Weiner’s wife, Huma Abedin, did not appear with him.
Weiner had repeatedly told people that Abedin, a top aide to Hillary Clinton who returned early Wednesday from a week-long State Department trip to Africa, wanted him to fight back and was involved in his political comeback.
But multiple sources described a very different perspective on the part of Abedin, who’s pregnant with their first child. Abedin spent extensive time consulting with Doug Band, Bill Clinton’s top adviser and her best friend, and Band’s wife, sources said, as she tried to make sense of the circumstances her husband had thrust her into. Other sources used one word to described Band and his wife: “Disgusted.”
Abedin reportedly was with Band when she watched Weiner’s press conference admitting his lewd messaging and lying last Monday.
The Clintons, the sources said, and their extended world, are furious and want no contact with Weiner. But they are deeply supportive and protective of Abedin, whom Clinton called a “second” daughter when he officiated her wedding.
“They are livid,” said one source affiliated with Hillary Clinton.
