Hillary aide splits from husband over sexting scandal

HUMA ABEDIN, Hillary Clinton’s longtime confidante, is separating from Anthony Weiner, her former congressman husband, following his latest sexting scandal.

Explicit photographs Mr Weiner reportedly exchanged with another woman emerged on Sunday. In one he appears to have posed in his underwear alongside his and Abedin’s four-yearold son.

Ms Abedin remained with Mr Weiner following two other high-profile scandals, one which led to his resignation from Congress in 2011 and another which came during his ill-fated run for mayor of New York City in 2013.

Ms Abedin, who is a constant presence by Mrs Clinton’s side on the campaign trail, announced on Monday that she was leaving Mr Weiner.

“After long and painful consideration and work on my marriage, I have made the decision to separate from my husband,” she said in a statement. “Anthony and I remain devoted to doing what is best for our son, who is the light of our life. During this difficult time, I ask for respect for our privacy.”

Donald Trump, Mrs Clinton’s general election opponent, quickly weighed in on the news.

“Huma is making a very wise decision. I know Anthony Weiner well, and she will be far better off without him,” he said in a statement, according to the New York Times.

“I only worry for the country in that Hillary Clinton was careless and negligent in allowing Weiner to have such close proximity to highly classified information,” he added. “Who knows what he learnt and who he told?”

Mr Trump, who has been divorced twice himself, speculated last year that classified information Ms Abedin had access to as a result of her work for Mrs Clinton would be jeopardised because of her marriage to “one of the great sleezebags of our time”.

Ms Abedin, 40, met Mrs Clinton while serving as a White House intern in 1996.