John Edwards Admits Having An Affair

But Former Democratic Candidate Denies Fathering A Child With The Woman

(CBS/ AP)  Former U.S. presidential candidate John Edwards, who won nationwide praise and sympathy as he campaigned side-by-side with his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth, admitted in shame Friday he had had an extramarital affair with a woman who produced videos for his campaign.

Acknowledging a sex scandal he had dismissed as "tabloid trash" only last month, Edwards said he had told his wife and family long ago but "I had hoped that it would never become public."

He denied fathering a daughter, born to the woman with whom he had the affair, and offered to be tested to prove it. A former Edwards campaign staff member professes to be the father.

The former North Carolina senator, who was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2004, confessed to ABC News that he had lied repeatedly about the affair with 42-year-old Rielle Hunter. Hunter's daughter, Frances Quinn Hunter, was born on Feb. 27 this year, and no father's name is given on the birth certificate filed in California.

"I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs," Edwards said in a statement. "I recognized my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness … I have been stripped bare and will now work with everything I have to help my family and others who need my help."

In a conversation with CBS News chief Washington correspondent and Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer, Edwards said he came forward because he couldn't live with the constant scrutiny from the tabloids. He said that, for the sake of his family, he "just had to end it."

Schieffer also spoke with Elizabeth Edwards, who fought back tears while confirming that her husband told her about the affair in 2006 and that she forgave him.

"This is really, really tough," she said.

In a statement provided to The Associated Press, Elizabeth Edwards said her husband's affair was a "terrible mistake." But she said the healing process was "oddly made somewhat easier" after her diagnosis of breast cancer in March 2007.

She said she was proud of the courage her husband showed despite his shame and pleaded for her family's privacy to be respected.

In his interview with ABC News, Edwards recalled his wife's reaction to the news in 2006.

"She was mad, she was angry. I think furious would be a good way to describe it," Edwards said.

Edwards made a point of saying that his wife's cancer was in remission when he began the affair with Hunter. Elizabeth Edwards has since been diagnosed with an incurable form of the disease.

Edwards told Schieffer he has no intention of attending the Democratic National Convention in Denver later this month. When asked about his future plans, Edwards said, "I really don't know."

"Look, it's disappointing, but he's taken responsibility," said CBS News consultant Joe Trippi who was a top strategist in the 2008 Edwards presidential campaign. "He's admitted that he made a mistake. I know first-hand the love that Elizabeth and John Edwards have for each other-I saw it. And right now I think the most important thing is to give this family some space and let them continue their healing."

Edwards declared his presidential candidacy in December 2006. His wife was at his side that day and campaigned enthusiastically with him and by herself in the months that followed. She announced in March 2007 that her cancer, formerly in remission, had returned and there apparently was no cure.

She and her husband said it was important for the campaign to continue.

Edwards dropped out midway through this year's primaries after it became apparent he could not keep up with front-runners Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. He recently endorsed Obama and has been mentioned as a possible running mate.

He was John Kerry's running mate in 2004 when Kerry lost to President George W. Bush.

"This revelation seriously damages Edwards’ political future," said CBSNews.com senior political editor Vaughn Ververs. "It's a dramatic fall for the former vice presidential candidate who was widely seen as a potential cabinet member in the future or even a running mate for Barack Obama."

And last fall, in an interview with CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, Edwards himself cited infidelity as a character flaw voters might well count as disabling in a potential President:

"Of course. I mean, for a lot of Americans, including the family that I grew up with, I mean, it's, it's fundamental to how you judge people and human character - whether you keep your word, whether you keep what is your ultimate word, which is that you love your spouse, and you'll stay with them." Watch that interview.

In his statement Friday, he said, "It is inadequate to say to the people who believed in me that I am sorry, as it is inadequate to say to the people who love me that I am sorry.

"In the course of several campaigns, I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic. If you want to beat me up feel free. You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself."

The National Enquirer first reported on the affair in October 2007, in the run-up to the Democratic primaries, and Edwards denied it.

"The story is false," he told reporters then. "It's completely untrue, ridiculous." He professed his love for his wife, who had an incurable form of cancer, saying, "I've been in love with the same woman for 30-plus years and as anybody who's been around us knows, she's an extraordinary human being, warm, loving, beautiful, sexy and as good a person as I have ever known. So the story's just false."

Last month, the Enquirer carried another story stating that its reporters had accosted Edwards in a Los Angeles hotel where he had met with Hunter after her child's birth. Edwards called it "tabloid trash," but he generally avoided reporters' inquiries, as did his former top aides.

In an interview, scheduled to air on ABC News' "Nightline" Friday night, Edwards said the tabloid was correct when it reported on his meeting with Hunter at the Beverly Hills Hilton last month.

A number of mainstream news organizations had looked into the adultery allegations but had not published or aired stories. But newspapers in Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina , recounted the Enquirer's allegations in prominent articles on Thursday.

The Edwardses have three children - Cate, Jack and Emma Claire. Another son, Wade, died at 16 in a 1996 car accident.

"I don't know if numb's the word," Joe Trippi, formerly a major campaign strategist for Edwards, told CBS News. "It's more disappointing but again, my biggest concern's the family right now."

David Bonior, Edwards' campaign manager for his 2008 presidential bid, said he was disappointed and angry at Friday's news.

"Thousands of friends of the senator's and his supporters have put their faith and confidence in him, and he's let them down," said Bonior, a former congressman from Michigan. "They've been betrayed by his action."

Asked whether the affair would damage Edwards' future aspirations in public service, Bonior replied: "You can't lie in politics and expect to have people's confidence."

In 1999, when Edwards was a senator, he said of President Bill Clinton and his affair with Monica Lewinsky:

"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."

In 2006, Edwards' political action committee paid $100,000 in a four-month span to a newly formed firm run by Hunter, who directed the production of four Web videos showing Edwards in supposedly candid moments as well as in a public speech talking about morality.

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, as gets ready for a television appearance on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" and travels in Uganda in 2006.

Edwards' PAC followed the six-figure payment with two smaller payments totaling $14,461, the last on April 1, 2007.

At the time Hunter was compiling the videos in 2006, Edwards was preparing his run for president.

Episode One of the four videos shows a conversation between Edwards and an unseen woman as the two chat aboard a plane about an upcoming speech in Storm Lake, Iowa.

Cutting between clips of the speech and the conversation with the woman, Edwards touches on his standard political themes, declaring that government must do a better job of addressing the great issues of the day, from poverty and education to jobs and the war in Iraq.

"I want to see our party lead on the great moral issues - yes, me a Democrat using that word - the great moral issues that face our country," Edwards tells the crowd. "If we want to live in a moral, honest just America and if we want to live in a moral and just world, we can't wait for somebody else to do it. We have to do it."

---

John Edwards' Complete Statement:

In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs. I recognized my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness. Although I was honest in every painful detail with my family, I did not tell the public. When a supermarket tabloid told a version of the story, I used the fact that the story contained many falsities to deny it. But being 99% honest is no longer enough.

I was and am ashamed of my conduct and choices, and I had hoped that it would never become public. With my family, I took responsibility for my actions in 2006 and today I take full responsibility publicly. But that misconduct took place for a short period in 2006. It ended then. I am and have been willing to take any test necessary to establish the fact that I am not the father of any baby, and I am truly hopeful that a test will be done so this fact can be definitively established. I only know that the apparent father has said publicly that he is the father of the baby. I also have not been engaged in any activity of any description that requested, agreed to or supported payments of any kind to the woman or to the apparent father of the baby.

It is inadequate to say to the people who believed in me that I am sorry, as it is inadequate to say to the people who love me that I am sorry. In the course of several campaigns, I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic. If you want to beat me up - feel free. You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself. I have been stripped bare and will now work with everything I have to help my family and others who need my help.

I have given a complete interview on this matter and having done so, will have nothing more to say.

[meanbiker]

DUH.. he is a democrap.. Just look at Billhillary Clinton..

Two words... WHO CARES?

[donbl1]

Typical politician.

[vastr-wcon]

.
It''s had to say which is worse: the loony-left liberal media''s long cover-up of edwards'' affair (while his wife is dying of cancer) or their ALL-HUSSEIN, ALL-THE-TIME endless propaganda.

The voters are finally beginning to smell the stench from the outrageous behavior of the liberal media''s distortions, lies and cover-ups and they are beginning to understand that the liberal media has fully and completely abandoned all journalistic ethics and will do anything to ensure victory for their favorite left-wing candidates.

Hopefully, voters will keep this in mind when then cast their vote in November.

/

[missybelle-2009]

John, I''m so disappointed.

[dante805]

Dirty main stream media will gloss over this in a day or two. Only Nat enq. and Fox had stories. Where was the NYT and WPO and newsweek and Time? Seems like they were protecting this heel. Just naother DEM fraud, like Obama Kilpatrick, Jefferson, Blagojevich, Rangel, Richardson, Acevado, Apitzer, Patrick, Dixon, Dodd, etc. THE DEMS are really takin it this year.

[zerato-2009]

Imagine that the national enquirer got one right. A blind hog can occasionally find an acorn. I feel for elizabeth and her kids

[sroal92]

ABC says a former Edwards campaign staffer claims he is the father, not Edwards
---

wow, that lady was a popular stuffee, er. staffer.

I feel sorry for his wife, you know, the one with cancer. Nice job ambulance chaser!

[plplearecrzy]

We are supposed to believe the child is not his? He''s lied for months now that he wasn''t having an affair. His poor sick wife!

[mhw1063]

another politician having an affair. what a surprise!!!!

[newbie43]

DUH.. he is a democrap.. Posted by meanbiker

Yeah, the repubes just have gay affairs while saying they''re pro-family and voting against gay rights.

[bigsk8fan]

i guess republicans only have gay affairs based on the comments below. larry craig is normal for republican''s affairs.

[sociald63]

doesnt matter if a dude is a politician, doctor, accountant, pro athlete, pastor, cop, etc - we always have "d-i-c-k for brains"

[newbie43]

posted by dante805

dante, do you think the repubes WANT a lot of stories about how terrible it is for a politician to cheat on his wife. Might open up a can of worms for your candidate, there, bucko. That''s probably the real reason you haven''t heard much about this.

[bretster7]

topblknavy said,
Two words... WHO CARES.



Well of course you don''t care because he is not a Democrat. Had this been a Republican you would have been screaming about how discusting he is, at the top of your little liberal lungs.We care because it shows just what a hypocrite he is. If you recall it was just a few short months ago this slimebag was running for President, and paraded his cancer striken wife out at all the campaign events to show everybody just how "devoted" he was to his wife, and how strong their marriage was.How they were so much in love that every year theygo to Wendy''s for their aniversary, because that is where they met.What a fricken dirtbag.
How you lib''s gonna spin this one? You going to make all the usual comparisons? Yeah, sure you will, because you have no figgen shame. You''re pathetic, and I laugh at this who story. Good work "tabloid trash" Enquirer, you broke the story that the MSM was purposly ignoring as to protect one of their own.

[condumbism]

YAWN!

Nobody cares about heterosexual extra marital affairs except the toe tapping Republicon Pedophiles.

[questionnews]

Funny how some cannot comdem poor behavior, only try to deflect by pointing to the bad behavior of others.

Kinda like getting pulled over by the cops for doing 20 MPH over the speed limit and whine & cry to the cop about the guy doing 30 MPH over the limit 10 miles back.

[sroal92]

Maybe this staffer that has been on more d*ck than Trojan gave johnny E the clap

that''d be funny

[ubrew12]

Its sad. I think Edwards was a great candidate for President and still wish he''d gotten the nod. Its sad that people fall to this kind of temptation.

[squidly8]

ddhinnyc, an excellent post. How much more self condemning can you get than that statement by the man himself?

There will still be the apologists that come out and say it doesn''t matter, that it isn''t a big deal. I am sure that these people wouldn''t be all that approving of their partner going out and having an affair while they are suffering through surgery, chemo, radiation and/or bone marrow transplants.

[pghlady3]

ONCE A LIAR...always a liar. And i know for a FACT he is lying about being the father of the baby. He snuck in the middle of the night to see a woman he doesnt love and a baby that is not his. GET A LIFE.....i truly do however fell sorry for Mrs. Edwards, she does not deserve this while fighting for her life

[mbcsmith]

When the National Enquirer first reported the alleged Edwards-Hunter affair last October 11, Edwards, his campaign staff and Hunter vociferously denounced the report.

"The story is false, it''s completely untrue, it''s ridiculous," Edwards told reporters then.

He repeated his denials just two weeks ago.

Edwards today admitted the National Enquirer was correct when it reported he had visited Hunter at the Beverly Hills Hilton last month.

The former Senator said his wife had not known about the meeting.




Friggin scumbag lawyer. Cheats on his wife while she''s dying of cancer.


Go to ABC news. They have actual facts there!

[blkpresident]

Hey John,

At least you were with a consenting woman and not a lil'' boy in a bathroom stall at a Republican convention.

Toss in the white-towel old man McCain or get steamrolled gramps. None of these side issues will save you from the Obama Shuffle beeoootch.

[questionnews]

First and formost, he''s a lawyer! He''s very well trained to lie. It''s part of the job!!

[mbcsmith]

Its sad. I think Edwards was a great candidate for President and still wish he''''d gotten the nod. Its sad that people fall to this kind of temptation.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by ubrew12 at 03:35 PM : Aug 08, 2008



LOL...LOL again. What about Mark Foley. I see them as two of a kind.

[oneamerican_]

...yet another crapweasel Democrat elitist who is devoid of any conscience or morality.

If this is the best that Democrats can offer, they should just sit out of elections.

[shingles1]

If Edwards is a scum bag for cheating on his sick wife (and he is) then so to is McCain, who cheated on his first wife while she was in the hospital with serious injuries.

Somehow, though, I don''t expect this to get through your thick clownish partisan skulls.

[hasher471]

Friggin scumbag lawyer. Cheats on his wife while she''''s dying of cancer.
Posted by mbcsmith at 03:36 PM : Aug 08, 2008
------------------------------------
Sound familiar?
1965: Marries Carol Shepp, who he will eventually cheat on and leave when she is badly scarred in an automobile accident.
1979: McCain meet Cindy Lou Hensley. McCain starts an affair with Ms Cindy Hensley. McCain leaves wife.

[newbie43]

There will still be the apologists that come out and say it doesn''''t matter, that it isn''''t a big deal. I am sure that these people wouldn''''t be all that approving of their partner going out and having an affair while they are suffering through surgery, chemo, radiation and/or bone marrow transplants.

Posted by squidly8

Sort of like the people who say it was ok for McCain to have cheated on his first wife, as she was recovering from a near-fatal car accident, and then leaving her for a trophy wife? Or the ones who say it''s between a man and his wife if he calls her a c*nt in public? I don''t think McCain''s campaign staff can be too happy thinking about people debating marital infidelity.

[micma-2009]

So what?

[mbcsmith]

If Edwards is a scum bag for cheating on his sick wife (and he is) then so to is McCain, who cheated on his first wife while she was in the hospital with serious injuries.

Somehow, though, I don''''t expect this to get through your thick clownish partisan skulls.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by shingles1 at 03:38 PM : Aug 08, 2008



The only thing you lack is EVIDENCE!

[mbcsmith]

So what?






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by micma at 03:39 PM : Aug 08, 2008



Exactly what I would expect from a LIB.

[irliberal]

Not that his having an affair amounts to a hill of beans (in reality) but I''m glad he isn''t the democratic nominee now! hehe. I think this particular news bit was a bone tossed to frustrated republicans so they can rant and rave. It''s a good bone. It has some limited pr value and makes a great sound bite. But is it likely to even come close to affecting Obama? Nope. 8-) Gnaw away neocons! Gnaw away on that bone! 8-)

[bretster7]

bigsk8fan said,
i guess republicans only have gay affairs based on the comments below. larry craig is normal for republican''''s affairs.



Of course you have the one example that you commie/libs will harp on. Big difference, Craig will not be seeking re-election, and he was not running for president. Had this not been uncovered, I am sure Edwards would have still stayed in the hunt for V.P. or a cabinet post. Nice try skaterfan

[mbcsmith]

Can''t wait for Nobama to admit his affair.

[hasher471]

Friggin scumbag lawyer. Cheats on his wife while she''''''''s dying of cancer.
Posted by mbcsmith at 03:36 PM : Aug 08, 2008
----------------------------------
Sound familiar?
1965: McCain marries Carol Shepp, who he will eventually cheat on and leave when she is badly scarred in an automobile accident.
1979: McCain meet Cindy Lou Hensley. McCain starts an affair with Ms Cindy Hensley. McCain leaves wife.

[realpatriot1]

ddininyc,

I agree with you about Edwards. However, it''s rather hypocritical of you to call him a hypocrit for doing this to his cancer-stricken wife but defend the character of McCain who kicked his ill wife to the curb to shack up with a woman he now enters into topless bikini contests and addresses in public with the C word. Tell me, is that love or the character we should expect from our leaders?

[oneamerican_]

If Democrats have no respect for marriage vows, then how can anyone expect they will respect the oath of office?

Democrats simply cannot be trusted.

[usais11]

I am actually very shocked about it- I know some of you say " So what" and you are right- so what that McCain used Hilton in his ad- So what that McCain likes to joke about things- so what that Obama is not qualified. So what that Obama was hating white Americans with Rev Wright. So what that Michelle just now is proud of her country. So what that McCain is 71. So what.

[newbie43]

I''''d sure like to know how you loons on the left are going to deflect this Posted by Winstrv

By saying McCain did the same thing, and he''s the one holding public office and running for president, that''s how.

[mbcsmith]

Sound familiar?
1965: McCain marries Carol Shepp, who he will eventually cheat on and leave when she is badly scarred in an automobile accident.
1979: McCain meet Cindy Lou Hensley. McCain starts an affair with Ms Cindy Hensley. McCain leaves wife.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EVIDENCE? more LIB LIES to make this scumbag lying lawyer look human

[irliberal]

Sound familiar?
1965: McCain marries Carol Shepp, who he will eventually cheat on and leave when she is badly scarred in an automobile accident.
1979: McCain meet Cindy Lou Hensley. McCain starts an affair with Ms Cindy Hensley. McCain leaves wife.

Sure does sound familiar. Sounds like a McSame to me!

[questionnews]

OK ! How long before "this other women" gets a big money deal for "her story"? Edwards just made that chick alot of money. Will she reveal the details? Will there be a book deal & tour coming? Will she get a spread in playboy? (God, I hope she''s better looking than Monica Lewinski)

[notblue]

This story is not about McCain.

[oneamerican_]

John Edwards is a Bill Clinton wanna-be.

[bud28dy]

The Republican party is thoroughly disgusted by this because he had *** with a WOMAN. Ewwwwwww.

[hasher471]

EVIDENCE? more LIB LIES to make this scumbag lying lawyer look human
Posted by mbcsmith at 03:42 PM : Aug 08, 2008
----------------------------
Check Wiki A$$WIPE.

[mbcsmith]

Still looking for a LIB to provide some evidence on the McCain claim. No? I thought not.

[moneymcbush]

Oh well, at least he didnt have do it like a Republican:
He didnt have to tap any toes in the mens room like Craig, and he didnt hit on teenage boys like Foley.
He did it the old fashioned way, with a woman; like McCain did to his first wife and like McCain is doing to his present wife with Lobbyist Vicki Iseman.

[bretster7]

newbie said,
Sound familiar?
1965: Marries Carol Shepp, who he will eventually cheat on and leave when she is badly scarred in an automobile accident.
1979: McCain meet Cindy Lou Hensley. McCain starts an affair with Ms Cindy Hensley. McCain leaves wife.



All out in the open. McCain has never denied it. That was over 30 and 40 years ago. Edwards was cheating on his sick wife while he was parading her on stage at his campaign events.
You libs live to point out how Robert Byrd was able to overcome the failures of his youth and renounce his KKK affiliation, how that was so long ago he has mended his ways. Same thing here. McCains mistake was decades ago, Edwars was still going until the story broke. Nice try appologist hack.