Friday, August 8, 2008

Who's the baby's daddy?



John Edwards admitted to an affair with his former videographer, Rielle Hunter, in an interview with ABC News, though he denies tabloid reports that he is the father of her child.

In the interview, scheduled to be broadcast Friday night on ABC's Nightline, the former North Carolina senator said he repeatedly lied about the affair during his failed presidential campaign.

He and his wife Elizabeth are expected to soon release a joint statement on the admission.

Edwards told ABC News that his wife, who has been diagnosed with an incurable form of cancer, learned of the affair in 2006, as did his family. He said the cancer was in remission when the affair began.

He told ABC News that he didn't love Hunter, 42, and knew he wasn't the father of her child because of the timing of the baby's birth on Feb. 27.

The National Enquirer first reported the allegations in October and published a new report in July on an incident between the tabloid's reporters and Edwards at a Beverly Hills hotel where Hunter and her child reportedly were staying.

FOXNews.com confirmed Edwards did have an encounter with reporters at the hotel and had to be escorted out. Edwards denied the allegations when they first flared late last year. But in recent weeks he and his inner circle have clammed up — he refused to respond to questions from FOXNews.com on the matter last month.

Edwards denied to ABC News paying any money to Hunter to keep her quiet on the affair, but said his supporters could have done such a thing without him knowing.

Edwards political action committee did pay Hunter's Midline Groove Productions company $114,000 between 2006 and 2007 to produce a set of Web documentaries on Edwards.

But there are remaining questions over the identity of the father. A former campaign aide Andrew Young has reportedly claimed he is the father.

However, no father is listed for the child in birth records obtained by FOXNews.com. And recently released tabloid photos show Edwards holding a child, reportedly at the hotel where he is alleged to have met with Hunter.

The admission Friday all but ends the speculation about his immediate role in the campaign of Barack Obama. Edwards, who dropped out of the presidential race in January, had been previously talked about as a potential vice presidential pick, or a cabinet member. But even his possible role as a speaker at the Democratic National Convention later this month was in doubt as the rumors of the affair continued to fester without a direct rebuttal.

"I think it's safe to say that John Edwards probably will not have a speaking role at the convention," political analyst Mary Anne Marsh said. "And whether he attends remains to be seen."

Asked at an Obama event in Nevada about the affair, Hillary Clinton said: "My thoughts and prayers are with the Edwards family and that's all I have to say."

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wonder how urgently his media sweethearts are gonna push for the DNA test that'd put it all to rest?

Oh crap ... I forgot ... he's a liberal!

Nevermind!

heh

VoteNovember2008 said...

LOL, Cannoli, well it's sad all the way around. Dems do, Republicans do it, even the birds and the bees do it! But I would think if you were in the public eye, you would think twice about doing it without a condom. We may never know if he's the baby's daddy! I'm thinking she's going to go the DNA route for sure! Hillary's comment at the end of that blog was classic! I know she doesn't even want to go there! VN8

VoteNovember2008 said...

Yeah, what's up with that, Lee? You know it's sad that as a family they lost a child, but do politicians just stay married for the way it looks. Do they believe that as a Nation that we are so shallow that we need them to be married? I could care less. I know Governor Crist of Florida is getting married and it was rumored he was getting married because he was on a Repulican VP list.

I agree with you Lee, the behavior isn't normal or healthy. What are they teaching their children? You know I've always heard it rumored that President Clinton has a love child. How long will it be in history before the real truth is revealed? VN8

Unknown said...

Geez, I had to delete and post again...it was full of typos and read like I was educated in Scottsboro. Anyway...

I don't know what to say about this. Most folks would feel for his wife if this were a case of him cheating and it all just now coming out. But she knew as far back as 2006 and went on the campaign trail garnering sympathy as the cancer stricken wife. Really, she's complicit. This is not normal, healthy behavior.

Now, let's go to the larger issue: What if he had been a Republican? The networks, papers, talk shows - they would have been all over this at the very first hint of a rumor. Even mean old FOX News is being kind. A Republican would have been ripped to shreds by now. As I've said before, this sort of thing is a resume enhancer for Democrats.

Unknown said...

