Anthony Weiner campaigns for New York City mayor in 2013. (Getty)
Yet another sexting scandal involving former congressman Anthony Weiner has come to light.
The Daily Mail on Wednesday reported that Weiner has been engaged in sexually explicit conversations with an underage girl since January of this year. Weiner in 2013 allegedly chatted with a 17-year-old girl, but those messages were not explicit in nature.
“If the reports are true, it’s possibly criminal and it is sick,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters, according to the New York Daily News. “And frankly, I’ve heard enough about Anthony Weiner and I think that goes for all New Yorkers.”
Here’s everything you need to know about the newest Anthony Weiner sexting scandal.
1. The Girl Was 15 Years Old
Anthony Weiner at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. (Getty)
The most important fact that separates this newest scandal from the previous ones is that the girl Weiner was allegedly chatting with is underage.
The Daily Mail reports that the girl, who has not been named due to her age, was a sophomore in high school when she and Weiner began chatting, and Weiner was allegedly aware of this. In one text message exchange, he asks her what high school she goes to, and in another, the girl jokes about the two of them being on Dateline.
Weiner also reportedly asked her to dress in school-girl outfits on video chats.
The girl told The Daily Mail that she once asked Weiner if he talked to any other underage girls, and he said that he didn’t as far as he knew. She also said she did not think of him as her boyfriend, and there was an understanding that he was having relationships with other women.
2. They Began Talking in January 2016
Anthony Weiner makes calls at his campaign headquarters while running for mayor in 2013. (Getty)
The Daily Mail’s report specifies that Weiner and this girl began talking in January 2016. She tells the outlet that she reached out to him through Twitter because she was interested in politics and wanted to see what he was like.
This means the relationship began during the same month the documentary Weiner, about the former congressman’s fall from grace, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
The girl was also evidently interested in writing a book about Weiner.
“Why did I message you [in January]?” she wrote in an email to Weiner. “I was studying you – for a book of course. You were my Hannibal Lecter.”
3. Weiner Allegedly Pressured Her to Engage in Rape Fantasies
Anthony Weiner and his wife, Huma Abedin, hold a press conference after another sexting scandal. (Getty)
The Daily Mail reports that Weiner pressed this girl to engage in rape fantasies. She told the outlet that this was the only time she was made uncomfortable by his exchanges.
“He had some rape fantasies,” she told The Daily Mail. “It would just be him showing up at my house when my dad was out of town. And just start undressing me, being forceful, asking me if I want to be dominated, strange questions.”
The girl says she would quickly change the subject when Weiner began to shift the conversation in this direction.
The girl also says Weiner would complain that his wife would not have sex with him.
“When we would Skype, he would tell me that he was very lonely and that it had been a year since he and his wife [Huma] had sex, and that she really didn’t pay him any attention,” she told The Daily Mail. “We would talk, just chatting for about 30 minutes and it would lead to more sexual things…asking me to undress…he’d comment on my body. He asked me about masturbation, and that kind of thing.”
Huma Abedin, who works for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, separated from Anthony Weiner in August 2016.
4. The Girl Told Her Father About Weiner in April
Anthony Weiner at The New York City Mayoral Forum on Cultural Sensitivity & Tolerance at the Museum of Tolerance in August 2013. (Getty)
The girl says she told her father and her teacher about the relationship with Weiner in April of this year because she started to feel guilty about it.
“I was scared. I felt bad for talking to [Weiner],” she told The Daily Mail. “I felt a little guilty and I wrote [my dad] a letter telling him.”
She and Weiner still talked after that, and Weiner reportedly pressured her to lie to her father and teacher by saying that the relationship was not romantic in nature. She agreed to do this, but instead sent emails to fake accounts and forwarded them to Weiner so it appeared she had done what he asked.
She continued to talk to him until July, not long before The New York Post reported on Weiner’s latest sexting scandal.
“After seeing what he did with his son having him in the picture that was released, I think that he’s very disgusting and he needs help,” the girl told The Daily Mail.
The girl’s father said he was furious to hear about this and that if he ever met Weiner, he would probably go to jail.
“There wouldn’t be any words,” the man told The Daily Mail after being asked what he would do if he saw Weiner in person. “There would be no words. I hope I never come in contact with him. I’ll be in jail if I come into contact with him.”
5. Weiner Has Not Denied the Report
Anthony Weiner announces his campaign for New York City mayor in May 2013. (Getty)
The Daily Mail says they reached out to Weiner about this report and he did not deny it but did not comment on any specifics.
Instead, Weiner issued a statement to the outlet saying he is regretful of his actions.
“I have repeatedly demonstrated terrible judgement about the people I have communicated with online and the things I have sent,” he said in a statement to the outlet. “I am filled with regret and heartbroken for those I have hurt.”
The Daily Mail also reports that the girl Weiner had been talking to has since struggled with depression and has been seeing a counselor.
“She’s a bright girl, very smart, so this has somewhat dulled the light that she had previous to this…it’s gut-wrenching to see somebody take that away,” her father told them.