(Headline USA) Former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner has filed to run for a seat on the New York City Council, launching a potential political comeback after the Democrat lawmaker’s once-promising career was destroyed by sexting scandals and later a criminal conviction for having illicit online contact with a child.
The scandal cost him his wife, Huma Abedin, who has since married Alexander Soros, the 39-year-old scion of leftist oligarch George Soros. The younger Soros is now overseeing the family business.
Weiner’s lewd exchanges also may have contributed to the downfall of Hillary Clinton after classified materials were found on his laptop, prompting the FBI to reopen its investigation into her ahead of the 2016 election. Abedin was Clinton’s personal assistant at the time and likely was the recipient of messages inappropriately sent and stored on Clinton’s private Chappaqua server, in violation of multiple federal laws.
Despite his notoriety, however, Weiner is now hoping to rise again.
Campaign finance records list a campaign committee that was set up on Friday for the convicted felon called Weiner 25, in addition to listing him as a candidate for a council seat in lower Manhattan.
In a phone conversation Tuesday with the Associated Press, Weiner said he was “still exploring” whether to actually campaign for the office. He said he opened the committee late last week so he could participate in a forum held by the Downtown Independent Democrats later this week.
He referred additional questions to recent statements he made on his weekly radio show, “The Middle with Anthony Weiner,” where he said: “I haven’t decided if I want to do this yet” while considering the personal dynamics of a return to politics.
On his show, Weiner has appeared to come to the defense of President-elect Donald Trump on several issues, suggesting that he would seek to position himself as a centrist candidate—likely a shrewed calculation considering the collateral damage he has inflicted on the Democrats.
He might be able to secure the Democrat nomination by persuading Republicans to vote for him, knowing that he will be a political lightning rod but more moderate than other alternatives.
Weiner represented a congressional district in New York City for about 12 years before he resigned in 2011 after sending lewd photos to several women.
He tried to make a comeback in 2013 to run for mayor but was damaged by new revelations of explicit photos Weiner had sent under the online alias “Carlos Danger.”
Weiner pleaded guilty in 2017 to having illicit online contact with a 15-year-old girl and was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison. He was released in 2019 and was ordered to register as a sex offender.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
