John Edwards extramarital affair
Encyclopedia
The John Edwards extramarital affair refers to the extramarital affair
admitted to in August 2008 by John Edwards
, a former United States Senator from North Carolina
and Democratic Party
presidential candidate. The affair was initially reported by The National Enquirer
, an American
supermarket tabloid newspaper, but was given little or no coverage by many sources in the American mainstream media
. The Enquirer cited claims by an anonymous source that Edwards had engaged in the affair with Rielle Hunter
, a filmmaker hired to work for his presidential campaign, and that the relationship had produced a child.
The allegations, initially published in late 2007, were denied by both Edwards and Hunter. Andrew Young
, a member of Edwards' campaign team, claimed paternity of Hunter's daughter; although no father is listed on the child's birth certificate and Young has subsequently denied it. The Enquirer's claims received little attention outside the tabloid press and political blogosphere
until July 2008, when several mainstream media
news outlets cited them in relation to Edwards' future political career, and his chances of being selected as a running mate
in Barack Obama
's 2008 presidential bid
.
On August 7, 2008, Edwards admitted to ABC News
correspondent Bob Woodruff that he did have an extended affair with Hunter, but denied he was the father of Hunter's baby girl. Hunter's sister claimed that Edwards was the father, and publicly asked Edwards to take a paternity test to determine whether the child was his.
On January 21, 2010, Edwards issued a statement admitting he was the father. After Edwards' admission that he fathered a child with his mistress, Edwards' wife, Elizabeth separated from him and intended to file for divorce. ABC News reports that Young stated that Edwards asked him to "Get a doctor to fake the DNA results...and to steal a diaper from the baby so he could secretly do a DNA test to find out if this [was] indeed his child." On January 25, 2010, reports surfaced of the existence of an explicit sex tape featuring Edwards and Rielle Hunter
.
When Edwards first admitted the affair, he said that his wife Elizabeth was in remission from cancer. However, it became clear that the affair was still ongoing even after he and Elizabeth made a joint announcement that her cancer had returned and was found to be incurable. Elizabeth died on December 7, 2010.
reported that Rielle Hunter
, a filmmaker, had been hired by the Edwards campaign to produce a series of webisode
s portraying behind-the-scenes life on the campaign trail. Hunter had pitched the idea of the series to Edwards when she met him at a bar
in New York
, where he was attending a business meeting. The campaign paid Hunter's production company, Midline Groove, over US$100,000 for the short documentaries, which were uploaded to YouTube
. Business Week later included one of the episodes in a feature on web video in 2006.
The first apparent print mention of a possible Edwards/Hunter affair appeared in the New York Post
. On August 27, 2007, the Page Six feature published a blind gossip item which asked "WHICH political candidate enjoys visiting New York because he has a girlfriend who lives downtown? The pol tells her he'll marry her when his current wife is out of the picture." The mention in the Post started a tabloid and blogosphere
investigation that eventually led back to Hunter and Edwards.
In September 2007, Sam Stein, a political reporter for The Huffington Post
, reported that the web documentaries had been pulled and were no longer accessible. Representatives from the Edwards campaign stated that the material could not be used due to campaign finance
law. Several days later, The Huffington Post reported that the videos had been reposted to YouTube by an anonymous user.
, an American supermarket tabloid newspaper, published an article claiming that Edwards had engaged in an extramarital affair
with an unnamed female campaign worker. On the same day, Sam Stein published another article at The Huffington Post which contained additional details about Hunter and the Web videos she had produced. The following day, October 11, New York
published a piece which linked Hunter to the Enquirer allegations.
Both Edwards and Hunter denied the relationship claims. Edwards said the Enquirer story was "made up," and was quoted as saying "I've been in love with the same woman for 30-plus years," referring to his wife, Elizabeth Edwards
, "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." Hunter's attorney issued a denial via Jerome Armstrong
, a political blogger and founder of MyDD
, stating "The innuendos and lies that have appeared on the (I)nternet and in the National Enquirer concerning John Edwards are not true, completely unfounded and ridiculous." David Perel, the Enquirer Editor-in-Chief, stood by the paper's allegations, stating, "The original story was 100% accurate."
The Enquirer published a follow-up story on December 19, 2007, that included a photograph of a visibly pregnant Hunter. The Enquirer alleged that, according to their anonymous source, Hunter was claiming that Edwards was the father of her child. The article also claimed that Hunter had relocated to a gated community
in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
, near Andrew Young, a former official with the Edwards campaign who had claimed paternity of Hunter's child. As with Hunter's initial denial of the affair, Young's paternity claim had been issued to Jerome Armstrong and published at MyDD.
The claims received little attention in the mainstream press. CBS News
journalist Bob Schieffer
, asked about the allegations on Imus in the Morning
, stated "I believe that's a story that we will be avoiding, because it appears to me that there's absolutely nothing to it...This seems to be just sort of a staple of modern campaigns, that you got through at least one love child which turns out not to be a love child. And I think we can all do better than this one." Mickey Kaus
, a journalist at Slate
, speculated that the lack of mainstream coverage was motivated by a desire not to harm Elizabeth Edwards
(who was fighting cancer
at the time), or that the news organizations were taking a "wait-and-see" attitude pending the results of the Iowa caucuses
.
According to David Perel, the Enquirer Editor-in-Chief, the paper had received information that Edwards would be visiting Hunter and her child at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California
, on the evening of July 21, 2008, and the paper dispatched several reporters to the hotel. The team of Enquirer reporters encountered Edwards on the hotel premises sometime after 2 a.m. on the morning of July 22. According to Perel, Edwards, who was not a registered guest of the hotel, retreated from the reporters to a washroom
, where he remained until being escorted from the premises by hotel security. The encounter between Edwards and the Enquirer reporters was later confirmed by a hotel guard interviewed by Fox News. Edwards' spokespeople did not respond to Fox's request for comment on the incident.
