FILE - In this July 24, 2013 file photo, New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner leaves his apartment building in New York. Disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner has acknowledged he communicated... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this July 24, 2013 file photo, New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner leaves his apartment building in New York. Disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner has acknowledged he communicated... (Associated Press) 
 
 NEW YORK (AP) — Online communications between disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner and a 15-year-old girl are being investigated by law enforcement agencies in New York and North Carolina, officials said Thursday. 
 
 The office of Jill Westmoreland Rose, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of North Carolina in Charlotte, has "begun investigative efforts," a spokeswoman said. An FBI task force in New York designed to combat the sexual exploitation of children also is investigating, according to a law enforcement official who wasn't authorized to discuss an ongoing case and spoke on the condition of anonymity. 
 
 The investigations were launched after an online outlet, DailyMail.com, on Wednesday published an interview with the girl in which she describes online and text exchanges with Weiner that went on for several months this year. The girl said that during a Skype chat Weiner asked her to undress and touch herself. 
 
 Weiner, a Democrat who resigned from Congress in 2011 amid a sexting scandal, didn't return text or email messages seeking comment on Thursday. 
 
 But in a statement he gave to The Associated Press on Wednesday he said he had "likely been the subject of a hoax," and he provided an email written by the girl in which she recants her story. He also apologized, noting he had "repeatedly demonstrated terrible judgment about the people I have communicated with online and the things I have sent." 
 
 The girl, whose identity the Daily Mail didn't reveal, said she told her father and a teacher about the relationship. She said she wrote the email because Weiner asked her to but never sent it. 
 
 A spokeswoman for the FBI and a spokesman for federal prosecutors in Manhattan declined to comment. 
 
 Weiner is married to Huma Abedin, an aide to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and has a young son with her. He resigned from Congress after it was revealed he had been exchanging sexually explicit messages with multiple women. 
 
 He then unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2013 and was leading several polls until it was revealed he had continued his questionable behavior. Abedin left him this month after revelations he had sent more sexually charged messages to another woman. ||||| Anthony Weiner is facing hard time — unless his lawyers can strike a good deal. 
 
 Attorneys for the disgraced former congressman are trying to talk prosecutors out of going forward with child pornography charges that could land Weiner behind bars for at least 15 years, according to The Wall Street Journal. 
 
 The charges stem from sexually explicit messages and images he allegedly exchanged with a 15-year-old girl. 
 
 Sources told the newspaper that Weiner’s lawyers have been in talks with federal prosecutors for weeks, angling for a plea deal. But officials from the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan and FBI agents have not backed off. 
 
 Federal judge orders release of Weiner, Abedin search warrants 
 
 The most serious charge, production of child pornography, carries a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence. But The Journal said prosecutors are considering other charges that include receipt of child pornography, which carries a minimum five-year sentence. 
 
 A North Carolina teen came forward last year to say that Weiner, 52, had been exchanging explicit messages with her. 
 
 The girl said she blew the whistle after seeing reports of Weiner sending pics to another woman with his toddler son in the background. 
 
 Lawyers for Anthony Weiner are trying to talk prosecutors out of seeking child porn charges against the former congressman. (Richard Drew/AP) 
 
 The teen has claimed he encouraged her to role-play rape fantasies with him and to say his name while touching herself. 
 
 Teen blasts FBI boss for timing of renewed Clinton email probe 
 
 Weiner reportedly went by the name “T-Dog” while texting the teen and used an encryption app that erases messages and pictures as soon as they’re seen. 
 
 In one shirtless photo sent to the girl, Weiner’s hand is gripping his genitals. 
 
 Weiner, who has said he might be the victim of a hoax, could not be immediately reached for comment. 
 
 The investigation follows a series of public embarrassments that cost Weiner his political career and his marriage — and may have helped damage Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. 
 
 Weiner, a Queens Democrat, resigned from Congress in 2011 after a lurid sexting scandal involving a crotch shot that he posted on Twitter. 
 
 Weiner sexted a 15-year-old high school girl for months, allegedly writing her lewd messages and sending her shirtless pics of himself. 
 
 A testy Weiner insisted to reporters at the time that his account had been hacked. Days later, he came clean and resigned. 
 
 In an agonizing press conference, Weiner admitted to carrying on inappropriate online relationships with a half dozen women. 
 
 Two years later, he attempted a political comeback, but his bid for New York City mayor imploded when more online exchanges with women surfaced, including messages he traded with a woman named Sydney Leathers under the pseudonym “Carlos Danger.” 
 
 Weiner recently spent time at a pricey Tennessee sex rehab facility, after his wife, former Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, announced that she wanted a divorce. 
 
 The clinic reportedly offers counseling for patients grappling with a wide range of sex addictions — cybersex and exhibitionism, anonymous sex and pornography. 
 
 Abedin announced their separation in late August after Weiner was caught sending a lewd selfie that showed his 4-year-old son lying next to him in bed. 
 
 Daily News front page for Sept. 22, 2016. (New York Daily News) 
 
 They have been married for six years. 
 
 Investigators seized Weiner’s electronic devices, including a laptop and a cell phone, as part of the probe. 
 
 The investigation uncovered emails on his laptop that were sent by his estranged wife. 
 
 The files briefly prompted FBI Director James Comey to reopen an investigation into Clinton’s emails out of concern the shared computer might have had classified documents. 
 
 Comey quickly closed the case without any charges, but Democrats said the attention might have contributed to President Trump’s win. 
 
