The Chronicles of Carlos Danger
As a fractious and often sordid presidential campaign reaches its denouement, Hillary Clinton may be reflecting upon the grim irony that it is Anthony Weiner who has provided what could be the final, miserable twist.
Weiner’s predilection for sending sexually laden text messages derailed his career in Congress and his chances of becoming mayor of New York City, but his soap-opera-style re-emergence in the 11th hour of the presidential race may yet trigger the greatest political carnage of all.
His appearance comes in an election already defined by allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour by Clinton’s husband, former president Bill Clinton, and by the Republican nominee, Donald Trump.
On Friday, Clinton called on the FBI to “immediately” explain its announcement that it was reviewing a new batch of emails relating to her, after a review of her use of a private email server was closed in July.
Then, the FBI director, James Comey, said Clinton had been “extremely careless” in her use of a private server while secretary of state, but said there were no grounds for a criminal investigation.“It is extraordinary that we would see something like this just 11 days out from a presidential election.”
Vice-president Joe Biden was more direct, telling CNN’s Michael Smerconish in an interview broadcast on Saturday: “Well, oh God, Anthony Weiner. I should not comment on Anthony Weiner. I’m not a big fan. I wasn’t before he got in trouble.”
Weiner is being investigated by the FBI and police in North Carolina over text messages sent to a 15-year-old girl. In the wake of the latest allegations against him, Abedin, who has herself been a target for criticism from Republicans for some time, separated from Weiner. She has continued in her role as Clinton’s closest ally on the campaign trail.
Once seen as a rising Democratic star, Weiner was forced to resign from Congressin 2011 after he sent a picture of his penis, clad in his boxer shorts, to a 21-year-old student via Twitter. After he initially denied involvement in the messages, further pictures sent by Weiner emerged and he stepped down, at the urging of Barack Obama.
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