in private conversations, he was, for lack of a better way to say it, hanging it on her as well, saying that, "My wife wants me to stay."

He was also -- and this is important to point out, Suzanne, talking about the polls that were taken during this saga inside his district. Fifty-six percent, a pretty healthy majority, said that they didn't think he should resign. And that is the other point that he was making privately to his colleagues and friends, saying, you know, if my constituents, who are the ones who elected me don't want me to resign, then why should I?

MALVEAUX: Right. Dana, we're going to get back to you in just a moment. I know you're working use your sources to unfold some of the details that we're learning here.

I want to go to the White House. Clearly, the Weiner scandal has been a huge political drag on the president's party over the last three weeks.

White House Correspondent Brianna Keilar, she's joining us live.

Brianna, do we have any formal reaction or even kind of behind- the-scenes reaction to this resignation?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, no formal reaction from the White House. There is going to be a briefing at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. No doubt, Jay Carney is going to be asked about this. We reporters will be asking him about the president's response to all of this.

But the White House has really been loath to weigh in on this scandal. Really reticent last week, just saying they didn't have a comment until early this week, on Monday.

We saw Jay Carney make a comment, saying this was a distraction. And finally, the president himself was asked about it in a TV interview, and he weighed in.

He didn't explicitly say that Anthony Weiner should resign, but what he said was that if he were the congressman, he would resign, that this was becoming a distraction, that it was getting in the way of being a public servant at a time when the party and certainly Congressman Weiner himself needed to be focused on getting the economy back on track. And the real point of it is, the fact of it is, for the White House it was becoming quite a distraction as well. When the president is really trying to put a positive face on some recently not-so-good economic numbers, with all of the attention paid Congressman Weiner, their message wasn't really getting out there -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Brianna, we're just getting this. I want our audience to know. This is coming from Weiner's office, an official statement, essentially saying that he is going to make this announcement, the resignation announcement, coming at 2:00 Eastern this afternoon, 2:00, and that it is going to be out of his Brooklyn office. That, coming from Weiner's office now, so we do have a sense of how this is going to unfold. But I want to talk a little bit about how extraordinary it was that you had President Obama coming out and weighing in on this. He was asked about it, weighing in on whether or not Weiner should resign. And he said, if it were me, I would.

That seems to me as if this White House, this administration, really saw him as a political liability at this point, perhaps even a calculation. They're looking to 2012, saying, look, we don't need this, we've got to move on and we've got to change the message.

KEILAR: Of course they thought that Congressman Weiner was a liability, Suzanne. You saw so much pressure, as Dana mentioned, behind the scenes from leaders in Congress, Democratic leaders. Then you heard from the DNC chair.

And then I think the thought -- the sort of conventional wisdom, once President Obama came out and made those remarks, it was sort of a sense of, really, how long can Congressman Weiner hang on here when he's facing this much pressure? And he has even the president weighing in, a presidents who had been reticent to say anything, a White House that had been saying "No comment" up until earlier this week, making very clear statements that this was a very unwelcomed distraction for them as they were trying to concentrate on an economic message.

MALVEAUX: All right, Brianna. As soon as you get White House reaction, we'll get back to you.

We are learning that this is -- the Center for Seniors in Brooklyn, that is where Weiner will be making his announcement. That's going to come at 2:00 Eastern, just a couple of hours from now.

I want to bring in our own John King to talk about the analysis here, any idea of what we actually expect for the congressman to disclose, to say.

We've heard various stories coming from him. And I suspect this is going to be a difficult moment.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It certainly will be a difficult moment both personally and politically, Suzanne.

And you mentioned that statement announcing this news conference. It says, "Representative Weiner to address the media Today." It does not actually confirm his plans to resign, but we are told that now by a number of Democratic sources, that Anthony Weiner will in fact announce that he's resigning his House seat.

That seat represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens up in New York City. He will make the announcement. And I think a bit unusual he would go before the cameras, because it is such an embarrassing time and a tough time for him.