In articles published immediately after the hotel encounter, the Enquirer claimed that Edwards had visited with Hunter and her child in the Hilton for several hours. The Enquirer also claimed to have videotape of Hunter entering the room where she allegedly met Edwards, and videotape of Edwards leaving the same room, but the paper declined a request from Fox News to release photos or videotape of the incident. In an interview with Radar
, Perel said that the Enquirer would release the photos when "the time is right". The Enquirer later stated that they had filed a "criminal complaint" against the hotel's security over their conduct during the encounter, but the Beverly Hills Police Department
said that there was no criminal complaint, only an "incident report" that was under investigation.
Questioned at a New Orleans event on July 23, Edwards stated "I have no idea what you're asking about. I've responded, consistently, to these tabloid allegations by saying I don't respond to these lies and you know that ... and I stand by that." On the same day, Hunter appeared on the television program Extra
, describing the Enquirer story as "completely unfounded and ridiculous".
On August 6, 2008, the Enquirer published a blurry photo alleged to be of Edwards holding Hunter's baby.
Aside from the Fox News story on July 25, mainstream news sources did not immediately report the story. Articles describing the Enquirer allegations were published by the magazines New York
and Radar
, and the claims were mentioned in opinion columns and in-house blogs of several other papers. On 23 July, Glenn Beck
talked about the story on his show
on Headline News and recommended that if the Enquirer was wrong that John Edwards sue them.
The allegations were discussed by two reporters from The Washington Post
. On 23 July, Roxanne Roberts
said "We have no evidence this is true. Lots of juicy details----enough so Edwards may feel he has to address the issue, especially if it's not true and there's an innocent explanation. Or not. That won't stop anyone from talking about it, but let's assume, until we know the facts, that this could be false." On 25 July, in response to a question as to whether The Washington Post was investigating the claims, political reporter Jonathan Weisman stated "Yes, and to be quite honest, we're waiting to see the pictures the Enquirer says it will publish this weekend. That said, Edwards is no longer an elected official and is not running for any office now. Don't expect wall-to-wall coverage."
On 25 July, Mickey Kaus
at Slate published a 24 July e-mail from Tony Pierce, an editor at the Los Angeles Times
, to the Times in-house bloggers, which referred to the Edwards allegations and said "...I am asking you all not to blog about this topic until further notified." Kaus portrayed the e-mail as a "gag
" order. The incident was also mentioned by Rod Dreher
at The Dallas Morning News
, Paul Mulshine at The Star-Ledger
, and Guy Adams at The Independent
. In an online interview, Pierce defended the e-mail, stating that it was the result of a decision by senior editors at the Times to allow time for the newspaper's Metro Desk to investigate the allegations. Pierce also pointed out that a Times blogger had already posted a story on the Enquirer claims. On August 8, 2008, in response to dozens of e-mails to the Times, National Editor Scott Kraft stated that "this strikes us as a legitimate story". Times bloggers subsequently posted a story on the topic.
Over the period of 27–28 July, the claims, and speculation about their possible impact on Edwards' political career, were picked up by several papers outside the United States, including The Times
, The Independent
, Der Spiegel
, The Irish Independent, and The Times of India
.
In the American political blogosphere
, the story was covered by The Drudge Report, Jack Shafer
and Mickey Kaus
at Slate
, Alex Coppelman at Salon.com
, Rachel Sklar
and Lee Stranahan at The Huffington Post
(Stranahan also cross-posted his article to Daily Kos
) and by independent political pundit James Joyner
, among others. Some of the coverage alleged mainstream media bias
due to Edwards' Democratic affiliation or contempt for tabloid papers like the Enquirer, and compared the coverage to that of a scandal involving Republican
Senator Larry Craig
. Some stated that the non-coverage was motivated by sympathy for Elizabeth Edwards
. Others claimed that the Enquirer was reliable in regards to scandal reporting, noting their reporting on the Gary Hart/Donna Rice affair, the O. J. Simpson murder case
, Jesse Jackson
's out-of-wedlock child, and Rush Limbaugh
's prescription drug addiction. Several pundits stated that Edwards was "fair game" for reporting on the allegations, because he had been recently identified as a potential candidate for Vice President or Attorney General
for Barack Obama
, and that Edwards himself had made his marital fidelity an issue in his campaign.
Blogosphere claims of a media "blackout" extended to the online reference site Wikipedia
and its biographical article
on Edwards. Several prominent sites criticized the omission of information about the allegations, most notably Gawker.com
and the Media Research Center
's NewsBusters blog. Another critic was Roger L. Simon
of Pajamas Media
, whose posts were linked by Glenn Reynolds
at the high-traffic weblog Instapundit
. The Wikipedia biography was later changed to include a mention of the allegations' potential impact on Edwards' political career. The controversy over the Wikipedia page was covered by Wired
magazine, and Kansas City Star columnist Aaron Barnhart opined that the addition of the information to the Wikipedia article influenced later media coverage of the allegations.
As of August 6, cable television news network CNN
had not mentioned the story, and MSNBC
had mentioned it once — on July 31, a late night talk program played part of a David Letterman
"Top 10" list which alluded to the charges. On the same night The O'Reilly Factor
played a clip of a Jay Leno
Tonight Show monologue that mentioned it. Altogether, Fox News had run stories or discussed the matter six times by August 6, more than any other cable news organization.
On the same day, Elizabeth Edwards
released a statement. The statement was first published on the liberal blog, The Daily Kos. The statement said that in 2006 "John had made a terrible mistake", though she went on to praise her husband for "courage in the face of shame". She also said that she hopes people would watch the interview that aired later that night on ABC News
's late night program, Nightline, where her husband admitted the affair to journalist Bob Woodruff. She did, in her statement, criticize the claims that her husband fathered a child as an "absurd lie in a tabloid publication". Elizabeth Edwards' seemingly willing participation in efforts to cover-up the affair have also been called into question. "I think she's complicit," said Brad Crone, a Raleigh-based Democratic consultant. "Obviously, she knew. While she's the victim, she clearly didn't stand in the way of the cover-up."
On August 12, 2008, a friend of Hunter's, Pigeon O'Brien, told CBS
News that Edwards had lied about the time line of the affair. She claimed that the affair began in February 2006, six months earlier than the time Edwards hired Hunter to start working on his political action committee and when he claimed the affair had begun. O'Brien also stated that the affair was not a brief liaison, but a mutual, committed relationship based on love, or so Edwards led Hunter to believe.
