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!!!~ & his wife has terminal cancer~ this chick looks like camilla parker bowles~

[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.

[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

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]

Originally Posted by 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~

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

[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.

[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.

[Tango]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

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.




And we are not the victims.

[ajmccarrell]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

[ajmccarrell]

Originally Posted by 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 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.

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]

Originally Posted by ajmccarrell

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.

Originally Posted by ajmccarrell

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.

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]

Originally Posted by Tango

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.