GOP's Cantor urges Weiner to 'come clean' on controversy

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on Thursday pressured Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) to "come clean" about his Twitter controversy.

Cantor said Weiner has a responsibility to his wife and constituents to get the facts straight.

"My advice would be to come clean and clear it up. Again, perhaps he's trying, but I know there's a lot of explaining going on but without a lot of clarity," he said on Fox News. 

"And again, the American people are right in saying that they don't have tolerance for this repeated kind of activity going on surrounding their elected leaders," he added. "Think about his wife — I mean, I'm really saddened for his wife, and I think they've only been married a short time."

Cantor's comments are some of the first from a member of the House GOP leadership on the Weiner controversy, which has consumed much of the media's attention over the past several days.

Weiner did a round of cable television interviews Wednesday in an attempt to clear up the controversy surrounding a lewd photo that was published on his Twitter account. He said that the message was a result of a hack, but would not say whether the photo in question was of his body.

The New York congressman said that for his wife, the saga has been a "befuddling experience."

House Republicans recently dealt with an online controversy of their own, when Rep. Chris Lee (R-N.Y.) was found to have sent a shirtless photo of himself to a woman other than his wife. Lee abruptly resigned after the facts were made public.

Cantor said the Weiner controversy is an example of what the public is tired of seeing.

"I think the American people are sick of seeing their elected officials tied up into scandals like this," he said. "I really think it's sad. And obviously there's not a lot of clarity surrounding the reports that you're referring to."

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