Loved and hated, Breitbart dies in LA at 43

Additionally, his public denials were less than solid _ particularly when he told an interviewer that he could not “say with certitude” that he wasn’t the man in the underwear photo.

Weiner’s spokesman said the photo was just a distraction and that the congressman doesn’t know the person named by the hacker.

The congressman denied sending the photo and said he had retained an attorney and hired a private security company to figure out how someone could pull off such a prank.

But Weiner dropped that story line on June 6, offering a lengthy public confession at a Manhattan news conference, acknowledging to online activity involving at least six women.

Breitbart seldom showed restraint in his vitriol to his critics and seemed to relish in the negative attention his antics earned him.

After Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts died in 2009, Breitbart tweeted, “Rest in Chappaquiddick” and called him “a special pile of human excrement.” When critics questioned his tone, he tweeted they “missed my best ones!”

Breitbart is survived by his wife, Susannah Bean Breitbart, and four children.

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Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Jack Gillum and Brett Blackledge in Washington, Jeff Wilson in Los Angeles and Ray Henry in Dalton. Ga., contributed to this report.

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