John Edwards admits to affair, denies fathering child

[Musicman408]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Friday admitted to an extramarital affair while his wife was battling cancer. He denied fathering the woman's daughter.

Edwards told ABC News that he lied repeatedly about the affair with a 42-year-old woman but said that he didn't love her. He said he has not taken a paternity test but knows he isn't the father because of the timing of the affair and the birth.

ABC said a former Edwards campaign staffer claims he is the father, not Edwards.

Edwards was a top contender for the Democratic nomination for president, pursuing his party's nod even after announcing that his wife, Elizabeth, had a deadly form of cancer.

He placed second in the Iowa caucuses last January but dropped out of the race a few weeks later. He has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential choice for Barack Obama. The former North Carolina senator was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004.

In 2006, Edwards' political action committee paid $100,000 in a four-month span to a newly formed firm run by Rielle Hunter, who directed the production of just four Web videos, one a mere 2 1/2 minutes long.

Hunter's daughter, Frances Quinn Hunter, was born on Feb. 27, 2008, and no father's name is given on the birth certificate filed in California.

The payments from Edwards' One America Committee to Midline Groove Productions LLC started on July 5, 2006, five days after Hunter incorporated the firm in Delaware.

Midline provided "Website/Internet services," according to reports that Edwards' PAC filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Midline's work product consists of four YouTube videos showing Edwards in informal settings as he prepares to make speeches in Storm Lake, Iowa, and Pittsburgh, Pa., prepares for an appearance on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" and travels in Uganda in 2006.

Edwards' PAC paid Midline $100,000 in a four-month span in 2006, and followed that up with two smaller payments totaling $14,461, the last on April 1, 2007.

***

So I definitely wasn't expecting this. I thought this was a good, moral guy and whatever, but evidently this is not quite the case. To have an affair on your wife while she's battling cancer.......I don't know, I don't get it, but I just thought you all would like to know.

Much Love,
Ethan

[GODDESS6]

PIG!!!:mad:~ & his wife has terminal cancer~ this chick looks like camilla parker bowles:eek:~

[strandinthewind]

1. I could give a shiitte about anyone having an affair and think it is an issue outside of the political arena. In other words, I fail to see how it effects his ability to be President.

2. He is a pig for doing it at all, even if his wife's cancer was in remission because apparently they did not have an agreement of an open marriage, etc.

3. I just do not get why poloticians lie. They always get caught. I'd have much more respect for him if he said "yes, I had an affair, what of it?"

4. He still has great hair.

[njova]

Very surprising!!! He looked so commited and in love with his wife. :distress:

[GODDESS6]

^^^love the hair comment~

you're right maybe it shouldn't be in a public arena & if he wasn't senator & LIED it prolly wouldn't be~

i say if you can't keep your own yard clean, then how can you think i should trust you as president or vp~ it maybe moreso a moral thing & maybe we uphold people like that to a higher value system~ not me tho, it's WRONG, WRONG, WRONG no matter what you do & or who you are~

i have never been involved in something like that thankfully, but i would hope that my hubby would remember that he loved me once & respect what we had & divorce before cheating~ that is something i CANNOT forgive no matter the circumstances~

[strandinthewind]

I just do not judge people. I mean we do not know all that was going on with them. For all we know she cheated too. So, I say it is between him and God. I stay out of it. Very few people I know have that ability :laugh:

I do agree that if you are a politician and you put yourself out there as a moral leader and/or you speak out against these kinds of things, then your hypocrisy is newsworthy because it shows you to be a fraud.

On edit - I think he is still lying BTW. Otherwise, why would he recently have gone to visit her last week in a hotel and in a sneaky manner?

[Musicman408]

^^^love the hair comment~

you're right maybe it shouldn't be in a public arena & if he wasn't senator & LIED it prolly wouldn't be~

i say if you can't keep your own yard clean, then how can you think i should trust you as president or vp~ it maybe moreso a moral thing & maybe we uphold people like that to a higher value system~ not me tho, it's WRONG, WRONG, WRONG no matter what you do & or who you are~

i have never been involved in something like that thankfully, but i would hope that my hubby would remember that he loved me once & respect what we had & divorce before cheating~ that is something i CANNOT forgive no matter the circumstances~

I agree with you. I really like the yard comment, as it is so so true.:nod:

[estranged4life]

Gee, a politician that lied about having an affair...What a shock

[DavidMn]

Hey, couldve been worse. He could've died like that Rockefeller dude right in the middle of it.:laugh::laugh:

[gretchen]

This is utterly disgusting behavior; especially to engage in this rubbish amidst his wife battling cancer. Then, to subsequently appear on talk shows with him acting as if she is his rock and life long love with his puppy dog eyes...pure douchebaggery.

