In this Jan. 5, 2011, file photo, Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., and his wife, Huma Abedin, aide to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, are pictured after a ceremonial swearing in of the 112th Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington. Saddened by the disclosure of her husband’s online sexual antics, Abedin, is on a weeklong overseas trip with her boss, as another disclosure puts her even more in the unwelcome public eye: She is pregnant. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)NEW YORK – Saddened by the disclosure of her husband’s online sexual antics, Rep. Anthony Weiner’s wife, Huma Abedin, is on a weeklong overseas trip with her boss, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, as another disclosure puts her even more in the unwelcome public eye: She is pregnant.
It was the latest twist in a series of eye-popping revelations surrounding Weiner, D-N.Y., and the sex scandal that could force the onetime rising political star to resign from Congress. A spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday that he had sent explicit photographs to women, as an X-rated photo Weiner purportedly took of himself made its way around several online gossip sites.
Sources close to Weiner and Abedin disclosed Wednesday that the couple is expecting a child, their first. Philippe Reines, a State Department spokesman and Abedin friend, had no comment.
The unfolding saga has cast an unwanted glare on the glamorous Abedin, one of the most private members of Clinton’s intensely loyal team of advisers.
Starting work as an intern for Clinton in 1996, Abedin helped the former first lady weather the storm surrounding President Bill Clinton’s affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and his impeachment in 1998 by Congress. But the roles have shifted, and it’s now Clinton’s turn to offer solace to Abedin.