Jonathan Van Meter, who penned the April New York Times Magazine piece about the post-scandal Anthony Weiner, admitted that his journalistic curiosity didn’t compel him to ask the former congressman if he still sexted with strangers.

For what was largely seen as a puff piece portraying Weiner and his wife, Huma Abedin, as having moved past the 2011 scandal, Van Meter told the Washington Post’s Erik Wemple that it “never even occurred to me to ask!” Van Meter explained that he had “just assumed it had when [Weiner] got caught.”

In a Q&A about his article in April, Van Meter remarked on how much time he spent with Weiner and the deep insights he gathered from him in their conversations. “Interviews normally don’t involve such thoughtfulness and searching,” he said, adding that “I really felt like I was his analyst.”

The magazine’s editor-in-chief expressed regrets, especially given the two-month period the the magazine spent on the article. “The assumption that he made was the same assumption I made,” Hugo Lindgren told Wemple. “It turned out to be a poor assumption.”

While not directly related to the magazine, it is worth noting that the the New York Times editorial board called on Weiner to step down since last week’s revelation that he had continued to send lewd pictures to other women after leaving Congress; it did not mention the magazine’s piece.

Via NewsBusters.