Anthony Weiner’s wife pleads for lenient sentencing for his sex crime conviction
In letter to federal judge, Huma Abedin cites disgraced congressman’s love for the couple’s son
The wife of Anthony Weiner, a disgraced ex-congressman who sent sexual materials to a 15-year-old girl, pleaded with a federal court to show leniency when sentencing her husband, whom she is divorcing.
Huma Abedin, a former aide to Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign, sent her plea last month to US District Court Judge Denise L. Cote, the New York Post reported Thursday. She cited in her request for leniency Weiner’s love for the couple’s five-year-old son, Jordan, and the need to reduce any impact he may suffer from his father’s legal problems.
“Whatever else Anthony has done, he loves” their son, Abedin wrote of Weiner, who is Jewish and who in May admitted to sending obscene material to a 15-year-old girl from his cellphone.
Weiner was a promising politician from New York until he was forced to resign his seat in Congress in 2011 after it was revealed that he had been sending sexual messages and photos to numerous women, including a college student and a Las Vegas blackjack dealer.
Weiner attempted to mount a comeback in 2013 with a run for mayor in New York City. Although he was initially a frontrunner to win the Democratic primary, he lost public support after news broke that he had been carrying on another sexting relationship with 23-year-old Sydney Leathers.
Abedin announced that she was separating from Weiner last summer, after a woman came forward to say Weiner had sent her a provocative photo of his crotch while he was lying in bed with his young son.
The picture prompted New York child protective services to launch an investigation into Weiner, who was a full-time dad while Abedin followed Clinton on the presidential campaign trail.
A month later, news emerged of Weiner’s explicit messages to the 15-year-old girl. The former congressman pleaded guilty on May 19 to sending obscene material to a minor.
Weiner has also asked the judge for leniency in a letter, saying he has gone to rehab, is in recovery and deeply regrets how his actions hurt the 15-year-old girl and his own family.
As part of his deal with the feds, Weiner’s attorneys said they would not appeal any prison sentence below the prosecution’s request of 21 to 27 months.
Abedin filed for divorce the same day her husband pleaded guilty, and the couple attended an initial hearing on Wednesday to ask the court to keep the details of their divorce private. Abedin is requesting full custody of the couple’s son.
The estranged couple arrived at the divorce hearing separately but left together in the same car. They appeared to be on friendly terms while laughing and talking together in the courtroom.
Weiner, 52, will have to register as a sex offender where he works and lives.