Huma Abedin tells all: Weiner’s estranged wife reportedly seeks book deal for $2 million

The longtime Hillary Clinton aide might be joining the Obamas and Bidens in the literary world

Published April 14, 2017 1:00AM (EDT)

File-This Oct. 16, 2015, file photo shows Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to Hillary Rodham Clinton, speaking to the media after testifying at a closed-door hearing of the House Benghazi Committee, on Capitol Hill, in Washington.  Abedin said in a legal proceeding that Clinton did not want the State Department emails that she sent and received on her private computer server to be accessible to "anybody," according to transcripts released Wednesday, June 29, 2016. Her comments provided new insights into the highly unusual decision by the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate to operate a private email server in her basement to conduct government business as secretary of state.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon,File) (AP)
File-This Oct. 16, 2015, file photo shows Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to Hillary Rodham Clinton, speaking to the media after testifying at a closed-door hearing of the House Benghazi Committee, on Capitol Hill, in Washington. Abedin said in a legal proceeding that Clinton did not want the State Department emails that she sent and received on her private computer server to be accessible to "anybody," according to transcripts released Wednesday, June 29, 2016. Her comments provided new insights into the highly unusual decision by the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate to operate a private email server in her basement to conduct government business as secretary of state. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon,File) (AP)

Huma Abedin is telling all — or, more accurately, she will be if she’s paid $2 million. The estranged wife of former congressman Anthony Weiner has been meeting with literary agents, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Abedin, a longtime Hillary Clinton aide, is setting herself up to score a book deal and, if all goes well, a couple million dollars in the process. Her new project reportedly details Weiner’s sexting scandal and offers a behind-the-scenes look at Clinton’s presidential campaign. Perhaps more interesting, Abedin’s imagined project reflects on how her personal and professional lives became intertwined.

THR cites an unnamed source who said Abedin might skip getting representation and instead sell directly to a publisher. She has been meeting with top publishers for the past few weeks and seems to have Clinton’s blessing.

Abedin, 40, has remained quiet when it comes to her husband’s many wrongdoings. Apart from making an appearance in the 2016 documentary “Weiner,” she has given no interviews and has made no statements about the scandals.

“This will be an interesting sale to see who wants to know what [Weiner] said to her each time he was caught,” Esther Newberg, a literary agent at ICM Partners, told THR. “If she reveals a lot, it turns your stomach. If she doesn’t, she puts the publisher in a bad place.”

In case you somehow missed the Weiner scandal that brewed for years, here are the basics. It was revealed back in 2013 that Weiner, an eminent Democratic congressman at the time, was sending lewd photos of himself to a girl he met on Twitter.

Abedin filed for separation in August 2016 after Weiner was busted sending a racy photo to a different girl, this time next to his sleeping son. Abedin made the announcement and asked for privacy shortly after the news broke:

“After long and painful consideration and work on my marriage, I have made the decision to separate from my husband. Anthony and I remain devoted to doing what is best for our son, who is the light of our life. During this difficult time, I ask for respect for our privacy.”

Time may not heal all wounds, but it does make it easier to open up. Abedin, the ultimate beacon of silence, is proof.


By Tatiana Baez

Tatiana Baez is mostly Salon's social media coordinator, but she also writes here and elsewhere. She lives in Brooklyn and tweets.

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Anthony Weiner Books Hillary Clinton Huma Abedin Publishing