John Edwards Cheating On Cancer-Stricken Wife? *UPDATED W/ Love Child*
Ok, so it's from the National Enquirer.
Presidential candidate John Edwards is caught in a shocking mistress scandal that could wreck his campaign, The NATIONAL ENQUIRER has learned exclusively.
Sources have come forward to charge that the "other woman" previously worked on Edwards' campaign and followed the 54-year-old candidate on trips across the U.S.
A source close to the woman, whose name is being withheld by The NATIONAL ENQUIRER, says that she confessed to having an affair in phone calls and emails, saying that her work with Edwards soon exploded into romance. The shocking allegation — if proven true — could devastate the Democratic hopeful's campaign, especially because John's devoted wife Elizabeth is locked in a desperate battle with breast cancer.
"The affair started about 18 months ago," a friend says the woman confessed to her. "When they met at a bar, sparks flew immediately.
"She never expected it would turn sexual since John is married and is running for President. But it soon did — and she fell for him."
But, there may be some truth to it. Slate links the Enquirer article with a HuffPo post.
A set of short documentary film "webisodes" made for former Sen. John Edwards prior to his presidential candidacy continues to weave a curious web, this time involving the filmmaker.
The videos, which cost Edwards' One America Committee $114,461, were produced in 2006 by an aspiring actress/producer named Rielle Hunter, who proposed the idea to the senator in a bar in New York City. The objective was to give viewers - and presumably voters - an authentic look at the North Carolinian. But shortly after Edwards declared his White House aspirations, the footage all but disappeared from public view.
It's all about family values.
***UPDATE 10/11/07 1:01am***
Big surprise...Edwards denies the affair.
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards says a tabloid story that he had an extramarital affair is untrue.
"The story is false. It's completely untrue, ridiculous," Edwards told reporters Thursday after he was asked about the National Enquirer report.
The supermarket newspaper reported that the former North Carolina senator had an affair with a woman who worked on his campaign. It did not identify the woman, nor did it name the source of the information for its report.
Edwards said the story was simply "made up" and that he loves his wife, Elizabeth, who is being treated for an incurable form of cancer.
"I've been in love with the same women 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," he said. "So the story's just false."
***UPDATE 12/18/07 11:55PM***
The "other woman", Rielle Hunter, is preggers. She says the father is some yahoo named Andrew Young. However; she has been telling her closest friends that Edwards is the father. The National Enquirer article on the website has disappeared. Here is an excerpt from Dan Reihl via AOSHQ.
The NATIONAL ENQUIRER's political bombshell comes just weeks after Edwards emphatically denied having an affair with Rielle Hunter, who formerly worked on his campaign.
But The ENQUIRER has now confirmed not only that Rielle is pregnant, but she is also living in Chapel Hill, N.C. in a gated community, just a few streets away from Andrew Young, who has been a key official in Edwards' campaign.
Young has been in charge of looking after Hunter, according to sources, and she has been careful to stay out of sight during Edwards' campaign. A former Director of Operations for Edwards' campaign, Young's last official position with the campaign was North Carolina Finance Director.
He left that job about a month ago — nearly the same time Rielle relocated from the New Jersey area to Chapel Hill.
In a bizarre twist, Young, a 41-year-old married man with young children, now claims HE is the father of Reille's baby.
But others are skeptical about his claim and talk of a political cover up is heating up.
Reille, when contacted in person by the NATIONAL ENQUIRER, denied that she was Reille Hunter. Later, she hired a lawyer and issued a statement, saying that Young is the father.
But a source close to the 43-year-old divorcee says Rielle has told a far different story privately.
"Rielle told me she had a secret affair with Edwards. When she found out that she was pregnant she said he was the father."
***UPDATED 08/08/08***