In stepping aside, he will, for the Democratic Party, it hopes, end a distraction that came at a very bad time, just when the Democrats thought they were getting traction on some issues, just when the Democrats are out trying to raise money and recruit candidates for the 2012 election, of which they not only hope to keep the White House, Suzanne, as you know, they're hoping to take back the House of Representatives.

Leader Pelosi hopes to become Speaker Pelosi. And this was the last thing the Democratic Party needed right now.

There's a personal side of this. When the congressman resigns, there are personality issues, family issues that he is going to have to deal with. Those will fade mostly from the public scene, I think.

There are then political questions. When will there be a special election? Will that district become one of the targets as New York State now goes through the redistricting process and loses two House seats? That's always a difficult process. Where do you draw those new lines? Which districts have to go?

Could that district become part of that? It is possible that is the case, although if you look at the population data, it's not exactly easy to draw the lines and eliminate the districts that way.

And there's a bigger question. As Congressman Weiner deals with the personal trauma in his life, does he have any intention of trying to come back into politics? That, I suspect, is a question that will be asked today, and I would guess that the answer today is that he does not know.

But remember, Suzanne, if we were having a conversation about Anthony Weiner five, six, seven weeks ago, and you were talking to people who understood New York City politics, they would say he was a leading contender to be that city's next mayor. Now, of course, he's a disgraced congressman who will be resigning this afternoon.

MALVEAUX: John, does she have any friends? Does he have any political friends, those in Washington? We know at least from the last poll that there were quite a few New Yorkers, the majority, who were backing him, saying, look, he's our guy, he's made a mistake, we're really to move on. But that was not the case in Washington.

Does he have anybody he can call a friend now?

KING: Well, maybe people out in the country don't quite understand. You see this polling.

After a congressman is going through this, he's being publicly embarrassed, you might even say humiliated. And how could a majority of his district want him to stay on?

Number one, it's a very Democratic district. Number two, he's a pugnacious, partisan, sometimes abrasive guys. And in parts of New York City -- I mean this respectfully -- that's viewed as a good thing. He's in the fight, he's making the fight. He's fighting for his district. He's fighting for the country.

Many of these women he came into contact with and then had inappropriate relationships with, they followed him on social media, they reached out to him because they saw him on cable television programs making the fight, and they were impressed with his views.

So, does he have friends and support out there? Yes. Does he have the friends he needs right now? Hopefully he has the friends he needs to help him with the personal side of his life. Politically, his colleagues in the House made the decision, and politics is about survive, Suzanne.

You've been in this business a long time. They made the decision that he needed to go.

Now, he does not have deep friendships. He has some, but he does not have a deep reservoir of personal support among the House Democratic leadership, A, because this was embarrassing to them and potentially hurtful to them, but, B, because he has publicly criticized Leader Pelosi and her deputies at times, saying that they're not publicly making the fight against Republicans and their strategy.

So, not a deep enough reservoir of good will, but even if he had that, this was a pretty big deal. He probably would be nudged out anyway.

MALVEAUX: All right. John King, thank you very much.

We're going to take a quick break. We're going to talk to our own Wolf Blitzer, who interviewed Anthony Weiner, and essentially was on the other side of many of those lies that are getting him into trouble now.

So we'll have a quick break and we'll be back with Wolf.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Breaking news. Disgraced New York Congressman Anthony Weiner plans to resign now. He has come under intense pressure from his Democratic colleagues over a sexting scandal involving several women, and the lies he told repeatedly about it.

We're going to bring in our Wolf Blitzer, who spoke to Representative Weiner shortly after those lewd texts came out.

Wolf, are you with us?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I am, Suzanne.

Have you spoken to him since? You had a rather extensive interview. And it was lie after lie after lie.

Does this surprise you, that this is the way this has turned out?

BLITZER: It doesn't surprise me that he's now about to resign. He'll do it 2:00 p.m. Eastern in New York later today. It doesn't surprise me.

The pressure has been enormous and the embarrassment, it's really been amazing, the pictures that have come out, the statements. Yesterday, the stripper coming out with Gloria Allred, making the statements that she made, describing the exchanges that he had with her, Ginger Lee.

It's been a huge embarrassment for him, for his family, for his constituents, for the Democrats, for the president, even. So it's not a surprise that he's going to step down.

