Married: U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner with his wife, Huma Abedin
U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner was left red-faced on Friday night - after someone published a crude picture of a man in underpants on his official Twitter account.
The married New York congressman blamed an internet hacker yesterday for publishing a photo of a man's bulging grey boxer briefs.
The tweet was directed to a single Twitter user - a coed in Seattle, Washington - but was on view to all 45,000 of his followers.
The post was quickly removed by Weiner, known for his avid use of Twitter. He was posting about a hockey match just minutes prior.
However, several followers had time to retweet the photo and take screen grabs before it was taken down.
Weiner, 46, delivered a good-humoured explanation minutes later on the micro-blogging website.
One post read: 'Tivo shot. FB hacked. Is my blender gonna attack me next?" he joked, ending the tweet with the hashtag "#TheToasterIsVeryLoyal.'
Addressing the 'wiener' jokes that flooded his account, he wrote last night: 'Touche Prof Moriarity. More Weiner Jokes for all my guests!'
Weiner's spokesman, Dave Arnold, took the breach of security seriously, echoing his client's claims a hacker gained access to his passwords.
Quick-witted: Weiner delivered a good-humoured explanation within minutes - insisting his account had been hacked
He denied the photo belonged to the politician, and said it was not taken by him.
Arnold stated: 'Anthony's accounts on both Facebook and Twitter were hacked,'
Arnold said Weiner received an alert last week from Facebook administrators suggesting his password might have been tampered with but the warning was disregarded by the politician, leaving him vulnerable to hackers.
Security breach: Weiner addressed the jokes that flooded his account head on, while his spokesman denied the risqué photo belonged to the congressman
Arnold also said the woman who was intended to receive the risqué photograph has no ties to the politician.
Her accounts on Twitter and Facebook have since been deleted.
Weiner was first elected to Congress in 1998.
He wed Hillary Clinton's top aide, Huma Abedin last July in a ceremony officiated by former U.S. President, Bill Clinton.