 Sign up for BREAKING NEWS Emails privacy policy Thanks for subscribing! ||||| Anthony Weiner will finally be cut off. 
 
 The pervy ex-pol whose years-long self-destructive sexting run sabotaged his own blossoming political career and marriage and helped torpedo Hillary Clinton’s shot at the White House will plead guilty Friday to a charge of transferring obscene material to a minor, possibly sending him to prison. 
 
 Weiner was taken into FBI custody Friday morning, a source told the Daily News, and he will enter the plea in a federal courtroom in Manhattan at 11:00 a.m. 
 
 The 52-year-old disgraced former congressman had been under federal investigation for having allegedly exchanged sexually explicit messages and images with a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina in 2016. 
 
 Anthony Weiner has been under federal investigation for having allegedly exchanged sexuall explicit messages and images with a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina. (Richard Drew/AP) 
 
 Weiner could now face up to 10 years in prison for the charge and will likely have to register as a sex offender, but he could also avoid prison altogether. 
 
 A federal judge will determine his sentence at a later date. 
 
 Earlier this year, Weiner’s lawyers had reportedly been in talks with federal prosecutors for weeks, angling for a plea deal to avoid the most serious possible charge, production of child pornography, which would have carried a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence. 
 
 Weiner's estranged wife, Huma Abedin (l.), is a senior aide to Hillary Clinton. (Andrew Harnik/AP) 
 
 The expected plea stems from Weiner’s most recent sexting scandal. Last year, a North Carolina teen came forward last year to say that he had been exchanging explicit messages with her. 
 
 The girl said she decided to go public with their exchanges after seeing reports of Weiner sending pics to another woman with his toddler son in the background. 
 
 The teen has claimed he encouraged her to role-play rape fantasies with him and to say his name while touching herself. 
 
 Weiner's 2013 mayoral hopes were dashed in by the emergence of fresh scandal. (Andrew Savulich/New York Daily News) 
 
 Weiner reportedly went by the name “T-Dog” while texting the teen and used an encryption app that erases messages and pictures as soon as they’re seen. 
 
 In one shirtless photo sent to the girl, Weiner’s hand is gripping his genitals. 
 
 The investigation follows a series of public embarrassments that cost Weiner his political career and his marriage — and may have helped damage Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. 
 
 Front page of the New York Daily News for September 22, 2016: Disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner, whose long-suffering wife Huma Abedin recently dumped him, is caught sexting once again, this time with a 15-year-old girl. This time, his transgressions could land him in jail. 15 COULD GET HIM 20 (New York Daily News) Front page of the New York Daily News for May 4, 2017: Hillary Clinton's top aide Huma Abedin is the person who helped torpedo her presidential campaign, FBI Director James Comey claimed Wednesday, because Abedin regularly forwarded classified government emails to her serial sexting spouse Anthony Weiner so the disgraced former pol could print them out for her. HUMA ERROR (New York Daily News) Daily News front pages for Sept. 22, 2016 and May 4, 2017. 
 
 Weiner’s estranged wife Huma Abedin, a top aide to Clinton, had announced their separation last August after Weiner was caught sending a lewd selfie that showed his 4-year-old son lying next to him in bed. 
 
 Investigators soon seized Weiner’s electronic devices, including a laptop and a cell phone, as part of the probe into that picture, leading to a series of events that many say contributed to Clinton losing the election. 
 
 Federal investigators soon uncovered emails on his laptop that were sent by his estranged wife, prompting FBI Director James Comey to reopen an investigation into Clinton’s emails out of concern the shared computer might have had classified documents. 
 
 Porn star Sydney Leathers had a hand in Weiner's undoing. (Bryan Smith) 
 
 Comey quickly closed the case without any charges, but his announcement, just days before the election, that he’d reopened it at all created negative publicity during a critical moment of the presidential campaign. 
 
 Democrats said the attention might have contributed to President Trump’s win. 
 
 A Clinton presidency isn’t the only thing Weiner lost due to his pervy online personas. 
 
 The Queens Democrat resigned from Congress in 2011 after a lurid sexting scandal involving a crotch shot that he posted on Twitter. 
 
 A testy Weiner insisted to reporters at the time that his account had been hacked. But days later, he came clean and resigned. 
 
 He later admitted during a press conference to having carried on inappropriate online relationships with at least a half dozen women. 
 
 Two years later, he attempted a political comeback and ran for New York City mayor, but his bid imploded when more online exchanges with women surfaced, including messages he traded with a woman named Sydney Leathers under the pseudonym “Carlos Danger.”
– Anthony Weiner's sexting wrecked his political career, his comeback attempt, his media career, and his marriage—and now even his freedom could be at stake. The AP reports that the former congressman's alleged online relationship with a 15-year-old girl is being investigated by authorities in New York and in North Carolina, where the girl lives. A spokeswoman for the US attorney's office in North Carolina says they've "begun investigative efforts," and sources tell CNN that prosecutors in New York have already subpoenaed the 52-year-old's phone records and other communication. An FBI task force in New York is also looking into the matter, a law enforcement source says. According to the Daily Mail, which first reported Weiner's communication with the underage girl, Weiner's explicit messages included one where he told the high school sophomore he would "make her limp for a week." The girl says Weiner—who allegedly called himself "T Dog" this time instead of "Carlos Danger"—asked her to undress and touch herself, and the New York Daily News notes that encouraging a child under 17 to "engage in a sexual performance" can carry a 15-year sentence in New York. Weiner has admitted communicating with the girl and demonstrating "terrible judgment" online, but he also claims to have been "the subject of a hoax."