As John and Dana pointed out, there were many people in his district in New York, in Brooklyn and Queens, who wanted him to fight on, but in the end, he simply couldn't. The pressure was simply too enormous, and he will now step down.

Now, having said that, Suzanne, it doesn't necessarily mean his political career down the road is over. There are a lot of people who are ready to forgive and forget down the road.

And let's not forget, he's raised a lot of money over the past few years. He was seriously thinking of running to become the next mayor of New York, and he was a front-runner, in fact, for that contest.

He's raised millions of dollars. I think he has about $4 million in campaign money. And under the law, he could save that money and use it for political campaigns down the road.

There are restrictions on how he can use that money, but he does control a significant amount of money. So if he wants to give it an interval, go through rehab, go through treatment, deal with his own family, and maybe down the road, run for elected office once again, he'll have a campaign financial base from which to do it if in fact he decides down the road to do that.

MALVEAUX: Sure. And Wolf, I think one of the big questions is whether or not people will feel as if they can trust him, what he says is actually the truth.

I want to play for our viewers just a little bit of that interview that you conducted with the congressman in which he lies repeatedly, makes excuses and reasons, lying repeatedly that he was not involved in sending those lose photos to some of those women.

Let's take a listen to your interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Have you ever taken a picture like this of yourself?

REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: I can tell you this, that there are -- I have photographs. I don't know what photographs are out there in the world of me. I don't know what things have been manipulated and doctored. And we're going to try to find out what happened.

But the most important reason I want to find out what happened is to make sure that it doesn't happen again. Obviously, someone got access to my account. That's bad. They sent a picture that makes fun of the name "Weiner." I get it. Touche, Dr. Moriarty. You got me.

At the time it happened, I tweeted right away that I got the joke and I continued on with my life. And I think that, frankly, that's what I would encourage everyone to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Wolf, how does he overcome that? I mean, how does he earn the trust again of people if he wants to be in any kind of position of authority?

BLITZER: I don't know how he does that. He's going to have an enormous struggle ahead of him, assuming he wants to get back into politics down the road, because people will say, can we believe anything you're saying?

No one hacked his account. No one doctored those photos. No one created those e-mail exchanges he had with those women out there.

He was doing it all himself. And he looked straight into my eyes and he looked into the camera and flatly lied about all of that. So there will be a credibility question that he'll have.

Having said that, you know, the American public is a forgiving public. And if we're convinced that someone has amended his or her ways, and has moved on and done the right thing, then maybe -- I'm not ruling out the possibility that he might run for elected office at some point down the road.

But before that happens, Suzanne, he has got an enormous amount of work to do, and he's got a struggle to simply save his marriage at this point. And it will be interesting to see whether his wife, Huma Abedin, who works for the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, as you raised earlier, will she be at his side at this news conference at 2:00 p.m. Eastern today in Brooklyn? Will she not be there?

I think there will be high interest to hear what he has to say.

I'm sort of surprised, as my colleagues John King and -- Suzanne, and you, I think, are surprised, Dana Bash is surprised, that that he has decided to personally do this news conference instead of just releasing a statement saying he's stepping down. I guess he figures he owes it to his constituents. They elected him, he's now made that deciding to step down, end his two-year term early, and maybe he has that responsibility to sort of man up and go before the cameras and explain what's going on.

MALVEAUX: Sure. And Wolf, I imagine that any kind of political resurrection, he would have to talk directly to the voters, to his constituents, as you say, go before the camera. But he's also going to have to talk to reporters again and earn their trust.

Do you feel -- has he come to you? Has he picked up the phone? Has he personally apologized to you? Or do you think that that's even necessary, that he address the media?

BLITZER: Well, in that news conference he had when he announced that he lied, he did apologize generally to the media, to his constituents, his family, his friends, the Democratic leadership out there. He hasn't called me personally or anything like that. I don't expect that he would.

But if at some point he wants to go out and do an interview, obviously we'll be happy to do that. But he has got an enormous struggle ahead of him right now. Let's see how he gets through this news conference at 2:00, and then he can move on and do what he needs to do.