It's funny how some can just misplace their conscience at the drop of a hat. :distress:

[Tango]

I just do not judge people.



Of course you do. We all do. You called him a pig. You use your discernment every day. There's nothing wrong with that.

But you're right. It's sad. Not shocking.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m72/gregflynn/BlueNC/CardEdwards.gif


And we are not the victims.

[ajmccarrell]

1. I could give a shiitte about anyone having an affair and think it is an issue outside of the political arena. In other words, I fail to see how it effects his ability to be President.

2. He is a pig for doing it at all, even if his wife's cancer was in remission because apparently they did not have an agreement of an open marriage, etc.

3. I just do not get why poloticians lie. They always get caught. I'd have much more respect for him if he said "yes, I had an affair, what of it?"

4. He still has great hair.

I thought on another thread that you were condemning Republicans for this behavior and said you rarely see this from democrats? You briefly argued with me that it happens less and I said both parties are every bit as guilty of it.

One thing you might be missing is that Edward's and his wife both knew about it as far back as 2006. This means that the whole "pity me, my wife has cancer" charade WAS a big lie. He was using his wife's cancer as an election tool, while using campaign funds to support his mistress, which makes him more than despicable. :distress:

[ajmccarrell]

This is utterly disgusting behavior; especially to engage in this rubbish amidst his wife battling cancer. Then, to subsequently appear on talk shows with her acting as if she is his rock and life long love with his puppy dog eyes...pure douchebaggery.

It's funny how some can just misplace their conscience at the drop of a hat. :distress:

Not to mention that his campaign gave his mistress a job at the exorbitant rate of $117,000 per year! If I were a donor, I'd be calling for his arrest.

[strandinthewind]

I thought on another thread that you were condemning Republicans for this behavior and said you rarely see this from democrats? You briefly argued with me that it happens less and I said both parties are every bit as guilty of it.

I condemn the R's because they taught themselves as the moral compass, when they are not. Moreover, they persecute and/or prosecute people for doing the same things they are doing. Their hyposcrisy is what sep. them from an ordinary person having an affair. That is what makes them notable, to wit:

Sen. Craig was no friend to gay people, yet he is closet case who likes to have anonymous sex with men in bathrooms

Mark Foley (a former against child abuse and exploitation) and his cyber solicitatin of 16 and 17 year old male interns and same sex physical contact with 18 and 19 year old male interns ,

There are more. But, these should suffice. If these creeps had not voted against gay people and used gay rights as a wedge, I could care a less about what they do with a consenting adult. But, that they are persecuting one group for gain while they are part of that group makes it relevant.

A good D example would be the former Gov. of NY. He deserved what he got because he was participating in the same illegal activity he vehemently prosecuted in an effort to make a name for himself.

So, I think both parties have their fair share of affairs. I am usure if I said anything contrary to that. If I did, I was wrong. But, I do not think I did.

One thing you might be missing is that Edward's and his wife both knew about it as far back as 2006. This means that the whole "pity me, my wife has cancer" charade WAS a big lie. He was using his wife's cancer as an election tool, while using campaign funds to support his mistress, which makes him more than despicable. :distress:

Actually, that remains to be seen. We do not know why he had an affair. We actually know nothing about this. I say if Edwards' wife is okay with it, who are we to judge. And, his having an affair has nothing to do with the "pity me, my wife has cancer" thing you put on Edwards. I am sure he did suffer. Again, I think people think that just because someone has an affair, they are demins forever and they somehow cannot suffer, blah blah blah.

Now, what I do think is that Edwards wasted the peoples' money by pursuing donations, etc., when he knew he was likely to get caught. It doesn;t sound like anything illegal, but clearly he knew that if he got caught, he would stand no chance of getting elected because most people are too busy body esq to see that having an affair is not the end life itself.

Note - I am not defending Edwards in any way. I am just saying I do not care that he had an affair.

Also, if it is proven that he used campaign funds, he is likely going to jail and he would deserve to.

[strandinthewind]

Of course you do. We all do. You called him a pig. You use your discernment every day. There's nothing wrong with that . . . .

To clarify, I would not klet the fact that someone had an affair influence me in my decision to vote for them unless they held themself out as a morally superior person, etc. To me, that is different than having an affair, which I don't really care about.

I called him a pig because apparently he hurt his wife unless they had some sort of open marriage, which we likely will never know. That she is still with him in interesting.

[Musicman408]

Of course you do. We all do. You called him a pig. You use your discernment every day. There's nothing wrong with that.

But you're right. It's sad. Not shocking.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m72/gregflynn/BlueNC/CardEdwards.gif


And we are not the victims.

And it's so sad to see this happen because he has such a precious family.........

And on a different, more uplifiting note, his eldest daughter I find to be very attractive.

[strandinthewind]

On edit --

Edwards did hold himself out as morally superior. In 1999 and in ref. to Clinton's affair, Edwards said:

"I think this president has shown a remarkable disrespect for his office, for the moral dimensions of leadership, for his friends, for his wife, for his precious daughter. It is breathtaking to me the level to which that disrespect has risen."

So, I think Edwards' affair is public domain.

On edit - I have always said I did not care that Clinton had an affair and I think the public really had no right to know that he did. To me, that is irrelevant as noted above.

My beef with Clinton was that he violated the rule of law and also abused his office and public money by getting govt. people to lie on his behalf. If he had said "Yes, I had an affair," that would have been fine with me and I'd have still voted for him.

[strandinthewind]

. . . especially to engage in this rubbish amidst his wife battling cancer . . . .

I thought it said the affair happened when her cancer was in remission :shrug:

Then, to subsequently appear on talk shows with him acting as if she is his rock and life long love with his puppy dog eyes...pure douchebaggery . . . .

I don't know. It is possible that he loved her very much and that was not an act. Many men cheat and still adore their wives and consider them their rock, etc. So, I think the jury is still out on that. But, he is a jerk for condomning one person when he later did the same thing.

Personally, I think the sooner people stop caring about the so called perfect family and whether or not some person had an affair, the better off we all will be. But, human nature is just not that way.

[SuzeQuze]

On edit --

Edwards did hold himself out as morally superior. In 1999 and in ref. to Clinton's affair, Edwards said:

"I think this president has shown a remarkable disrespect for his office, for the moral dimensions of leadership, for his friends, for his wife, for his precious daughter. It is breathtaking to me the level to which that disrespect has risen."

So, I think Edwards' affair is public domain.

On edit - I have always said I did not care that Clinton had an affair and I think the public really had no right to know that he did. To me, that is irrelevant as noted above.

My beef with Clinton was that he violated the rule of law and also abused his office and public money by getting govt. people to lie on his behalf. If he had said "Yes, I had an affair," that would have been fine with me and I'd have still voted for him.

I am no longer surprised by politicians having affairs, period. Although Edwards did come off as a white knight and that pisses me off. Go to hell, Edwards! Thank god he didn't wind up the frontrunner, what a mess that would've been.

[Serrart]

1. I could give a shiitte about anyone having an affair.
I agree on that, but I think it's part of your political arena, because American politicians sell themselves as family men and bring wife and kids everywhere to let see how reliable they are. I have to say Edwards probably is a serious contender for the Hypocrite of the year award. Just think to Italy where we just have got a minor scandal about all the possible lovers (real, potential...) that Silvio Berlusconi placed in some tv series (and we're talking of a dozen of twentysomething girls). All the turmoil was on the public manager who was used as...ahem.. 'settler', but nobody even thought of some consequences on Berlusconi. He laughed about it.

Romy

[strandinthewind]

^^^

I know, the Europeans, esp. the Italians, likely expect affairs :laugh:

But, what are ya gonna do, Americans are mostly hypocrtitical about such things.

[GypsySorcerer]

At least he is not the nominee. Imagine that going into the convention.

While I agree with him on most things, he's always struck me as a bit disingenuous. I remember during his VP debate with Cheney (which was bizarre anyway) he was talking about the number of troops killed in Iraq. He had his huge grin on his face, and he said something to the effect of: "There were more troops killed in June than in May!!! And there were more troops killed in July than in June!!!!! And more were killed in August than in JULY!!!!" It was truly odd.

[BombaySapphire3]

Very tacky..not so much that he had the affair but the lying and cover up ..I never much liked Edwards anyway..I'm glad he didn't get the nomination as it would guarantee that gramps and his horrible VP would win in November..Now if Barack had done this he would not have to worry about losing as I'm sure Michelle would not allow him to live to see election day.:laugh:

[omigodstevie]

I didn't see that one coming.
I mean, John Edwards?! Eugh, come on, his poor wife has cancer and he goes and cheats on her. What a loser. And I thought he was better then that, too.

[strandinthewind]

From Mrs. Edwards:

"John made a terrible mistake in 2006. The fact that it is a mistake that many others have made before him did not make it any easier for me to hear when he told me what he had done. But he did tell me. And we began a long and painful process in 2006, a process oddly made somewhat easier with my diagnosis in March of 2007. ... I am proud of the courage John showed by his honesty in the face of shame."

So, she was in remission at the time of the affair :shrug:

Note -- she obviously had a problem with it though and he is a jerk for hurting her.

[David]

I agree on that, but I think it's part of your political arena, because American politicians sell themselves as family men and bring wife and kids everywhere to let see how reliable they are. I have to say Edwards probably is a serious contender for the Hypocrite of the year award. Just think to Italy where we just have got a minor scandal about all the possible lovers (real, potential...) that Silvio Berlusconi placed in some tv series (and we're talking of a dozen of twentysomething girls). All the turmoil was on the public manager who was used as...ahem.. 'settler', but nobody even thought of some consequences on Berlusconi. He laughed about it.
Yes, our puritan heritage is still deeply ingrained in our collective psyche here. The pall of "family values" hangs over everything, absolutely everything -- in public life. (In private life, people continue to do exactly what they want, as they have always done.) Americans always have their ears pressed up against the adjoining walls with their neighbors, straining to hear everything.

[GODDESS6]

From Mrs. Edwards:

"John made a terrible mistake in 2006. The fact that it is a mistake that many others have made before him did not make it any easier for me to hear when he told me what he had done. But he did tell me. And we began a long and painful process in 2006, a process oddly made somewhat easier with my diagnosis in March of 2007. ... I am proud of the courage John showed by his honesty in the face of shame."

So, she was in remission at the time of the affair :shrug:

Note -- she obviously had a problem with it though and he is a jerk for hurting her.

she's the bigger person in this & my heart goes out to her, remission or not~ it's heartless~

[#1LiddyBuckFan]

The Mrs. is better than me. :nod: I would have grabbed the kids and maybe waved on my way out.

[gldstwmn]

1. I could give a shiitte about anyone having an affair and think it is an issue outside of the political arena. In other words, I fail to see how it effects his ability to be President.

2. He is a pig for doing it at all, even if his wife's cancer was in remission because apparently they did not have an agreement of an open marriage, etc.

3. I just do not get why poloticians lie. They always get caught. I'd have much more respect for him if he said "yes, I had an affair, what of it?"

4. He still has great hair.

Agree with all of the above, epsecially #4. :lol:

[gldstwmn]

.

On edit - I think he is still lying BTW. Otherwise, why would he recently have gone to visit her last week in a hotel and in a sneaky manner?

Yeah. I think there is more **** to hit the fan. Why would you admit the affair and deny paternity though? :shrug: He might as well have gotten it all out there. Also, smooth PR move to announce it on a Friday night during the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games.

[gldstwmn]

This is utterly disgusting behavior; especially to engage in this rubbish amidst his wife battling cancer. Then, to subsequently appear on talk shows with him acting as if she is his rock and life long love with his puppy dog eyes...pure douchebaggery.

It's funny how some can just misplace their conscience at the drop of a hat. :distress:

Do you feel the same way about Newt Gingrich?

[gldstwmn]

Not to mention that his campaign gave his mistress a job at the exorbitant rate of $117,000 per year! If I were a donor, I'd be calling for his arrest.

Again, do you feel the same way about Newt Gingrich?

[gldstwmn]

I am no longer surprised by politicians having affairs, period. Although Edwards did come off as a white knight and that pisses me off. Go to hell, Edwards! Thank god he didn't wind up the frontrunner, what a mess that would've been.

No kidding. And there were whispers when he was running. Jesus. What was he thinking? :distress:

[SuzeQuze]

No kidding. And there were whispers when he was running. Jesus. What was he thinking? :distress:

His little head was the one "thinking".

[strandinthewind]

Here's her ful statement:

Our family has been through a lot. Some caused by nature, some caused by human weakness, and some most recently caused by the desire for sensationalism and profit without any regard for the human consequences. None of these has been easy. But we have stood with one another through them all. Although John believes he should stand alone and take the consequences of his action now, when the door closes behind him, he has his family waiting for him.

John made a terrible mistake in 2006. The fact that it is a mistake that many others have made before him did not make it any easier for me to hear when he told me what he had done. But he did tell me. And we began a long and painful process in 2006, a process oddly made somewhat easier with my diagnosis in March of 2007. This was our private matter, and I frankly wanted it to be private because as painful as it was I did not want to have to play it out on a public stage as well. Because of a recent string of hurtful and absurd lies in a tabloid publication, because of a picture falsely suggesting that John was spending time with a child it wrongly alleged he had fathered outside our marriage, our private matter could no longer be wholly private. The pain of the long journey since 2006 was about to be renewed.

John has spoken in a long on-camera interview. Admitting one's mistakes is a hard thing for anyone to do. I am proud of the courage John showed by his honesty in the face of shame. The toll on our family of news helicopters over our house and reporters in our driveway is yet unknown. But now the truth is out, and the repair work that began in 2006 will continue. I ask that the public, who expressed concern about the harm John's conduct has done to us, think also about the real harm that the present voyeurism does and give me and my family the privacy we need at this time.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jfjwUe5FPV1TQGH2bo1riKIRq0vwD92EF3GG0