Charles Rangle cheated on his taxes. So did Tim Geithner. Ted Kennedy killed a woman while driving drunk. Bill Clinton committed perjury. Maxine Waters is currently under investigation. Robert Byrd was a member of the KKK. Barney Frank ran a brothel out of his apartment. John Edwards cheated on his cancer stricken wife, fathered a child and is now on trial for violating federal law. Eliot Spitzer committed a crime that he sent people to prison for and was caught. What fucking difference does it make what some member of the opposite party did 12 years ago?
Many pieces of shit that hail from both parties have served in Congress and the US government ( and continue to do so today). Weiner is one of those pieces of shit.
Attempting to rationalize his behavior, compare him to Republicans or explain away his pathetic actions is an exercise in futility.
It is irrelevant if someone was formally charged with a crime or not. By that threshold, practically everyone who ever served in Congress is a saint. Do you think that there is a direct correlation between people with power and getting away with illegal activities?