And hopefully all of us can move on hopefully as well, and move away from this story which has been so sordid. It's not -- as you and I know, Suzanne -- we've covered these kinds of stories -- it's not a pleasure for us. It's not something we look forward to. I would much rather be discussing economic issues, jobs, the future of Medicare, national security issues, than talking about this.

MALVEAUX: Absolutely. Yes, we both covered the Clinton days during the Monica Lewinsky and the impeachment, so, of course, I totally agree.

Thank you, Wolf. We'll be getting back to you very shortly.

Here's your chance to "Talk Back" on the big story of the day. Today's question: Should Anthony Weiner resign?

Our Carol Costello, she's joining us from Washington.

And Carol, you know, maybe some people still believe that he has a job and he could do a good job.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You might be surprised. But finally, Suzanne, Congressman Anthony Weiner will resign.

Democrats are relieved. And maybe all of you are, too.

As House Speaker John Boehner said, it's been a distraction. Distraction? That may be the understatement of the year.

We've been obsessed. At a time Americans want their politicians to create jobs, half-nude Weiner pictures keep on coming, and the jokes keep flying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, CBS'S "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": And today is a being day in the Weiner household. Anthony Weiner is being reunited with his wife.

Well, that should go pretty well, I think.

And Weiner asked that the people respect his privacy. And well, I guess that really wasn't a concern when he was texting photos of his junk. No, I don't think it was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. Let's put aside the jokes. There is another way to look at this, really.

Sexting is a part of life. I bet you know someone who does it, although you'd never know it, because they would never tell you.

Lisa Bloom, who wrote a book on "Straight Talk" -- the book is called "Straight Talk," actually -- says we're obsessed by politicians' personal lives to the detriment of our country. Bloom asks, "How many imperfect, but smart, qualified people decided today they could never run for public office?"

And then there are those politicians stained with scandals who remain in office: Democratic Congressman Barney Frank, Republican Senator David Vitter, and President Bill Clinton. He still has a voice despite his dalliance in the Oval Office.

So, the "Talk Back" question today: Should Congressman Weiner resign?

Facebook/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments in a bit -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Looking forward to it, Carol.

And after the quick break, we're going to bring you up to speed on the rest of the news of the day.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

MALVEAUX: A major milestone for Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, recovering from a brain injury received five months ago in a shooting. Her doctors in Houston say she's improved to the point where she no longer needs to stay in the hospital. She was discharged yesterday and is expected to start outpatient therapy soon.

The fight over same-sex marriage takes center stage in New York. The state assembly has approved a bill to make such marriages legal. But, it faces a much tougher fight in the Republican-controlled state Senate. Now, a vote could come as early as tomorrow. And right now, five states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriage.

We're going to have more on the Anthony Weiner story, his announcement he will be resigning, and also the Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, what she's got to say about that, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Following breaking news. We know that Congressman Anthony Weiner intends to resign.

I want to go directly to Capitol Hill where our congressional correspondent Kate Bolduan is.

And Kate, we know that we saw the Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi, she almost kind of chuckled in the beginning of her statement when she looked at all those people who were out there and said, you know, this is just a regularly scheduled meeting here. But clearly a lot of people wanted to know if she was going to make any news regarding Anthony Weiner.

I imagine that they are ready to move beyond this, yes?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You are 100 percent right about that. And this press conference was a perfect example, very evident of the point you just made.

Nancy Pelosi made a splash you'll remember, when coming out, not only calling for Anthony Weiner, an ethics investigation into Anthony Weiner's behavior, but then coming out in a coordinated effort to call on him to resign.

Well, today she made very clear at her regularly scheduled weekly press conference that she did not want to get out in front of Anthony Weiner's announcement, saying right off the bat, she's very aware everyone wanted to ask her about that, right off the bat saying that she was not going to answer any questions about Anthony Weiner.

But of course, Suzanne, that was not going to stop us from trying to ask the questions.

Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: At this point, do you plan to withdraw your call for an ethics investigation or keep that call in place?

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: Perhaps I was unclear. I am not going to be responding to questions about Anthony Weiner. Let's see what he decides to do today and then we will go from there. But I'm not making any announcement for him or about him at this time. But I appreciate your question.

