Former Presidential Candidate, John Edwards admits to Extra-Marital Affair
Associated Press
Issue date: 6/23/08 Section: News
WASHINGTON - Senator. Vice presidential nominee. Leading presidential candidate. Political outcast.
It was a rapid career ascent for John Edwards. Then it all came crashing down when the North Carolina Democrat on Friday admitted that he had an extramarital affair, though he denied fathering a daughter with the woman.
The revelation shattered the family-friendly image he had cultivated and drained the reservoir of sympathy he had built up when he campaigned side by side with his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth.
The political damage is so severe that Edwards, mentioned as a possible running mate to Barack Obama, is not expected to show up at the Democratic convention this month in Denver.
Edwards admitted in shame to the affair in 2006 with a videographer as he prepared to launch his White House 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."
"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," Edwards said.
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 Rielle Hunter, then 42. 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.
A former Edwards campaign staff member professes to be the father.
In a statement provided to The Associated Press, Elizabeth Edwards confirmed that her husband had confessed the extramarital affair to her in 2006 but that after a "long and painful process" she was now standing by him.
After the story broke Friday, Edwards released a statement that said, "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."
It was a rapid career ascent for John Edwards. Then it all came crashing down when the North Carolina Democrat on Friday admitted that he had an extramarital affair, though he denied fathering a daughter with the woman.
The revelation shattered the family-friendly image he had cultivated and drained the reservoir of sympathy he had built up when he campaigned side by side with his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth.
The political damage is so severe that Edwards, mentioned as a possible running mate to Barack Obama, is not expected to show up at the Democratic convention this month in Denver.
Edwards admitted in shame to the affair in 2006 with a videographer as he prepared to launch his White House 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."
"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," Edwards said.
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 Rielle Hunter, then 42. 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.
A former Edwards campaign staff member professes to be the father.
In a statement provided to The Associated Press, Elizabeth Edwards confirmed that her husband had confessed the extramarital affair to her in 2006 but that after a "long and painful process" she was now standing by him.
After the story broke Friday, Edwards released a statement that said, "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."
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