Politics & Government

Anthony Weiner sexting scandal involving his toddler son is final straw for wife Huma Abedin

By Kate Irby

kirby@mcclatchy.com

August 29, 2016 08:34 AM

Anthony D. Weiner, a Democratic candidate for mayor, voted in Manhattan, with his son in tow (2013).

He resigned from Congress after his last sexting scandal and promised to seek treatment as he and his wife announced she was pregnant with their first child.

Now, it seems Anthony Weiner is up to his old tricks as his wife, Huma Abedin, travels the country with Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Abedin announced Monday she would be leaving Weiner.

“After long and painful consideration and work on my marriage, I have made the decision to separate from my husband,” she wrote in a statement. “Anthony and I remain devoted to doing what is best for our son, who is the light of our life. During this difficult time, I ask for respect for our privacy.”

The New York Post posted suggestive photos Sunday night of Weiner, reportedly obtained from a woman who said Weiner had been sexting her since January 2015. The worst of the images shows a picture of Weiner’s crotch in boxer-briefs with his toddler son lying next to him in bed.

August 29, 2016
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Weiner then wondered in the messages if he had posted the image publicly on Twitter, the same situation that had led to his resignation from Congress in 2011.

“Ooooooh ... I was scared. For half a second I thought I posted something. Stop looking at my crotch,” he said to the unidentified woman.

The woman told the Post Weiner repeatedly invited her to visit him in New York City, even saying he was a “big wheel in this town,” but she never met him in person. The Post reported she is a Donald Trump supporter and frequently posts anti-Barack Obama and Clinton messages on social media.

Weiner told the New York Post the two have been “friends” for a while.

“She has asked me not to comment except to say that our conversations were private, often included pictures of her nieces and nephews and my son and were always appropriate,” he said.

The two reportedly started talking after exchanging direct messages on Twitter following an argument with another woman, and Weiner repeatedly made undisguised, lustful comments about the woman and sent suggestive photos. The woman sent him pictures of her in bikinis and revealing clothing.

Donald Trump released a statement on Abedin’s decision to leave Weiner, calling it “very wise” and saying she “will be far better off without him.”

“I only worry for the country in that Hillary Clinton was careless and negligent in allowing Weiner to have such close proximity to highly classified information,” he continued. “Who knows what he learned and who he told? It’s just another example of Hillary Clinton’s bad judgment. It is possible that our country and its security have been greatly compromised by this.”

Since resigning from Congress, Weiner has lost a New York City mayoral campaign and has been a stay-at-home father.