BOLDUAN: Could you talk generally, though, about what it takes for you to call for one of your own members to resign?

PELOSI: No, I can't.

BOLDUAN: You did not call for Congressman --

PELOSI: I won't be doing that. We'll have a chance to talk about this, but we're not doing it before we have a decision from Mr. Weiner, Congressman Weiner. We respectfully gave him time, his wife came home for them to talk. He's going to make an announcement. I'm not going to predicate any remarks on a decision that we haven't heard yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Now, the Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said she did say they would have something to say after Anthony Weiner's announcement today and she made very clear even during an answer of someone trying again about Anthony Weiner. She made a very clear turn trying to get back on talking about their agenda and what Democrats want to be talking about, about jobs and the economy.

But that's why, Suzanne, I pressed her again to ask her, since we know that Anthony Weiner is making this announcement, that he will be resigning, why allow the distraction to continue since that's what Democrats have been calling it, citing this distraction for three weeks now into its third week from their agenda. Why let the distraction continue? Why allow him to, you know, wait until he makes the announcement.

She wouldn't budge. She was still not going to answer any questions about Anthony Weiner until after he makes the announcement today. But they are definitely ready, I think it's safe to say, Suzanne, to get back on to talking about their agenda.

We'll see how quickly that happens once we hear from Mr. Weiner himself.

MALVEAUX: Kate, that was a good try on your part. I imagine that they're going to try to allow him to have some dignity in letting go or resigning from his office.

You probably know the answer to that question on the House ethics investigation. I mean, once he walks away, really is there any point to that investigation? Does that kind of just go away, as well? Do we have any sense of how that works?

BOLDUAN: The sense that I get is that the ethics investigation, it's been called for. It could technically go forward, I believe. But there really doesn't -- I guess from an outward standpoint, Suzanne, there doesn't seem to be much, definitely not as much reason for it after he resigns. If this distraction is then going to be gone, it's going to be away, why would this investigation need to go forward into his behavior? We'll have to see, we'll have to ask. That was kind of my backwards way of trying to get her to actually confirm he's going to be resigning, but it didn't work this time.

But, I believe that once we get this announcement from Anthony Weiner, we will definitely be hearing more from these members of the House, because they haven't been quiet about commenting and calling for his resignation at this point. It seems that they're just waiting to allow him to make this announcement himself because they want him to make the news, not make the news themselves.

MALVEAUX: Sure. OK. Well, I'm sure we'll be getting more clarity from Nancy Pelosi and others after Weiner's formal announcement.

Thank you, Kate. Really appreciate it.

BOLDUAN: Of course.

MALVEAUX: He is the new face of al Qaeda. We're going to have a live report on the appointment of bin Laden's former top deputy as the terrorist group's new leader.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: The top deputy to Osama bin Laden is the new leader of al Qaeda. Ayman al Zawahiri is a 59-year-old former surgeon. He grew up in an upper-class neighborhood in Cairo, the son of a prominent doctor and the grandson of scholars.

Al Zawahiri joined the Egyptian Islamic jihad group as a teenager. After members of the group assassinated Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, al Zawahiri was convicted on weapons charges. He later befriended Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and joined forces with him. The two issued a decree, calling to Muslims to kill and fight Americans.

CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom, he joins us from Abu Dhabi with more.

Give us a sense of who Zawahiri is and does this make any difference now that he's the official leader of al Qaeda?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Suzanne, right now it doesn't seem to be making any big difference. The real question right now is why did it take song for al Zawahiri to be appointed as the new leader of al Qaeda? This has taken several weeks.

And ,any analysts are wondering if this is pointing to the fact that al Qaeda is it weakened, is it less strong than it used to be? Is it not as emboldened as it once was? There's been on lot of discussion about who would fill the shoes of somebody like Osama bin Laden, somebody amongst jihadists has seen to be as so charismatic.

Now, al Zawahiri, while he's been the de facto leader since Osama bin Laden has been killed, and while he's very well known within the organization, was the deputy for bin Laden, not nearly as charismatic, really seen as an ideologue, amongst jihadists seems as somebody who is difficult to work with.

