Anthony Weiner Pleads Guilty In Sexting Case. Says He Has ‘Sickness’
The embattled former Democratic congressman entered a guilty plea at a Manhattan federal court. He pled guilty to one charge of transferring obscene material to a minor. “I am guilty, your honor,” Weiner said, and then, with tears in his eyes, added: “I accept full responsibility for my conduct, I have a sickness, but I do not have an excuse.”
As part of the plea deal, Weiner agreed to a sentence of 21-27 months in prison and to registering as a sex offender. He was then released on bail until his September 8 sentencing.
The charge relates to Weiner’s “sexting” scandal in which he exchanged sexually explicit text messages with a 15-years old girl last year. Weiner was married at the time to Huma Abedin, a senior aide to Hillary Clinton and the FBI investigation into his sex messaging led to claims, that were later dismissed, regarding classified information in emails shared by Clinton with Abedin.
Weiner, 52, resigned from Congress in 2011 after a previous “sexting” case was revealed. He later ran a failed campaign for mayor of New York.
Contact Nathan Guttman at guttman@forward.com or on Twitter @nathanguttman
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