Anthony Weiner’s Sexting Sparked Clinton Probe

On Friday, after the FBI announced it was reopening its investigation of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's private email server usage, it was reported that new emails were discovered while investigating Anthony Weiner's sexts. According to the New York Times, federal law enforcement officials said the messages were "discovered after the FBI seized electronic devices belonging to Huma Abedin and her husband, Anthony Weiner."

Abedin is considered one of Clinton's top aides. Her husband, Weiner, resigned from Congress in disgrace after he was caught sexting other women in June 2011. When he attempted to run for mayor of New York City in 2013, Weiner was again caught sexting. In September, after the Daily Mail reported that Weiner had been sexting with a 15-year-old girl (Weiner has apologized and claimed he was victim of a "hoax"), the Associated Press reported that an FBI task force in New York was investigating, as was the U.S. attorney for the Western District of North Carolina in Charlotte. The 15-year-old girl with whom Weiner allegedly exchanged the illicit messages lives in North Carolina.

Abedin had already announced the couple had separated before the alleged exchanges with an underage teenager broke — after the New York Post reported in August that Weiner had been sexting with another woman, including sending an image while their 4-year-old son, Jordan, was lying next to him.

It is unclear how long the FBI's new investigation will take, as Comey noted in his letter to congressional chairmen announcing the bureau was reopening the probe. Moreover, Comey also said in his letter he "cannot yet assess whether or not this material may be significant," but did note the newly discovered emails "appear to be pertinent" to the initial probe of how Clinton handled classified intel over email.

The FBI had closed its initial probe in July, with Comey stating that while Clinton had been "extremely careless" in her handling of classified intel over email, she would not be charged with any crimes.