Ms Hillary Clinton’s closest aide, Ms Huma Abedin, said on Monday (Aug 29) that she meant to separate from her husband, Mr Anthony D Weiner, the former congressman and New York City mayoral candidate, after it was reported that Mr Weiner had exchanged suggestive images and messages with a woman while the couple’s young child was beside him.
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Weiner didn’t return a call, text or email from The Associated Press. He suggested that Weiner might have compromised national security, but offered no evidence to support the allegation.
“I only worry for the country in that Hillary Clinton was careless and negligent in allowing Weiner to have such close proximity to highly classified information”, Trump said in a statement. Ms Abedin, now vice chairwoman of the campaign, served on both of Ms Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns – a mark of loyalty and trust that Ms Clinton prizes – and is often referred to as a surrogate daughter.
Congressional Republicans have raised questions about whether Abedin skirted ethics guidelines during her 2012 work as an adviser to Clinton while she also worked for Teneo Holdings, a consulting firm co-founded by Doug Band, a former aide to former President Bill Clinton.
One of the photos featured Weiner posing topless next to what appears to be his sleeping son, Jordon.
The New York Post published on its front page on Monday images that Weiner allegedly sent to a woman he had been exchanging sexting messages with since early 2015.
Later on Monday, Trump released his own statement on the issue, praising Abedin’s decision, but criticizing what he called Clinton’s “bad judgment”. Abedin will have to focus – and try not to think about her personal problems. After initially claiming his account was hacked, Weiner acknowledged inappropriate online communication with several women.
I recalled that two years ago, in a book that I wrote titled “Blood Feud”, I wrestled with the unusual Weiner-Abedin-Clinton triangle. In 2011, the former congressman was forced to resign after it was discovered that he sent sexually suggestive pictures to at least 6 women via Twitter.
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Still, Abedin said, “I love him, I have forgiven him, I believe in him, and. we are moving forward”. Weiner lost the Democratic primary. “During this hard time, I ask for respect for our privacy”, she added. While there are various approaches people can try to change such behavior, she noted, “they have to really be willing to stop”.