On August 13, 2008, Hunter's sister, Roxanne Druck Marshall, gave an interview to CBS in which she personally apologized to John Edwards' wife for her sister's behavior, and also claimed that Edwards had lied in his confession because the affair was of longer duration than he had said and was still ongoing. Marshall also stated her opinion that in the days after the story broke, Edwards provided Hunter and her baby with a new and secret location in which to live, to prevent media reporters from finding her, and she called upon Edwards to tell the full truth about the affair.
An August 13, 2008, article from CBS News
stated, "CBS News legal analyst Mickey Sherman
told Early Show co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez that Edwards might be in legal jeopardy if it could be shown the funds were used for purposes other than the ones they were meant for. 'If you raise money to run for (office),' Sherman explained, 'and if you take that money that people have contributed to you based upon the fact that they think their money is going to a presidential candidate, and you give it to a girlfriend of a God-knows-what ... that's a crime.
Also on August 13, 2008, the New York Daily News
reported that, when questioned about the affair by reporters, Mimi Hockman, Hunter's partner in the Midline Groove video production company, "said the contract they signed with John Edwards had a 'hefty' confidentiality clause that bars her from talking." Two days earlier, on August 11, 2008, Hockman had been questioned by reporters from the Star-Ledger at her home. According to reporter John Mooney, "Mary 'Mimi' Hockman [told reporters] 'Don't waste your time. [...] I'm contractually prohibited from talking to you.
, news media columnist for The New York Times, wrote that while The National Enquirer can be inaccurate, its revelations about the Edwards affair were a service to the public:
on February 27, 2008. The birth certificate listed the mother's name as "Rielle Jaya James Druck"; the child was given the surname "Hunter"; no father's name was listed. Media reports linked the Druck and Hunter surnames on the birth certificate to conclude that the mother was Rielle Hunter; they also noted that the child was born approximately two months after Young's claimed paternity had been announced by Hunter and Young. When questioned about the omission of the father's name from the birth certificate, Hunter's attorney said "A lot of women do that" and that the issue was "a personal matter" between Hunter and Young, before declining to comment further.
In late July and early August 2008, news outlets reported that Edwards was avoiding further questions from reporters about the Enquirer claims. WCNC-TV
, a North Carolina television station, said that Edwards' political career was "effectively frozen" pending resolution of the allegations.
, Edwards' campaign finance
chairman, in August 2008, told NBC News
that he had been providing financial assistance to both Rielle Hunter and Andrew Young without Edwards' knowledge. He further stated that no campaign funds were used. Young had reportedly also successfully solicited funds from Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, a 99-year-old heiress to the Mellon fortune.
warned that Edwards' failure to respond to the allegations could affect his role at the 2008 Democratic convention
. According to Don Fowler
, former Democratic National Committee
chair, "If there is not an explanation that’s satisfactory, acceptable and meets high moral standards, the answer is 'no,' he would not be a prime candidate to make a major address to the convention." Gary Pearce, who ran Edwards' 1998 Senate race, said "It's a very damaging thing. ... If it's not true, he's got to stand up and say, 'This is not true. That is not my child and I'm going to take legal action against the people who are spreading these lies.' It's not enough to say, 'That's tabloid trash. Edwards' admission that he engaged in an affair came less than a day after these warnings were published.
Former congressman David Bonior, Edwards' 2008 presidential campaign manager, stated: "Thousands of friends of the senator's and his supporters have put their faith and confidence in him, and he's let them down. They've been betrayed by his action." Asked about Edwards' future in public service, Bonior further stated: "You can't lie in politics and expect to have people's confidence."
political correspondent George Stephanopoulos
reported that campaign staff members became cognizant of the affair in early 2008. He said that if it appeared that Edwards was on his way to winning the Democratic Party nomination, they intended to sabotage it for the better of the party. Edwards' senior adviser Joe Trippi
said this report was "complete bullshit". He added "No one that I know had such a plan, I wasn't involved in a plan like that, it didn't exist, it's a fantasy." It is known, however, that in August 2006 several staffers (Josh Brumberger, Kim Rubey, and David Ginsberg) had strong suspicions about the affair and left the campaign over concerns about Rielle Hunter. Rubey and Ginsberg later discussed their obligation to the party to come forward with what they knew after finding Andrew Young's paternity claim unconvincing
Although Young had previously stated he was the father, he has recanted in a book proposal. In a pre-release copy of Young's book obtained by the Wall Street Journal, Young revealed that after Edwards and Hunter returned from a trip to Uganda
in 2006, Elizabeth answered Edward's mobile to hear Hunter "launch into a romantic monologue". Edwards confessed to having had a one-night stand but didn’t say with whom. He returned the call in front of his wife to end the affair, but later called Hunter back to say he didn’t mean it. Young also says that Edwards confided in him about wanting to leave "crazy Elizabeth", but couldn't as she played better with American voters than he did.
In late January 2010, John and Elizabeth separated. In February 2010, The National Enquirer reported that Edwards proposed to Rielle Hunter, but that report was categorically denied by an Edwards spokesperson. Elizabeth Edwards died of breast cancer on December 7, 2010.
Affair
Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
admitted to in August 2008 by John Edwards
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
, a former United States Senator from North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
presidential candidate. The affair was initially reported by The National Enquirer
The National Enquirer
The National Enquirer is an American supermarket tabloid now published by American Media Inc . Founded in 1926, the tabloid has gone through a variety of changes over the years....
, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
supermarket tabloid newspaper, but was given little or no coverage by many sources in the American mainstream media
Mainstream media
Mainstream media are those media disseminated via the largest distribution channels, which therefore represent what the majority of media consumers are likely to encounter...
. The Enquirer cited claims by an anonymous source that Edwards had engaged in the affair with Rielle Hunter
Rielle Hunter
Rielle Hunter , August 1, 2008, San Jose Mercury-News. is an American actress and film producer. She is known for having had an affair with and conceiving a child with 2004 Democratic Party vice-presidential nominee John Edwards., August 8, 2008, Chicago Tribune. She is said to be the basis of a...
