Weiner in 2009: Cyber Attacks 'Demand Immediate Action'

That was then, and this is now:

The New York Daily News reported the Congressman’s statement thusly [in May of 2009]:

Whoa, there, Mr. President: Let’s be careful with giving the NSA more power, Rep. Anthony Weiner warned today.

That’s in response to President Obama’s move to appoint a cyber-security czar (the plan is after the jump) who Weiner doesn’t want to give up too much civilian control while protecting the country’s information grid.

“Cyber attacks — both foreign and domestic — are real and demand immediate action,” Weiner said. “But we need a balanced approach. It is important that we don’t give too much authority to a government agency that collects information and rarely shares it.”

Weiner’s call to act on cyber threats “immediate[ly]” seems all the more ironic given his hesitancy to involve law enforcement in the scandal that has dominated headlines since the tweet in question was sent on Friday evening.

One congressman, Republican Cliff Stearns of Florida, is even calling for an investigation into the alleged “hacking,” citing the same national security concerns to which Weiner paid lip service two years ago. The Daily Caller reported Tuesday:

“Although this particular incident is a matter for law enforcement, it clearly indicates that hacking is a serious problem and as Chairman it would be appropriate for the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee to examine the issue of cybersecurity to protect our privacy and to ensure our national security,” Stearns said in an email to The Daily Caller.

But previous statements notwithstanding, Weiner was reluctant to involve law enforcement in what, if true, would amount to a fairly serious breach of Congress’s digital security. Even the congressman’s defenders must admit: it doesn’t look good.

How doubleplusungood is it looking for Weiner? Even CNN is reporting the story. No word yet if up and coming CNN journalist Elliot Spitzer will be assigned to cover it though.

Update: Bumped to top; here’s the video of Weiner’s disastrous press conference today, which Bryan Preston dubs “simply, the worst press conference since Bill Clinton’s infamous ‘that woman’ press conference in 1998. Yes, it’s that bad:”

Update: “Place your bets.” And then follow the updates provided by the Blogfather.