Bill Donohue comments on the news that Anthony Weiner is now being treated for sex addiction:
News reports are focusing on the decision by Anthony Weiner to seek help for cybersex addiction and exhibitionism. Getting lost in the discussion is the most serious aspect of this story: the welfare of the four-year-old son of Weiner and Huma Abedin, Jordan.
It would be helpful to reconsider the timeline.
- August 29: The New York Post breaks a story about Weiner sexting a middle-age woman with a lurid picture of himself; his son was lying next to him in bed.
- August 31: The New York Post runs another story, this time featuring Weiner using his son as a “chick magnet” to lure sexual relations.
- August 31: Citing the stories in the New York Post, I file a formal complaint with the New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), the New York branch of the New York State Office of Children and Family Services. I ask them to investigate Weiner for sexually abusing Jordan.
- August 31: The Daily Mail Online, after questioning a spokesman from the ACS, cites my intervention as the trigger that launched the investigation.
- September 21: The Daily Mail reveals that Weiner was sexting a 15-year-old girl from North Carolina. The FBI is summoned.
- September 22: The New York Police Department (NYPD) commences an investigation of Weiner. While looking for child pornography and related matters relevant to my request—I asked for a probe of Weiner on the grounds that he may have sexually abused his son—the police found hundreds of thousands of emails sent by Abedin to her colleagues, including to Hillary Clinton (on her private server). The NYPD then contacted the FBI.
- September 26: I receive a phone call from ACS saying my request for an investigation of Weiner was approved and was underway.
- September 27: I receive another phone call from ACS, questioning me further regarding my involvement.
- October 3: The FBI seizes Weiner’s laptop, phone and tablet.
- October 28: The FBI-Weiner probe is made public.
Weiner may need treatment for his multiple afflictions, and certainly the teenage girl (Weiner knew she was underage) commands attention. But my interest—the well being of Jordan—cannot be overlooked. After all, if a man is capable of using his own four-year-old son as sexual bait, and doesn’t mind sexting it across state lines, it is not a grand leap to conclude that he may be capable of doing even more heinous acts in private.
Obviously, I never expected that my intervention would evolve into such an incredible story. Now that it has, my interest remains the same—justice. Only now we need justice not only for Jordan, but for everyone associated in any way with Weiner’s sick, and possibly dangerous, behavior.