, a filmmaker hired to work for his presidential campaign, and that the relationship had produced a child.
The allegations, initially published in late 2007, were denied by both Edwards and Hunter. Andrew Young
Andrew Young (political operative)
Andrew Aldridge Young was a key staff member in the John Edwards 2008 presidential campaign. Young came to prominence via a scandal in which he claimed paternity of Rielle Hunter's child born on February 27, 2008. John Edwards had admitted a past affair with Hunter, but denied paternity of the...
, a member of Edwards' campaign team, claimed paternity of Hunter's daughter; although no father is listed on the child's birth certificate and Young has subsequently denied it. The Enquirer
Blogosphere
The blogosphere is made up of all blogs and their interconnections. The term implies that blogs exist together as a connected community or as a social network in which everyday authors can publish their opinions...
until July 2008, when several mainstream media
Mainstream media
Mainstream media are those media disseminated via the largest distribution channels, which therefore represent what the majority of media consumers are likely to encounter...
news outlets cited them in relation to Edwards' future political career, and his chances of being selected as a running mate
Running mate
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position but can also properly be used when referring to both candidates, such as "Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen were...
in Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's 2008 presidential bid
Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008
Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007. On August 27, 2008, he was declared nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election...
.
On August 7, 2008, Edwards admitted to ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
correspondent Bob Woodruff that he did have an extended affair with Hunter, but denied he was the father of Hunter's baby girl. Hunter's sister claimed that Edwards was the father, and publicly asked Edwards to take a paternity test to determine whether the child was his.
On January 21, 2010, Edwards issued a statement admitting he was the father. After Edwards' admission that he fathered a child with his mistress, Edwards' wife, Elizabeth separated from him and intended to file for divorce. ABC News reports that Young stated that Edwards asked him to "Get a doctor to fake the DNA results...and to steal a diaper from the baby so he could secretly do a DNA test to find out if this [was] indeed his child." On January 25, 2010, reports surfaced of the existence of an explicit sex tape featuring Edwards and Rielle Hunter
Rielle Hunter
Rielle Hunter , August 1, 2008, San Jose Mercury-News. is an American actress and film producer. She is known for having had an affair with and conceiving a child with 2004 Democratic Party vice-presidential nominee John Edwards., August 8, 2008, Chicago Tribune. She is said to be the basis of a...
.
When Edwards first admitted the affair, he said that his wife Elizabeth was in remission from cancer. However, it became clear that the affair was still ongoing even after he and Elizabeth made a joint announcement that her cancer had returned and was found to be incurable. Elizabeth died on December 7, 2010.
Rielle Hunter and the Edwards campaign
In December 2006, NewsweekNewsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
reported that Rielle Hunter
Rielle Hunter
Rielle Hunter , August 1, 2008, San Jose Mercury-News. is an American actress and film producer. She is known for having had an affair with and conceiving a child with 2004 Democratic Party vice-presidential nominee John Edwards., August 8, 2008, Chicago Tribune. She is said to be the basis of a...
, a filmmaker, had been hired by the Edwards campaign to produce a series of webisode
Webisode
A webisode is a short episode which airs initially as Internet television, either download or stream as opposed to first airing on broadcast or cable television. The format can be used as a preview, a promotion, as part of a collection of shorts, or a commercial.A webisode can be an episode...
s portraying behind-the-scenes life on the campaign trail. Hunter had pitched the idea of the series to Edwards when she met him at a bar
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he was attending a business meeting. The campaign paid Hunter's production company, Midline Groove, over US$100,000 for the short documentaries, which were uploaded to YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. Business Week later included one of the episodes in a feature on web video in 2006.
The first apparent print mention of a possible Edwards/Hunter affair appeared in the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
. On August 27, 2007, the Page Six feature published a blind gossip item which asked "WHICH political candidate enjoys visiting New York because he has a girlfriend who lives downtown? The pol tells her he'll marry her when his current wife is out of the picture." The mention in the Post started a tabloid and blogosphere
Blogosphere
The blogosphere is made up of all blogs and their interconnections. The term implies that blogs exist together as a connected community or as a social network in which everyday authors can publish their opinions...
investigation that eventually led back to Hunter and Edwards.
In September 2007, Sam Stein, a political reporter for The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
, reported that the web documentaries had been pulled and were no longer accessible. Representatives from the Edwards campaign stated that the material could not be used due to campaign finance
Campaign finance
Campaign finance refers to all funds that are raised and spent in order to promote candidates, parties or policies in some sort of electoral contest. In modern democracies such funds are not necessarily devoted to election campaigns. Issue campaigns in referendums, party activities and party...
law. Several days later, The Huffington Post reported that the videos had been reposted to YouTube by an anonymous user.
Initial National Enquirer allegations
On October 10, 2007, The National EnquirerThe National Enquirer
The National Enquirer is an American supermarket tabloid now published by American Media Inc . Founded in 1926, the tabloid has gone through a variety of changes over the years....
, an American supermarket tabloid newspaper, published an article claiming that Edwards had engaged in an extramarital affair
Affair
Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
with an unnamed female campaign worker. On the same day, Sam Stein published another article at The Huffington Post which contained additional details about Hunter and the Web videos she had produced. The following day, October 11, New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
published a piece which linked Hunter to the Enquirer allegations.
Both Edwards and Hunter denied the relationship claims. Edwards said the Enquirer story was "made up," and was quoted as saying "I've been in love with the same woman for 30-plus years," referring to his wife, Elizabeth Edwards
Elizabeth Edwards
Elizabeth Anania Edwards was an American attorney, a best-selling author and a health care activist. She was married to John Edwards, the former U.S...
, "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." Hunter's attorney issued a denial via Jerome Armstrong
Jerome Armstrong
Jerome Armstrong is an American political strategist and blogger. He is credited as one of the architects of Howard Dean's '04 grassroots Presidential campaign, and one of the leading web strategists in the world...
