Anthony Weiner pleads guilty to "sexting" a minor
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Former Democratic congressman Anthony Weiner, who has been under FBI investigation since January 2016 for swapping sexually explicit messages with a 15-year-old girl, plead guilty to "transferring obscene material to a minor" in a federal courtroom Friday, per The New York Times.
According to "two people who have been briefed on the matter," Weiner agreed to a plea agreement that will likely result in him registering as a sex offender. He is also expected to face anywhere from zero to 10 years in prison, so there's a chance he may not face any jail time.
Don't forget: During the FBI's investigation into Weiner's "sexting" scandal, in which they searched his computer, authorities found a series of emails to Weiner's wife Huma Abedin, one of Hillary Clinton's top campaign aides. The findings ultimately led to a separate investigation into Clinton's emails, something Clinton credits as being partly responsible for her election loss.
Update: Huma Abedin filed for divorce today after Weiner's court hearing.
His courtroom statement:
Beginning with my service in Congress and continuing into the first half of last year, I have compulsively sought attention from women who contacted me on social media, and I engaged with many of them in both sexual and non-sexual conversations. These destructive impulses brought great devastation to family and friends, and destroyed my life's dream of public service. And yet I remained in denial even as the world around me fell apart.
In late January 2016, I was contacted by and began exchanging online messages with a stranger who said that she was a high school student and who I understood to be 15 years old. Through approximately March 2016, I engaged in obscene communications with this teenager, including sharing explicit images and encouraging her to engage in sexually explicit conduct, just as I had done and continued to do with adult women. I knew this was as morally wrong as it was unlawful.
This fall, I came to grips for the first time with the depths of my sickness. I had hit bottom. I entered intensive treatment, found the strength to take a moral inventory of my defects, and began a program of recovery and mental health treatment that I continue to follow every day.
I accept full responsibility for my conduct. I have a sickness, but I do not have an excuse. I apologize to everyone I have hurt. I apologize to the teenage girl, whom I mistreated so badly. I am committed to making amends to all those I have harmed. Thank you.