And there was a lot of speculation as to whether, since Osama bin Laden had been killed, would someone like Anwar al Awlaki, who's the U.S.-Yemeni cleric who was associated with al Qaeda and Yemen and who was seen by his followers as being so charismatic and so eloquent, more in the mold of Osama bin Laden, if somebody like he from the younger generation of al Qaeda would take over the group.

This is clearly a statement that it's the old guard. The statement that was made today made mention of the fact that the group would try to wage global jihad just the way they had in the past. They reasserted their claims, their pledge of allegiance to Mullah Omar and to the Taliban. So it really seems to be business as usual for the group, Suzanne. MALVEAUX: Do we think the United States is any greater danger or less danger? Now that bin Laden's gone, you have this new number one. Or is al Qaeda weakened at this point?

JAMJOOM: Suzanne, many feel that al Qaeda has been weakened. And one of the things they believe has been a weakening influence for al Qaeda is the Arab swing.

This pro-democracy movement that's been flourishing across the Middle East, you have not seen al Qaeda in the last several months play any role play any role in that. There was one statement from Osama bin Laden in which he praised the movement.

But today's statement made no mention of the Arab spring and that's quite telling because many people feel the fact that so many societies in the Arab world rose up and challenged their governments, and that there was no militancy involved in this and there was no al Qaeda involvement in this. Many people thought that that signaled al Qaeda had been significantly weakened.

So even though the group is pledging to carry out the attacks, to be as militant as ever, to carry out worldwide jihad, many people do feel that al Qaeda is on the wane. Now, there are some groups of al Qaeda like al Qaeda in Yemen that are emboldened, that are resurgent, but it's not a top-down organization anymore and it's fractured.

MALVEAUX: All right. Mohammed Jamjoom, thank you very much.

We're going to talk with a former CIA covert operations officer about the appointment of Zawahiri and what it means for the war on terror. Mike Baker joins us in the next hour of NEWSROOM, noon Eastern Time.

Now to other international headlines.

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MALVEAUX: Explosions rattled Libya's capital, that happened this morning. State TV reported NATO bombardments in several areas including Moammar Gadhafi's hometown.

This Internet video is said to show unarmed protesters hiding behind a wall as Syrian forces shoot indiscriminately. We cannot verify the video, but a woman who says she witnessed the bloodshed talks to CNN. You're going to hear from her later this hour.

And in Nigeria's capital, a powerful fiery explosion. Authorities say a suicide bomber detonated at a police station. Officials there say at least five people are dead.

We're going to have more on the Congressman Anthony Weiner story, the fact that he plans to resign, give up his position later. We're going to go to New York with our own Mary Snow to talk to his constituents to see their reaction to the very latest news.

We'll have that after the break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: We're following breaking news this hour. New York Representative Anthony Weiner is set to resign today over a sexting scandal that he initially lied about. CNN has confirmed that Weiner will hold a news conference at 2:00 p.m. Eastern in Brooklyn; it is part of his district.

And that is where CNN's Mary Snow, she is standing by.

Mary, I understand you've been talking to folks there. What are they saying? Do they think he should stay? Do they think he should go?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): You know, some of the people we spoke with today, Suzanne, say they are very sorry to hear that he is resigning, but a couple people said, you know, the pressure that he was under, both from politicians and from the press, he was under daily scrutiny, that they felt he just didn't have a choice. But they also they felt that he wouldn't be effective.

And, Suzanne, just to give you a sense of how popular he was in this district, we've been talking to many people here throughout the past couple weeks, and these are both, you know, Republicans and Democrats saying this, and just a few weeks ago it was widely viewed that Anthony Weiner was the front contender for -- to be mayor in 2013. He had a lot of support in New York City.

So this is something that is really hard to believe just a few weeks ago that this is happening. And now, you know, the question is what will happen to his district, because as we've been talking about, there has been a lot of speculation that because of redistricting and reapportionment that maybe his district may be phased out dumb t2012, because New York is slated to lose two districts.

MALVEAUX: That still is an unanswered question.

And, Mary, if can you still hear us, do his constituents, the voters there, do they think he could have been effective in leading them, in still keeping his job, even though he lost so many friends and lost the confidence of the Democratic leadership in Washington?