, a political blogger and founder of MyDD
MyDD
MyDD is a collaborative politically progressive American politics blog. It was established by Jerome Armstrong in 2001. Its name was originally short for "My Due Diligence." In January 2006, the name was changed to "My Direct Democracy" as part of a site redesign, with the new tagline "Direct...
, stating "The innuendos and lies that have appeared on the (I)nternet and in the National Enquirer concerning John Edwards are not true, completely unfounded and ridiculous." David Perel, the Enquirer Editor-in-Chief, stood by the paper's allegations, stating, "The original story was 100% accurate."
The Enquirer published a follow-up story on December 19, 2007, that included a photograph of a visibly pregnant Hunter. The Enquirer alleged that, according to their anonymous source, Hunter was claiming that Edwards was the father of her child. The article also claimed that Hunter had relocated to a gated community
Gated community
In its modern form, a gated community is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly-controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences. Gated communities usually consist of small residential...
in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
, near Andrew Young, a former official with the Edwards campaign who had claimed paternity of Hunter's child. As with Hunter's initial denial of the affair, Young's paternity claim had been issued to Jerome Armstrong and published at MyDD.
The claims received little attention in the mainstream press. CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
journalist Bob Schieffer
Bob Schieffer
Bob Lloyd Schieffer is an American television journalist who has been with CBS News since 1969, serving 23 years as anchor on the Saturday edition of CBS Evening News from 1973 to 1996; chief Washington correspondent since 1982, moderator of the Sunday public affairs show Face the Nation since...
, asked about the allegations on Imus in the Morning
Imus in the Morning
Imus in the Morning is an American radio show hosted by Don Imus on Cumulus Media Networks , and simulcast for television on Fox Business Network....
, stated "I believe that's a story that we will be avoiding, because it appears to me that there's absolutely nothing to it...This seems to be just sort of a staple of modern campaigns, that you got through at least one love child which turns out not to be a love child. And I think we can all do better than this one." Mickey Kaus
Mickey Kaus
Robert Michael Kaus , better known as Mickey Kaus, is an American journalist, pundit, and author best known for writing Kausfiles, a "mostly political" blog which was featured on Slate until 2010. Kaus is the author of The End of Equality and had previously worked as a journalist for Newsweek, The...
, a journalist at Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
, speculated that the lack of mainstream coverage was motivated by a desire not to harm Elizabeth Edwards
Elizabeth Edwards
Elizabeth Anania Edwards was an American attorney, a best-selling author and a health care activist. She was married to John Edwards, the former U.S...
(who was fighting cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
at the time), or that the news organizations were taking a "wait-and-see" attitude pending the results of the Iowa caucuses
Iowa Democratic caucuses, 2008
The Iowa Democratic Presidential Caucus occurred on January 3, 2008, and was the state caucuses of the Iowa Democratic Party. It was the first election for the Democrats of the 2008 presidential election. Also referred to as "the First in the Nation Caucus," it was the first election of the primary...
.
Hotel encounter with reporters
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
, on the evening of July 21, 2008, and the paper dispatched several reporters to the hotel. The team of Enquirer reporters encountered Edwards on the hotel premises sometime after 2 a.m. on the morning of July 22. According to Perel, Edwards, who was not a registered guest of the hotel, retreated from the reporters to a washroom
Washroom
A public toilet is a room or small building containing one or more toilets and possibly also urinals which is available for use by the general public, or in a broader meaning of "public", by customers of other...
, where he remained until being escorted from the premises by hotel security. The encounter between Edwards and the Enquirer reporters was later confirmed by a hotel guard interviewed by Fox News. Edwards' spokespeople did not respond to Fox's request for comment on the incident.
In articles published immediately after the hotel encounter, the Enquirer claimed that Edwards had visited with Hunter and her child in the Hilton for several hours. The Enquirer also claimed to have videotape of Hunter entering the room where she allegedly met Edwards, and videotape of Edwards leaving the same room, but the paper declined a request from Fox News to release photos or videotape of the incident. In an interview with Radar
Radar (magazine)
RadarOnline is an American online publication. It started as a magazine first printed in 2003 as a test issue, relaunched twice in 2005 and 2006, and ceased publication in 2008. The magazine published articles on entertainment, fashion, politics, and human interest...
, Perel said that the Enquirer would release the photos when "the time is right". The Enquirer later stated that they had filed a "criminal complaint" against the hotel's security over their conduct during the encounter, but the Beverly Hills Police Department
Beverly Hills Police Department
The Beverly Hills Police Department is the police department of the City of Beverly Hills, California. The current police chief of the BHPD is David L. Snowden.-History:...
said that there was no criminal complaint, only an "incident report" that was under investigation.
Questioned at a New Orleans event on July 23, Edwards stated "I have no idea what you're asking about. I've responded, consistently, to these tabloid allegations by saying I don't respond to these lies and you know that ... and I stand by that." On the same day, Hunter appeared on the television program Extra
Extra (TV series)
Extra is an American entertainment television news program covering events and celebrities which debuted on September 5, 1994 in syndication. It is produced at Victory Studios in Glendale, California by Telepictures Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Distribution...
, describing the Enquirer story as "completely unfounded and ridiculous".
On August 6, 2008, the Enquirer published a blurry photo alleged to be of Edwards holding Hunter's baby.
Coverage of the allegations
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
and Radar
Radar (magazine)
RadarOnline is an American online publication. It started as a magazine first printed in 2003 as a test issue, relaunched twice in 2005 and 2006, and ceased publication in 2008. The magazine published articles on entertainment, fashion, politics, and human interest...
, and the claims were mentioned in opinion columns and in-house blogs of several other papers. On 23 July, Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck
Glenn Edward Lee Beck is an American conservative radio host, vlogger, author, entrepreneur, political commentator and former television host. He hosts the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks...
talked about the story on his show
Glenn Beck (TV program)
Glenn Beck is a United States cable news show hosted by Glenn Beck that aired weekdays on Fox News Channel. The program, originally on CNN Headline News , premiered on FNC on January 19, 2009 and aired weekdays at 5:00 PM EST...
on Headline News and recommended that if the Enquirer was wrong that John Edwards sue them.
