Anthony Weiner pleads guilty in court to sexting a teenager
The former high-flyer may have to register a sex offender
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Disgraced former Democratic congressman Anthony Weiner has pleaded guilty to a charge of sending obscene material to a teenager, after federal authorities launched a “sexting” investigation.
The former political high-flyer and estranged husband of senior Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin, wept in a New York court and apolologised to the 15-year-old girl.
“I have a sickness, but I do not have an excuse,” said the 52-year-old. He had pleaded guilty to a single charge as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors in New York.
The FBI has been investigating reports that, beginning in January 2016, Mr Weiner, then 51, exchanged sexually explicit messages with a teenage girl in North Carolina.
Mr Weiner, who twice ran unsuccessfully to be New York mayor, could be obliged to register as a convicted sex offender.
The New York Times said the plea agreement covers conduct by Mr Weiner from January through March of last year. A likely result of the plea is that he may have to register as a sex offender, although a final determination has yet to be made. The Associated Press said he agreed to not appeal any sentence between 21 and 27 months in prison.
The FBI began investigating Mr Weiner in September after the North Carolina girl told a tabloid news site that she and the disgraced former politician had exchanged lewd messages for several months. She also accused him of asking her to undress on camera.
The Associated Press, said the investigation led FBI agents to seize his laptop computer, which led to the discovery of a new cache of emails that Democratic presidential candidate Ms Clinton had sent to Ms Abedin.
In October, just days before the election, FBI director James Comey stunned the country by announcing that his agency was reopening its closed investigation into Ms Clinton's handling of State Department business on a private email server so it could analyse the newly discovered correspondence.
Mr Comey announced shortly before the election that the new emails contained nothing to change his view that Ms Clinton could not be charged with a crime. But Ms Clinton partly blamed her election loss to Republican Donald Trump on Mr Comey’s announcement.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments