February 4, 2010 6:30 AM

Enquirer: John Edwards Hit Cancer-Stricken Wife Elizabeth Edwards

By
Ryan Smith
Topics
Daily Blotter
(Getty Images/Sara D. Davis)
(AP Photo/The National Enquirer)
(AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)
HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (CBS) Disgraced former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards struck his cancer-stricken wife during a shocking marriage-ending brawl, according to the National Enquirer, the same publication that revealed the existence of the politician's lovechild with his mistress, Rielle Hunter.

Photo: John Edwards and wife Elizabeth Edwards in 2007.

"John lost his temper big time," an unnamed "close friend" of Elizabeth Edwards reportedly told the gossip publication.

"When [John] made the decision to hit me, it was over," the friend said Edwards told her of the 32-year marriage.

Photo: John Edwards and Rielle Hunter in a Dec. 27, 2006 photo from the National Enquirer.

But another friend of the family reportedly told that publication that Elizabeth Edwards sometimes also attacked her husband physically when the two were discussing his affair with Hunter.

"Elizabeth has slapped John in the past during fights over his extramarital affair with Rielle," the source said. "She was so tormented by John's cheating and lies that she lashed out physically at him many times, even slapping him. On a couple of occasions, when the fights became heated, she grabbed him by the shoulders and screamed, 'Why, why, why?!'"

Photo: Rielle Hunter and daughter Aug. 6, 2009.

"During one of the confrontations, Elizabeth grabbed his arms and shook him so hard that John had to restrain her," she told the paper.

John Edwards only recently admitted paternity of Hunter's daughter, Frances, who is now nearly 2.

His former assistant, Andrew Young, took to the national airwaves last week to bash his old boss. Young has a new book where he describes viewing a sex tape that showed a naked Edwards and a woman he assumed was Hunter.

Young says Hunter left the tape inside a "box of trash" at a house Edwards rented for her.

Calling it a "very private and personal" videotape, Hunter was granted a temporary restraining order against Young in a North Carolina court, seeking the return of photos and videos, including one she says she made in 2006 while working for Edwards.

She also filed a lawsuit against Young and his wife, seeking a jury trial and damages for invasion of privacy.


MORE ON CRIMESIDER
January 29, 2010 - John Edwards' Mistress Rielle Hunter: I Want My Sex Tape Back!
January 25, 2010 - John Edwards Sex Tape? The Headline You Knew Was Coming
January 21, 2010 - John Edwards Latest News: Love Child, Yes; Stolen Dirty Diapers and Fake DNA, We'll See
September 21, 2009 - John Edwards Faces Grand Jury and Former Aide Over Love Affair Lies

Add a Comment See all 33 Comments
by uncertain7476 February 6, 2010 1:14 PM EST
I guess John Edwards subscribes to the Sean Connery school of social interaction. When Barbara Walters asked him if he actually said it's OK to hit a woman, he reiterated that if the woman continues to argue and press her point after the man has finished with the topic, even after he allows her to have the final word, it's entirely reasonable for him to strike her, with an open hand, of course.
I think you've got it down pat, John.
Reply to this comment
by Renegade.Rivers February 6, 2010 11:57 AM EST
That sad part of this saga is that it is men like this that have run our country into the ground for the last 100 years. Even the great ones like JFK, FDR, and Bill Clinton, to name but three, had affairs while in the White House. To further complicate matters, it is because of men of this stature having affairs, and other taboo activities that they become vulnerable to blackmail, and can be easily coerced into doing things that they would otherwise not be susceptible to doing.

As the American people become more and more aware of what is happening in America, and they discover what the men and women they elect into office are really all about, hopefully they will begin to more wisely choose the leaders that they elect.

In the case of John Edwards, we can only be thankful that he was not elected. With our country in the hard times it is now, a scandel such as this, had he become President, could have been very detrimental to the nation's well-being, and brought further confusion to an already troubled nation.
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by Ordflyer February 6, 2010 5:05 AM EST
John Edwards needs to switch parties - he behaving like a Republican.
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by brewhafunk February 5, 2010 5:47 PM EST
The National Enquirer? Really CBS? You only put Enquirer in the title just to get more people to click the page. I'm about done with your "news" organization.
Reply to this comment
by indiethink February 5, 2010 5:07 PM EST
The thing I will never understand....if a married man is going to cheat, shouldn't he get "fixed" first?
Reply to this comment
by DawnBroderick40 February 5, 2010 4:56 PM EST
Invasion of privacy? Elizabeth Edwards should sue her for being a highly-paid s.k.a.n.k. She is a vile and repulsive human being, just like John. Hitting the woman you cheated on, had a baby with your mistress behind your cancer stricken wife, disgusting self that you are, you should go into seclusion. That thing you cheated with is hideous and I feel sorry for that little girl. It's a shame that tramp didn't put her up for adoption instead of keeping her. I would be ashamed to have that piece of trash for my mother.
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by blondenblueeyed February 5, 2010 3:04 PM EST
IF I had been Elizabeth Edwards, Johnny boy would be singing soprano about now.
Reply to this comment
by WitchBroom February 5, 2010 2:24 PM EST
Sometime the screwing you get isn't worth the screwing you get. Sooner or later, it very much sounds like John is going to have a fuller understand of that. Elizabeth should take him to the cleaners and give John something enduring to think about for the rest of life.
Reply to this comment
by staycalm February 5, 2010 1:45 PM EST
The worst thing...the absolute worst thing about this whole sordid affair is the memory of their wonderful 16 year-old son, Wade. I would have thought that two people who went through the death of a child together would have developed a deeper perspective on what's really important in life. Apparently not so here. Very unevolved souls. All I can say is, it's a good thing they're not in the White House.
Reply to this comment
by liberty5 February 5, 2010 4:22 PM EST
It's a bit unfair to label both of them 'unevolved'--John, definitely. Elizabeth--even the most saintly person would be tempted, and might give in to going after John, taking everything into account. I am sure she wanted to see him at his best, and finally saw that at his best, he wasn't good enough for her. Much less at his worst. I would say she has evolved quite thoroughly.
by libbcbs February 5, 2010 1:05 PM EST
Another crazy liberal,what else is new! Look at the grieve this Reielle AKA Lisa caused this family. Even her own family apologized.
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