Anthony Weiner Sentenced to 21 Months in Prison By Bob Van Voris and Chris Dolmetsch September 25, 2017, 10:43 AM EDT Updated on September 25, 2017, 12:49 PM EDT Bloomberg Anthony Weiner was sentenced to 21 months in prison for exchanging sexually explicit messages with a 15-year-old girl, capping the spectacular fall of the former congressman whose self-destructive behavior wrecked his career and marriage and played a role in the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign. “The crime I committed was my rock bottom,” a tearful Weiner told U.S. District Judge Denise Cote. He was ordered to surrender to prison on Nov. 6. “I was a very sick man for a long period of time, but I am also responsible for the damage I have done,” he said. “I have no excuse.” Weiner pleaded guilty in May to one count of transmitting obscene material to a high-school girl in North Carolina. An FBI investigation into Weiner’s sexually explicit messages turned up emails that had been sent to his wife, Huma Abedin, then a top aide to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. That prompted the FBI to reopen its investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server while serving as Secretary of State. “This is a serious crime that deserves serious punishment,” Cote said as she handed down the sentence. “She was a minor. She was a victim. She is entitled to the law’s full protection.” Weiner broke down weeping, covering his face with his hand as Cote delivered the sentence before a packed courtroom in lower Manhattan. Neither Weiner nor his lawyer, Arlo Devlin-Brown, responded to reporters’ questions after the 46-minute hearing. Good riddance.
