Anthony David Weiner (/ˈwiːnər/ born September 4, 1964) is an American former politician who served as the U.S. representative for New York's 9th congressional district from 1999 until his resignation in 2011.

[9] He attended the State University of New York at Plattsburgh,[10] and spent his junior year as an exchange student at the College of William & Mary, where he was friends with future comic and political commentator Jon Stewart.

[7] After he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1985, Weiner joined the staff of then–United States Representative and current Senator Charles Schumer.

[12] After working for Schumer for six years, Weiner got his first chance at political office in 1991 when the New York City Council was expanded from 35 to 51 seats.

Weiner was considered a long-shot because he faced strong competition in the Democratic primary elections from two other candidates who had better local name recognition and funding.

Controversy ensued in the last weeks of the campaign after Weiner's campaign anonymously spread leaflets around the district that had alleged ties between Cohen and the so-called "Jackson-Dinkins agenda"; the leaflets referred to the Crown Heights riots earlier in the year, after which white residents had seen Jesse Jackson, who became notorious for his earlier remarks about New York City as "Hymietown", and then-mayor David Dinkins as having been beholden to the predominantly African-American rioters and therefore endangering whites.

[13][14] Weiner's win in the November general election was widely considered a formality because he had no opposition in the heavily Democratic district.

He also started a program to put at-risk and troubled teens to work cleaning up graffiti, and he backed development plans that helped revive the historic Sheepshead Bay area.

[5][15] In 1998, Weiner ran for Congress from New York's 9th congressional district, which was the seat held by his mentor, Chuck Schumer, who had run successfully for the U.S. Senate.

[29] In February 2010, he proclaimed to Congress that "every single Republican I have ever met in my entire life is a wholly owned subsidiary of the insurance industry.

He claimed, "This new law will give states and localities a major revenue boost by cracking down on the illegal sale of tobacco", and added that "Every day we delay is another day that New York loses significant amounts of tax revenue and kids have easy access to tobacco products sold over the Internet.

"[32] On July 29, 2010, Weiner criticized Republicans for opposing the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which would provide for funds for sick first responders to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

[35] In 2002, Weiner voiced strong criticism of the removal of the World Trade Center debris without investigating it for determining the causes of the collapses of Tower 1, 2 and 7.

He added that the delegation "should start packing their little Palestinian terrorist bags", and went on to claim that Human Rights Watch, The New York Times, and Amnesty International are all biased against Israel.

Weiner admitted he pushed his aides hard but said that his speaking at a high decibel level was part of his background and style, not necessarily shouting.

Though some former employees were critical of his supervisory practices, others praised him for his intense involvement in constituent concerns and readiness to fight for New York City.

[41] A 2010 license plate check by the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call showed that Weiner's vehicles were among several owned by members of Congress that had unpaid tickets.

Weiner's past due fines, which spanned three years and totaled more than $2,000, were among the highest uncovered by Roll Call and were paid in full shortly after publication of the article.

[45][46] After several days of denying that he had posted the image,[47][48] Weiner held a press conference at which he admitted he had "exchanged messages and photos of an explicit nature with about six women over the last three years" and apologized for his earlier denials.

[54] A special election was held on September 13, 2011, to replace him; Republican businessman Bob Turner defeated Democrat David Weprin to fill Weiner's seat.

[57] On August 28, 2016, the New York Post reported that Weiner had sexted another woman, including sending a picture while he was lying in bed with his young son.

Abedin announced her intention by stating, "After long and painful consideration and work on my marriage, I have made the decision to separate from my husband.

[64] On January 31, 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported that federal prosecutors were weighing whether or not to bring child pornography charges against Weiner over the incident.

Initial election returns had Fernando Ferrer with 39.95% of the vote, just shy of the 40% required to avoid a runoff against Weiner, who had 28.82%, but Weiner conceded, citing the need for party unity and denying rumors that various high-ranking New York Democrats, such as Senator Chuck Schumer and New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, had urged him to concede.

[78] However, in May 2009, after the New York City Council voted to extend term limits for Mayor Bloomberg, Weiner announced his decision not to run against the popular incumbent.

[79] By July 2010, Weiner had raised $3.9 million for a potential campaign in the 2013 mayoral election, and was considered a leading contender in early polls.

[80] According to the New York City Campaign Finance Board website, as of the March 2013 filing deadline Weiner had raised over $5.1 million, the second most among registered mayoral candidates, behind only Christine Quinn.

[81] In an interview with The New York Times Magazine published online on April 10, 2013, Weiner said he would like to "ask people to give me a second chance" and was considering a run for mayor.

[95] From July to September 2015, Weiner worked for MWW Group, a PR firm in New York City as a part-time consultant to serve on the company's board of advisors.