Why People Think Anthony Weiner Is Back On The Same App He Used To Sext A 15-Year-Old Girl
Even after signing on to the sex offender registry.
Getty Images New York City’s almost-mayor, Anthony Weiner, has gone back to the scene of the crime — i.e., transferring obscene material to a minor — for which he was convicted and served time.
Weiner, 56, has reportedly returned to Confide, the encrypted messaging app he used to sext a 15-year-old girl in 2016, subsequently burning his political career to the ground.
Weiner was previously caught sending explicit messages to the mino through the same app during an FBI investigation and was convicted in 2017.
Users of the app who already had Weiner’s personal email in their contacts are said to have been notified of Weiner’s return to Confide with an alert message that read: “New friend. Anthony Weiner joined Confide. Send Anthony a message now.”
The former congressman has allegedly confirmed to Page Six that the account does, indeed, belong to him.
Why is Anthony Weiner back on Confide, the same app he used to sext a minor?
We're not exactly sure why he prefers to use Confide, but fresh off his 2019 release from prison, Weiner, who will remain on the sex offender registry for the rest of his life, clearly wasn’t deterred by his previous experience on the app.
Weiner reportedly confirmed his return to the app, which some use specifically because it allows people to communicate with messages encrypted for privacy and messages disappear right after they’re read, leaving no digital trace.
When asked about the rumors he had rejoined Confide, Weiner told Page Six, “Yeah I got this,” and included with his reply a message from Confide reminding him to view his unread messages.
Weiner’s 2016 sexting scandal effectively ended his career.
Since 2011, Weiner has found himself at the center of various scandals involving lewd photos sent on social media.
He resigned from Congress in 2011 after admitting to having inappropriate relationships with women online.
Then his 2013 run for New York mayor was tarnished by the emergence of more sexually explicit messages, all while Weiner was still married to Hillary Clinton’s aide, Huma Abedin.
Weiner was arrested after being caught sexting an underage girl via the Confide app.
The month after his separation from Abedin, it was reported that Weiner was under investigation for claims that he engaged in sexting with a 15-year-old girl from North Carolina.
The minor stated that the interactions began when she was a high-school sophomore — and before Weiner and Abedin had separated.
The messages contained sexually graphic images, as well as references to “rape fantasies.”
In a plea deal, Weiner pleaded guilty to a single charge of transferring obscene material to a minor. He was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and required to register as a sex offender.
Are Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin still married or are they divorced?
Whether or not Weiner and Abedin are still married or if they are divorced is unclear.
While Abedin stayed steadfastedly by Weiner's side through years of scandal, in August 2016, the couple separated amid more reports of Weiner’s online exchanges.
Abedin filed for a divorce in September of 2017, but withdrew the petition just a few months later in January 2018.
At the time, lawyers for the couple stated they had done so out of a "desire to protect their 6-year-old son by settling outside court," but some experts believed "the real reason could be to shield one another from a potential federal probe."
Given that the recent announcement Abedin's memoir "Both/And: A Life in Many Worlds” will be released on November 2, some are speculating the timing of Weiner's announcement could be a way to garner his possibly-still-wife some publicity.
What is Anthony Weiner doing now?
Earlier this month, it was reported that Weiner had entered a 12-step program for sex addiction and was toying with the idea of writing a book about his experience, which he said he hoped would help other people in his position.
Firm in his belief that there is no point in trying to control his own narrative — because, in his words, "'The narrative’ implies you’re telling a story ... To what end?” — Weiner has says he's currently focused on exploring avenues through which he might be able to profit from his previous scandals.
“Cashing in would be nice,” he told the New York Times, saying he'd like to potentially “sell my own stuff but also to create a new category that lets people buy and sell political collectibles as a form of political fund-raising and contributing.”
Could his seeming incomprehensible return to the same app that got him into hot water be part of his bid to turn it all into money soup?
Only Weiner knows the answer to that for sure.
Alice Kelly is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. Catch her covering all things social justice, news, and entertainment. Keep up with her on Twitter for more.