Improbable as it may seem, Anthony Weiner’s sexting habits are again making national headlines. Following the latest revelation of lewd online behavior, his wife, a top aide to Hillary Clinton, announced today she was separating from the former Congressman, prompting Donald Trump to try to turn the episode into a campaign issue. Our Bobby Cuza has that story.
It has been five years since the first round of racy photos prompted Anthony Weiner to resign from Congress and three years since further revelations derailed his mayoral campaign.
"Anthony’s made some horrible mistakes," said his now estranged wife Huma Abedin in July 2013.
Now, the latest sexting episode – splashed across Monday’s New York Post front page – has dissolved his marriage to Abedin, a longtime aide and confidante to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
"After long and painful consideration and work on my marriage," Abedin said in a statement, "I have made the decision to separate from my husband. 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."
Immediately, Republican nominee Donald Trump sought to twist the news to his advantage. In a statement, he said Abedin was making a very wise decision,
But added: "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. 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."
"So Huma is getting classified secrets," Trump said last month. "She’s married to Anthony Weiner. Who’s a perv. No, he is!"
Since his failed run for mayor, Weiner has done consulting and political commentary — including on Inside City Hall’s Wise Guys segment, where he often mixes it up with former Senator Al D’Amato.
He is now on indefinite leave from the program; the New York Daily News also said Monday it will no longer run his occasional columns. Weiner, whose latest exchange included a suggestive photo in which his young son is visible, has recently declined to discuss his online habits.
He did however delete his Twitter account on Monday.