NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Asked if scandal and prison had changed him, former Congress member and ex-convict Anthony Weiner said, “I think so.”
Weiner, 57, made the comments during an appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity” on Monday, days after starting a new radio show with Guardian Angels founder and former GOP mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, who was also a guest on Hannity’s show.
“You pled guilty, Anthony, to sending obscene materials to a young girl, 15-year-old girl … You served jail time. Have you changed? Are you a different person?” Hannity asked Weiner.
“Well, um, I think so,” Weiner responded. “I don't think anyone can go through that kind of experience—and I think this is probably true of people who have been through other types of adversity—I don't think you go through that type of experience and don't emerge changed.”
“Anthony, wait a minute,” Hannity said, pressing Weiner on his “obscure answer.”
“Have you changed?” the host asked again.
“They can judge for themselves,” Weiner said. “I'm not out to persuade you or anyone else that I've changed.”
Weiner, a Democrat, represented New York’s 9th congressional district for nearly 12 years before resigning in 2011 over lewd photos sent to several women. A 2013 bid for the Democratic mayoral nomination was derailed by new revelations of explicit photos Weiner had sent under the alias Carlos Danger.
Weiner pleaded guilty in 2017 to transferring obscene material to a 15-year-old girl and was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison. He was released from prison and then from a Brooklyn halfway house in 2019.
Weiner told Hannity that his new show is focused on talking about the city, not him or his past.
“I'm not trying to make someone like me, or someone be persuaded of any particular outlook on me. We're going to have some conversations about things going on in New York City and other places, and hopefully, people will tune in to the show. But I'm not terribly interested in trying to make them feel any differently about me.”
Sliwa told Hannity that he believes Weiner, who must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, is “on solid ground” after “his life imploded.”
“Let’s face it, we need to give people a second chance,” Sliwa said. “I think all of us—Democrats and Republicans—we have come to a conclusion that if you’ve done your time, if you’ve paid the price for what you’ve did, it’s time to come back into the fold. And I must tell you, if Anthony Weiner had not had his personal problems, we wouldn’t have had Bill de Blasio for eight years who singlehandedly destroyed our city.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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