After losing in the court of public opinion for years, on Monday former Democratic congressman Anthony Weiner was sentenced to 21 months in prison by a federal judge for sexting with a 15-year old girl. The husband of longtime Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, Weiner’s habit of engaging women in sexual relationships online has played out publicly since he was forced to resign after attempting to cover one such relationship up back in 2011.

His guilt has been obvious almost from the outset. But before Weiner, whose star was rising in the Democratic Party at the time, ever admitted to any wrongdoing, some on the Left were quick to offer desperate defenses of his innocence.