The allegations were discussed by two reporters from The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
. On 23 July, Roxanne Roberts
Roxanne Roberts
Roxanne M. Roberts is a style writer for the Washington Post. She shares "The Reliable Source" column with Amy Argetsinger. She is a regular panelist on the NPR quiz show Wait Wait.....
said "We have no evidence this is true. Lots of juicy details----enough so Edwards may feel he has to address the issue, especially if it's not true and there's an innocent explanation. Or not. That won't stop anyone from talking about it, but let's assume, until we know the facts, that this could be false." On 25 July, in response to a question as to whether The Washington Post was investigating the claims, political reporter Jonathan Weisman stated "Yes, and to be quite honest, we're waiting to see the pictures the Enquirer says it will publish this weekend. That said, Edwards is no longer an elected official and is not running for any office now. Don't expect wall-to-wall coverage."
On 25 July, Mickey Kaus
Mickey Kaus
Robert Michael Kaus , better known as Mickey Kaus, is an American journalist, pundit, and author best known for writing Kausfiles, a "mostly political" blog which was featured on Slate until 2010. Kaus is the author of The End of Equality and had previously worked as a journalist for Newsweek, The...
at Slate published a 24 July e-mail from Tony Pierce, an editor at the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, to the Times in-house bloggers, which referred to the Edwards allegations and said "...I am asking you all not to blog about this topic until further notified." Kaus portrayed the e-mail as a "gag
Gag order
A gag order is an order, sometimes a legal order by a court or government, other times a private order by an employer or other institution, restricting information or comment from being made public.Gag orders are often used against participants involved in a lawsuit or criminal trial...
" order. The incident was also mentioned by Rod Dreher
Rod Dreher
Rod Dreher is an American writer and editor. He was a conservative editorial writer and a columnist for The Dallas Morning News, but departed that newspaper in late 2009 to affiliate with the John Templeton Foundation. He has also contributed in the past to The American Conservative and National...
at The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
, Paul Mulshine at The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
, and Guy Adams at The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
. In an online interview, Pierce defended the e-mail, stating that it was the result of a decision by senior editors at the Times to allow time for the newspaper's Metro Desk to investigate the allegations. Pierce also pointed out that a Times blogger had already posted a story on the Enquirer claims. On August 8, 2008, in response to dozens of e-mails to the Times, National Editor Scott Kraft stated that "this strikes us as a legitimate story". Times bloggers subsequently posted a story on the topic.
Over the period of 27–28 July, the claims, and speculation about their possible impact on Edwards' political career, were picked up by several papers outside the United States, including The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
, The Irish Independent, and The Times of India
The Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
.
In the American political blogosphere
Blogosphere
The blogosphere is made up of all blogs and their interconnections. The term implies that blogs exist together as a connected community or as a social network in which everyday authors can publish their opinions...
, the story was covered by The Drudge Report, Jack Shafer
Jack Shafer
Jack Shafer covers media for Reuters.com Opinion section. Prior to joining Reuters, he edited and wrote the column Press Box for Slate, an online magazine. Before his stay at Slate, Shafer edited two city weeklies, Washington City Paper and SF Weekly...
and Mickey Kaus
Mickey Kaus
Robert Michael Kaus , better known as Mickey Kaus, is an American journalist, pundit, and author best known for writing Kausfiles, a "mostly political" blog which was featured on Slate until 2010. Kaus is the author of The End of Equality and had previously worked as a journalist for Newsweek, The...
at Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
, Alex Coppelman at Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
, Rachel Sklar
Rachel Sklar
Rachel Sklar CNN contributor is a lawyer and New York-based media blogger.-Early Years:Sklar is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario where she was the Vice-President Communications of the University Students' Council, as well as a regular contributor to the campus newspaper, The Gazette...
and Lee Stranahan at The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
(Stranahan also cross-posted his article to Daily Kos
Daily Kos
Daily Kos is an American political blog that publishes news and opinions from a progressive point of view. It functions as a discussion forum and group blog for a variety of netroots activists, whose efforts are primarily directed toward influencing and strengthening the Democratic Party...
) and by independent political pundit James Joyner
James Joyner
James Joyner is best known as the founder and editor-in-chief of the weblog Outside The Beltway and a frequent contributor to TCS Daily .-Career:...
, among others. Some of the coverage alleged mainstream media bias
Media bias
Media bias refers to the bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of events and stories that are reported and how they are covered. The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening the standards of journalism, rather than the...
due to Edwards' Democratic affiliation or contempt for tabloid papers like the Enquirer, and compared the coverage to that of a scandal involving Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Senator Larry Craig
Larry Craig
Larry Edwin Craig is a former Republican politician from the U.S. state of Idaho. He served 18 years in the U.S. Senate , preceded by 10 years in the U.S. House, representing Idaho's first district . His 28 years in the Congress rank as the second-longest in Idaho history, trailing only William...
. Some stated that the non-coverage was motivated by sympathy for Elizabeth Edwards
Elizabeth Edwards
Elizabeth Anania Edwards was an American attorney, a best-selling author and a health care activist. She was married to John Edwards, the former U.S...
. Others claimed that the Enquirer was reliable in regards to scandal reporting, noting their reporting on the Gary Hart/Donna Rice affair, the O. J. Simpson murder case
O. J. Simpson murder case
The O. J. Simpson murder case was a criminal trial held in Los Angeles County, California Superior Court from January 29 to October 3, 1995. Former American football star and actor O. J...
, Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
's out-of-wedlock child, and Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
's prescription drug addiction. Several pundits stated that Edwards was "fair game" for reporting on the allegations, because he had been recently identified as a potential candidate for Vice President or Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
for Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, and that Edwards himself had made his marital fidelity an issue in his campaign.
Blogosphere claims of a media "blackout" extended to the online reference site Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
and its biographical article
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
on Edwards. Several prominent sites criticized the omission of information about the allegations, most notably Gawker.com
Gawker.com
Gawker is a newsmagazine/blog based in New York City that bills itself as "the source for daily Manhattan media news and gossip" and focuses on celebrities and the media industry....
and the Media Research Center
Media Research Center
The Media Research Center is a content analysis organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, founded in 1987 by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III...
