Weiner Used Campaign Cash in Attempted Cover-Up

Before he came clean in his crotch-shot sexting scandal, Anthony Weiner used campaign money to hire private investigators ... and send them on a wild goose chase. Financial statements filed yesterday with the Federal Election Commission show that Weiner spent $13,290 on "legal services" from T&M Protective Services, a firm that employs a number of former NYPD investigators. But sources tell the New York Daily News Weiner actually attempted to use the PIs as part of his spin campaign.

He reportedly told them his Twitter account had been hacked—allowing some scoundrel to send the now-infamous crotch-shot tweet to a Seattle woman—and hired them to investigate. However, they quickly learned that Weiner himself, as he later admitted, had sent the photo.