Lifted from Newsbusters.org

This is a 31 July 2007 segment on GMA with John and Elizabeth Edwards:

Robin Roberts: "We have a very special picture of the morning."

Diane Sawyer: "Yes."

Roberts: "It’s an anniversary party of sorts at Wendy’s. That, of course, presidential nominee John Edwards and his beautiful wife Elizabeth. 30 years. Their 30th anniversary."

Sawyer: "30th anniversary. And when we had our town meeting, he said they would celebrate with a number of things, one of them going back to Wendy's. And here is what he said."

[Clip of town hall interview]

Sawyer: "You have an anniversary coming up, the two of you?"

Elizabeth Edwards: "We do."

John Edwards: "That’s right. End of this month."

Sawyer: "End of this month? Have you gotten a present yet?"

John Edwards: "No. But we have big plans. We have big plans for our–"

Sawyer: "Is it going to be Wendy's again?"

John Edwards: "No, no. We'll go to Wendy's. We’ll go to Wendy’s."

Sawyer: "Is that your idea of a big plan?"

John Edwards: "Double cheeseburger and fries at Wendy’s is good."

Elizabeth Edwards: "I might get the Frosty ‘cause it’s the 30th."

Sawyer: "Right. Right."

[Clip ends]

Roberts: "She got that Frosty and also some chili as well. He had a cheeseburger."

Sawyer: "That’s right. And they are going to renew their vows. Happy anniversary."

VoteNovember2008 said...

OMG, Lee, that is too funny. How old is the baby supposed to be? If she knew about this in 2006, is the child that old? VN8

PS Don't worry about the typos, we are both type A's and I had to delete a comment today with some typos myself! LOL

Anonymous said...

Question I have is, who was on top and who was on bottom. Or to more precise, who was the woman and who was the man in the relationship, cause it could go either way there.

VoteNovember2008 said...

Scalawag, now that is the 64 million dollar question. I must say that was hysterical! Thanks so much for stopping by! VN8

Unknown said...

VN8: The baby was born in Mar 08 as I understood the conversation on Hannity last night.

Scalawag: Ann Coulter has been making that precise point about Edwards for a couple of years. He always has seemed a bit sweet.

Again, I'm sad for his family, or his kids anyway. If there is a silver lining to this it's that we've been spared any possibility of Attorney General Edwards, or even worse, VP Edwards.

VoteNovember2008 said...

Lee, I hear you. His children are the victims if we have to pick victims. Another prominent Democrat bites the dust. VN8

Jim said...

Lord ya'll are loving this! LOL I suppose we have to have a Democrat caught up in scandal once in while. It's not fair for Republicans to have all the scandals. LOL I saw in the news today that the lady has said there will never ever be a DNA test. I still say it's his baby. I think Elizabeth knew about the affair and thought it was a little fling that ended in 2006. But, I think John kept the affair going without Elizabeth knowing it and now he's foolishly trying to cover up the fact that it never ended. The money trail may be the only way to answer the reaming questions if she won't submit to baby a DNA test.

Unknown said...

Edwards was a man whose phoniness disgusted even John Kerry, and that's saying something. He appeared to be among the most superficial of candidates and his "son of a mill worker/two Americas" schtick wore thin. But it gives me no pleasure to see him brought low though I am relieved he won't be the next AG.

As for Elizabeth, I don't know what to think. OK, I'm going to go out on a limb here for which I expect to be thoroughly thrashed: As I recall, Elizabeth is older than John and let's be honest, she is an average if not somewhat matronly looking woman in her mid to late 50s. John, on the other hand, is a good (perhaps somewhat effeminite)looking man who is rich, smart, and charming. Chances are that this was not his first fling. Yes, I believe some men can effectively cover their tracks and there are women who want to believe, in the face of evidence indicating otherwise, that their husbands are not cheating. She knew about the affair in 2006 and had to suspect he had a wandering eye. In the final analysis it doesn't matter because he is still a bum whether she knew or not. I note that she issued a statement on dailyKos.com (of all places) assailing the media. Whatever, she is in a tough position with her illness and a philandering husband.

The real story in all of this is that of the media. In today's WaPo, Howard Kurtz has a piece on the reluctance to run this story. It's worth the read.

Anonymous said...

So, Ann Coulter was wrong about him...lol