's NewsBusters blog. Another critic was Roger L. Simon
Roger L. Simon
Roger Lichtenberg Simon is an American novelist and screenwriter. He is currently CEO of Pajamas Media. He is the author of ten novels, including the Moses Wine detective series, and six screenplays...
of Pajamas Media
Pajamas Media
PJ Media is a media company that uses the Internet to present and comment on the news.Founded in 2004 by a network primarily, but not exclusively, made up of conservatives and libertarians led by mystery writer, screenwriter, and blogger Roger L...
, whose posts were linked by Glenn Reynolds
Glenn Reynolds
Glenn Harlan Reynolds is Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee, and is best known for his weblog, Instapundit, one of the most widely read American political weblogs...
at the high-traffic weblog Instapundit
Instapundit
Instapundit is a United States political blog produced by Glenn Reynolds, a law professor at the University of Tennessee. The blog began in August 2001 as an experiment, and a part of Reynolds' class on Internet law...
. The Wikipedia biography was later changed to include a mention of the allegations' potential impact on Edwards' political career. The controversy over the Wikipedia page was covered by Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
magazine, and Kansas City Star columnist Aaron Barnhart opined that the addition of the information to the Wikipedia article influenced later media coverage of the allegations.
As of August 6, cable television news network CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
had not mentioned the story, and MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
had mentioned it once — on July 31, a late night talk program played part of a David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
"Top 10" list which alluded to the charges. On the same night The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998 and often called The Factor, is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.The program was the most watched...
played a clip of a Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
Tonight Show monologue that mentioned it. Altogether, Fox News had run stories or discussed the matter six times by August 6, more than any other cable news organization.
Edwards admitting the affair
On August 8, 2008, in a statement that coincided with the Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games, Edwards admitted to the affair, but denied that he was the father of the child and said he was willing to take a paternity test. His statement included: "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 percent honest is no longer enough..."On the same day, Elizabeth Edwards
Elizabeth Edwards
Elizabeth Anania Edwards was an American attorney, a best-selling author and a health care activist. She was married to John Edwards, the former U.S...
released a statement. The statement was first published on the liberal blog, The Daily Kos. The statement said that in 2006 "John had made a terrible mistake", though she went on to praise her husband for "courage in the face of shame". She also said that she hopes people would watch the interview that aired later that night on ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
's late night program, Nightline, where her husband admitted the affair to journalist Bob Woodruff. She did, in her statement, criticize the claims that her husband fathered a child as an "absurd lie in a tabloid publication". Elizabeth Edwards' seemingly willing participation in efforts to cover-up the affair have also been called into question. "I think she's complicit," said Brad Crone, a Raleigh-based Democratic consultant. "Obviously, she knew. While she's the victim, she clearly didn't stand in the way of the cover-up."
On August 12, 2008, a friend of Hunter's, Pigeon O'Brien, told CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
News that Edwards had lied about the time line of the affair. She claimed that the affair began in February 2006, six months earlier than the time Edwards hired Hunter to start working on his political action committee and when he claimed the affair had begun. O'Brien also stated that the affair was not a brief liaison, but a mutual, committed relationship based on love, or so Edwards led Hunter to believe.
On August 13, 2008, Hunter's sister, Roxanne Druck Marshall, gave an interview to CBS in which she personally apologized to John Edwards' wife for her sister's behavior, and also claimed that Edwards had lied in his confession because the affair was of longer duration than he had said and was still ongoing. Marshall also stated her opinion that in the days after the story broke, Edwards provided Hunter and her baby with a new and secret location in which to live, to prevent media reporters from finding her, and she called upon Edwards to tell the full truth about the affair.
An August 13, 2008, article from CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
stated, "CBS News legal analyst Mickey Sherman
Mickey Sherman
Michael "Mickey" Sherman, a criminal-defense attorney who has represented some famous clients, often appeared as a legal analyst on cable television talk shows. In June 2010, Sherman plead guilty for failing to pay more than $1.1 million in federal taxes....
told Early Show co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez that Edwards might be in legal jeopardy if it could be shown the funds were used for purposes other than the ones they were meant for. 'If you raise money to run for (office),' Sherman explained, 'and if you take that money that people have contributed to you based upon the fact that they think their money is going to a presidential candidate, and you give it to a girlfriend of a God-knows-what ... that's a crime.
Also on August 13, 2008, the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
reported that, when questioned about the affair by reporters, Mimi Hockman, Hunter's partner in the Midline Groove video production company, "said the contract they signed with John Edwards had a 'hefty' confidentiality clause that bars her from talking." Two days earlier, on August 11, 2008, Hockman had been questioned by reporters from the Star-Ledger at her home. According to reporter John Mooney, "Mary 'Mimi' Hockman [told reporters] 'Don't waste your time. [...] I'm contractually prohibited from talking to you.
Later commentary on news media coverage decisions
On August 18, 2008, David CarrDavid Carr (journalist)
David Carr is an American journalist and author. He is a media and culture columnist for The New York Times. In his 2008 memoir, The Night of the Gun, he detailed his past experiences with cocaine addiction and includes interviews with people from his past, tackling his memoir as if he were...
, news media columnist for The New York Times, wrote that while The National Enquirer can be inaccurate, its revelations about the Edwards affair were a service to the public:
- There are some stories, especially ones that occur in the bedroom, where mainstream media outlets sometimes can’t venture — or at least they can’t find it in themselves to lead the charge. But it would be hard to argue that the body politic is not enriched by the recent revelations that Mr. Edwards is not who we thought he was, even balanced against the many stories the Enquirer gets wrong. (Even in his confession, Mr. Edwards wrinkled his nose and suggested that the allegations had originated with "supermarket tabloids", as if the method of conveyance absolved him of the deeds described.)