SNOW: You know, some of the people we talked with today said that no, he would not have been effective. But you know, you take look at the polls that were out even last week that showed a majority of voters in his district said he should not resign and he should keep going, that they would vote for him.

And even when I talked to people today about does he have a political future, because when you hear pundits tell it, they say he really has no chance of becoming mayor, some of the constituents we spoke with, they are still holding out hope. And as one woman said, there's always a chance. It doesn't look too good right now, though.

And another one saying, you know, that she could not believe he was so foolish. She said, you know, he was seen as somebody who was very effective in the district, catering -- really listening to the constituents and acting on their needs. So this is something that, you know, she took very personally.

MALVEAUX: All right, Mary, we will get back to you very shortly.

We're giving you a chance to weigh in on today's big story. Today's "Talk Back" question: Should Congressman Weiner resign? Carol Costello is up next with your responses.

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MALVEAUX: Getting a lot of responses to today's "Talk Back" question. Carol Costello is here with a look at what you are saying, whether or not he is making the right decision.

Carol, what do folks think?

COSTELLO: You would be surprised, Suzanne. Surprising support for Congressman Weiner.

The question was: Should Congressman Weiner resign?

This from Paul, "He did not have to, but it's not very surprising. The lying was the real misdeed here and it's become an albatross around the neck of Democrats."

This from Tom, "Another effective butt-kicker of the financial industry removed from office. Democrats suck. They join Conservatives to destroy a congressman who broke no laws, and whose constituents wanted him to stay and whose only real crime was his effectiveness battling corporate interests."

This from Joy, "He's doing the right thing for his wife, family and constituents and he is seeking treatment for himself. Good luck to him."

This from Cynthia, "What he did was personal, nothing to do with his position as congressman. If he does his best for what he's being paid for, leave him alone, it's his decision."

And this from Jim, "I find it offensive that this decision has been taken away from his constituents, short of actual legal violations. They elected him, they should be the sole influencers over whether he stays or leaves."

Keep the conversation going, Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll be with you in about, oh, 20 minutes or so.

MALVEAUX: All right, Carol. Also looks like he's got some support still in New York as some of the voters, constituents there saying that they believe that, you know, he should be able to serve.

But we're going to have more information about the congressman from his early days in politics until now. That after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) MALVEAUX: New York Representative Anthony Weiner is set to resign today over a sexting scandal that he initially lied about. He has been in the news nonstop for almost three weeks now.

Let's take a closer look now at the congressman and his career.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Anthony Weiner is New York to the core. Born in Brooklyn to a lawyer and schoolteacher, he went to a state university aiming to be a TV weatherman. When that did not work, he turned to politics working for then-Congressman Charles Schumer, and hanging out with good friend, comedian Jon Stewart.

Six years after college, he mounted a long-shot bid for New York City Council. He turned his scrappy nature into votes, and at age 27 became at the time the youngest person elected to the council, quickly becoming a thorn in the side of fellow councilman and New York Mayor David Dinkins.

When his old boss Schumer ran for Senate in 1998, Weiner jumped in and ran to replace him on the House. On Capitol Hill, Weiner cemented his reputation as a Liberal's Liberal, famously fighting for women's rights and gun control.

He is known for his determination, feistiness and above all his fire brand rhetoric, like the time her took on fellow New York Congressman Republican Peter King over a bill to provide medical care for 9/11 first responders.

WEINER: You vote in favor of something if you believe it's the right thing. If you believe it's the wrong thing, you vote no. We are following a procedure -- I will not yield to the gentleman, and the gentleman will observe regular order. The gentleman will observe regular order.

MALVEAUX: But he does have a soft side. Last July, Weiner married long-time aide to Hillary Clinton, Huma Abadin, and became the only Jewish member of Congress to be married to a devout Muslim. Officiating at the ceremony, former President Bill Clinton.

WEINER: She's a remarkable, remarkable woman. She married a congressman, OK. She knows a little something about living in public life. She knows with that goes a certain amount of, you know, aggravation. I don't think that she imagined that it would be this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)