Anthony Weiner, the disgraced former congressman from New York, pleaded guilty to transferring obscene materials to a minor in a federal court in Manhattan on Friday. The expected plea agreement capped an FBI investigation into Weiner’s relationship with a 15-year-old girl. Weiner, 52, could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The judge said he will be required to register as a sex offender. Weiner also agreed to not appeal any prison sentence between 21 and 27 months.

In court on Friday, Weiner issued the following statement:

Beginning with my service in Congress and continuing into the first half of last year, I have compulsively sought attention from women who contacted me on social media, and I engaged with many of them in both sexual and non-sexual conversation. These destructive impulses brought great devastation to family and friends, and destroyed my life’s dream of public service. And yet I remained in denial even as the world around me fell apart.

Last September, the girl anonymously shared her story with British tabloid The Daily Mail. She said Weiner had sent her sexually explicit text messages and photographs. She said Weiner was aware that she was a minor. That report came just months after Weiner was embroiled in another sexting scandal that led to a separation with his wife, Huma Abedin, a close aide to Hillary Clinton.

The FBI’s investigation into Weiner’s communications with the 15-year-old girl also affected the presidential campaign–Weiner’s electronic devices contained emails pertinent to the FBI’s investigation into Clinton’s private email server. Recently fired FBI Director James Comey sent a controversial letter to Congress, in the days before the November 8 election, saying that the FBI, while investigating Weiner, found new emails that “appear to be pertinent to the [Clinton] investigation.”

The FBI determined the newly-discovered emails didn’t contain any new information, but Clinton recently blamed the eleventh-hour disclosure as central to her election defeat.

Weiner’s political career crumbled in 2011, when his first sexting scandal went public. He had been a Democratic representative from New York since 1999. Despite his tarnished reputation, he ran for mayor of New York City in 2013. His bid was derailed by yet another sexting scandal.

According to an Associated Press report, Weiner was crying in court as he apologized to the girl, saying, “I have a sickness, but I do not have an excuse.”

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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The inspector general for the Department of Justice said Thursday that he will conduct an inquiry into the actions FBI Director James Comey took during his investigation of Hillary Clinton’s email server. Comey’s actions, especially the letter he sent to Congress 11 days before the election, roiled Clinton and her supporters, and instantly put Comey on the hot seat. Clinton and her aides claim that the letter turned thousands of undecided voters against her, and ultimately cost her the election.

Michael Horowitz, the inspector general, will examine three actions Comey took in the months, weeks, and days leading up to Election Day: the July news conference in which Comey called Clinton “extremely careless,” but decided not to indict her; the letter Comey sent to Congress in late October, which announced the discovery of potentially relevant emails; and the letter Comey sent to Congress on November 5, which said that those emails did not include damaging information.

In a statement, Horowitz said the inquiry is “in response to requests from numerous Chairmen and Ranking Members of Congressional oversight committees, various organizations, and members of the public.” Horowitz has the power to recommend a criminal investigation into Comey’s handling of the Clinton investigation.

More likely, he will be determining whether Comey, a Republican appointed by President Barack Obama, violated Justice Department rules or demonstrated poor judgment. It is unclear what sort of punishment, if any, could be dealt if Horowitz finds that Comey acted irresponsibly. An internal memo sent to DOJ officials in 2012 directs employees, including the FBI director, to enforce laws “in a neutral and impartial manner.”

All parties involved in the matter expressed support for the watchdog’s probe. Comey, in a statement, said Horowitz is “professional and independent,” adding: “I hope very much he is able to share his conclusions and observations with the public because everyone will benefit from thoughtful evaluation and transparency.” Brian Fallon, Clinton’s former press secretary who was outraged by Comey’s late-October letter, echoed that support.

“This is highly encouraging and to be expected, given Director Comey’s drastic deviation from Justice Department protocol,” he said. “A probe of this sort, however long it takes to conduct, is utterly necessary in order to take the first step to restore the FBI’s reputation as a nonpartisan institution.” Trump, in a pair of tweets on Friday morning, said based on the information the FBI had regarding Clinton’s emails, she should have never been allowed to run. “She lost because she campaigned in the wrong states – no enthusiasm!” he added.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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