Birth certificate
On August 1, 2008, the Enquirer published an article naming Hunter's child. Mainstream news organizations subsequently obtained a copy of the birth certificate, and confirmed that a girl had been born at Santa Barbara Cottage HospitalSanta Barbara Cottage Hospital
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital is a hospital in the city of Santa Barbara, California. It is owned and operated by Cottage Health System.It is the only Level II trauma center between Los Angeles and the Bay Area on coastal California...
on February 27, 2008. The birth certificate listed the mother's name as "Rielle Jaya James Druck"; the child was given the surname "Hunter"; no father's name was listed. Media reports linked the Druck and Hunter surnames on the birth certificate to conclude that the mother was Rielle Hunter; they also noted that the child was born approximately two months after Young's claimed paternity had been announced by Hunter and Young. When questioned about the omission of the father's name from the birth certificate, Hunter's attorney said "A lot of women do that" and that the issue was "a personal matter" between Hunter and Young, before declining to comment further.
In late July and early August 2008, news outlets reported that Edwards was avoiding further questions from reporters about the Enquirer claims. WCNC-TV
WCNC-TV
WCNC-TV is the NBC affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 22 and is carried on cable channel 6 on most area cable systems. It is owned by the Belo Corporation...
, a North Carolina television station, said that Edwards' political career was "effectively frozen" pending resolution of the allegations.
Payments to Hunter and Young
Frederick BaronFrederick Baron
Frederick Martin Baron was a trial lawyer best known for representing plaintiffs claiming toxic and chemical exposure...
, Edwards' campaign finance
Campaign finance
Campaign finance refers to all funds that are raised and spent in order to promote candidates, parties or policies in some sort of electoral contest. In modern democracies such funds are not necessarily devoted to election campaigns. Issue campaigns in referendums, party activities and party...
chairman, in August 2008, told NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
that he had been providing financial assistance to both Rielle Hunter and Andrew Young without Edwards' knowledge. He further stated that no campaign funds were used. Young had reportedly also successfully solicited funds from Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, a 99-year-old heiress to the Mellon fortune.
Reactions
In August 2008, senior figures in the Democratic PartyDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
warned that Edwards' failure to respond to the allegations could affect his role at the 2008 Democratic convention
2008 Democratic National Convention
The United States 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for President and Vice President of the United States. The convention was held in Denver,...
. According to Don Fowler
Donald Fowler
Donald L. Fowler served as National Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1995 to 1997. Fowler is a political science professor and businessman from South Carolina who has spent most of his adult life in various Democratic Party roles, including state party executive director, state...
, former Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
chair, "If there is not an explanation that’s satisfactory, acceptable and meets high moral standards, the answer is 'no,' he would not be a prime candidate to make a major address to the convention." Gary Pearce, who ran Edwards' 1998 Senate race, said "It's a very damaging thing. ... If it's not true, he's got to stand up and say, 'This is not true. That is not my child and I'm going to take legal action against the people who are spreading these lies.' It's not enough to say, 'That's tabloid trash. Edwards' admission that he engaged in an affair came less than a day after these warnings were published.
Former congressman David Bonior, Edwards' 2008 presidential campaign manager, stated: "Thousands of friends of the senator's and his supporters have put their faith and confidence in him, and he's let them down. They've been betrayed by his action." Asked about Edwards' future in public service, Bonior further stated: "You can't lie in politics and expect to have people's confidence."
Alleged campaign staffers "doomsday" plan
In May 2009, ABC NewsABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
political correspondent George Stephanopoulos
George Stephanopoulos
George Robert Stephanopoulos is an American television journalist and a former political advisor.Stephanopoulos is most well known as the chief political correspondent for ABC News – the news division of the broadcast television network ABC – and a co-anchor of ABC News's morning news...
reported that campaign staff members became cognizant of the affair in early 2008. He said that if it appeared that Edwards was on his way to winning the Democratic Party nomination, they intended to sabotage it for the better of the party. Edwards' senior adviser Joe Trippi
Joe Trippi
Joe Trippi is a long-time American Democratic campaign worker and consultant. A mainstay in presidential politics, Trippi has worked on the presidential campaigns of Edward Kennedy, Walter Mondale, Gary Hart, Dick Gephardt, Jerry Brown and most recently John Edwards...
said this report was "complete bullshit". He added "No one that I know had such a plan, I wasn't involved in a plan like that, it didn't exist, it's a fantasy." It is known, however, that in August 2006 several staffers (Josh Brumberger, Kim Rubey, and David Ginsberg) had strong suspicions about the affair and left the campaign over concerns about Rielle Hunter. Rubey and Ginsberg later discussed their obligation to the party to come forward with what they knew after finding Andrew Young's paternity claim unconvincing
Subsequent events
A federal grand jury investigated whether any Edwards campaign funds were misspent on covering up the affair. On August 6, 2009, Hunter testified before a federal grand jury in Raleigh, North Carolina. On January 21, 2010, John Edwards finally admitted that he was, indeed, Quinn's father.Although Young had previously stated he was the father, he has recanted in a book proposal. In a pre-release copy of Young's book obtained by the Wall Street Journal, Young revealed that after Edwards and Hunter returned from a trip to Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
in 2006, Elizabeth answered Edward's mobile to hear Hunter "launch into a romantic monologue". Edwards confessed to having had a one-night stand but didn’t say with whom. He returned the call in front of his wife to end the affair, but later called Hunter back to say he didn’t mean it. Young also says that Edwards confided in him about wanting to leave "crazy Elizabeth", but couldn't as she played better with American voters than he did.
In late January 2010, John and Elizabeth separated. In February 2010, The National Enquirer reported that Edwards proposed to Rielle Hunter, but that report was categorically denied by an Edwards spokesperson. Elizabeth Edwards died of breast cancer on December 7, 2010.
Indictment
On June 3, 2011, Edwards was indicted by a North Carolina grand jury on six felony charges. Edwards faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine, $250,000 and/or 5 years imprisonment per charge. The indictment came after intensive negotiation for a plea bargain agreement failed. The agreement would have had Edwards plead guilty to three misdemeanor campaign finance law violations, and serve up to six months in prison, but allow Edwards to keep his law license.External links
- Saint Elizabeth and the Ego Monster by John Heilemann & Mark Halperin, New Yorker magazine, January 9, 2010