WASHINGTON (NYTIMES) - The revelation on Friday (Oct 28) that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found a trove of e-mails related to its investigation into presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server appear to be the latest fallout from an unlikely source: Mr Anthony Weiner, a Democrat who once represented New York in Congress and also ran for mayor.
The FBI had been investigating the contact by Mr Weiner, whose political career collapsed a few years ago because of his online indiscretions, with a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina.
On Friday, federal law enforcement officials said e-mails related to the Clinton case had been found on at least one electronic device once shared by Mr Weiner and his estranged wife Huma Abedin, who is a top aide to Mrs Clinton.
Here are key moments in Mr Weiner's long fall from grace.
1. Resignation From Congress
Mr Weiner's descent in the public's eye began in May 2011, when an explicit picture was sent out to the world from his Twitter account.
Mr Weiner initially denied responsibility, saying he had been hacked. But the scandal refused to die down, as details about lewd exchanges the congressman had conducted with other women online trickled out.
On June 16, he announced his resignation from Congress at a news conference in Brooklyn. "I am here today to again apologize for the personal mistakes I have made and the embarrassment I have caused," he said.
2. Mayoral Run
Mr Weiner announced that he would join the race to succeed Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York in spring 2013, two years after his career had been all but written off.
There were some encouraging signs that Mr Weiner was on his way to a political resurrection. He rose steadily in the polls and was doing well with fundraising early on.
But the emergence of more explicit online messages forced Mr Weiner to admit that his habit of sending sexual images and text messages to female fans had continued at least a year after he left Congress.
Mr Weiner stayed in the Democratic primary despite calls to drop out, but he ended up receiving less than 5 per cent of the vote.
3. Separation From Huma Abedin
Mr Weiner's wife, Ms Abedin, said in August that the couple would separate after another revelation, this time in The New York Post, that he had continued to exchange illicit online messages with a woman.
In the midst of a racy conversation with the woman, Mr Weiner sent a photo of his crotch as he lay next to the couple's four-year-old son.
The New York City Administration for Children's Services opened an investigation into his treatment of the boy, Mr Weiner later said.
4. Federal Investigation
Less than a month later, federal authorities issued a subpoena for records in the wake of new allegations published in another tabloid, DailyMail.com, that Mr Weiner had engaged in sexually explicit conversations with a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina.
5. Hillary Clinton E-mail probe
The FBI said that it was looking into new e-mails related to the Clinton case on Friday, delivering a jolt to the presidential campaign just 11 days before the election.
Federal law enforcement officials said the e-mails that appeared pertinent to the Clinton case had been found after the FBI seized at least one electronic device once used by Mr Weiner and Ms Abedin.
