Well, I am shocked, just shocked! Imagine me, clutching my pearls and reaching for the smelling salts right at this very moment, because I don’t think I can even handle this completely new piece of information! It turns out that John Edwards has done the unthinkable – he’s confirmed that he’s the father of Rielle Hunter’s daughter Quinn! But… I thought…?
Yes, all of that was dripping with sarcasm, because anyone who has been reading this site (or any gossip or political site) for the past few years knows that Edwards was the father of Quinn. The fact that he lied about it (and for so long!) and that he thought we were stupid enough to buy his lies only makes him more despicable in my book. If you’d like just a cursory review of all of the crap that’s come out about Edwards and his lies, just take a glance through our John Edwards archives. There is seriously so much dirt about this douche bag, I can’t even begin to summarize. Anyway, Edwards finally admitted the truth about Quinn’s paternity in a brief statement to NBC, which People has:
Two-time former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has finally admitted he is the father of 2-year-old child of his former mistress, Rielle Hunter, it was announced by NBC News on Thursday’s Today show.
Attorneys for the former North Carolina senator say he’s been providing financial support for 2-year-old Quinn for about a year, and Edwards has recently signed a child-support agreement with Hunter.
In a statement to NBC, Edwards says: “I am Quinn’s father. I will do everything in my power to provide her with the love and support she deserves. I have been able to spend time with her during the past year and trust that future efforts to show her the love and affection she deserves can be done privately and in peace.”
He continues: “It was wrong for me ever to deny she was my daughter and hopefully one day, when she understands, she will forgive me. I have been providing financial support for Quinn and have reached an agreement with her mother to continue providing support in the future. To all those I have disappointed and hurt these words will never be enough, but I am truly sorry.”
Earlier Denials
In August 2008, Edwards, after earlier denials that he was involved in an extramarital relationship, confirmed that he did have an affair with Hunter, a videographer he met on his 2008 campaign.At the time, Edwards, now 56, denied ever having loved Hunter or having fathered her daughter, saying his relationship with Hunter ended before the child was conceived.
Until Edwards’s new declaration, former campaign aide Andrew Young has maintained that he was the father of the child.
Last year, Edwards said that Hunter accompanied him around the U.S. and to Africa. He also said his wife, Elizabeth, and other family members became aware of the relationship in 2006. Edwards stressed that his wife’s cancer was in remission when he began the affair.
Elizabeth Edwards, 60, is battling breast cancer, first diagnosed in 2004. After initial treatment, Elizabeth announced in 2007 that her cancer had returned and is incurable.
Elizabeth has said that learning of her husband’s affair made her physically ill. Speaking to Oprah Winfrey last May, she described her feelings toward her husband as “complicated.”
The Edwards are now said to be living apart, according to NBC News, which also reported that he is keeping a low profile as an investigation takes place to see if federal funds might have been used to cover up the scandal.
Elizabeth Edwards, who is still undergoing cancer treatment, learned last summer that Quinn is her husband’s child, said a spokesperson.
[From People Magazine]
Here’s the thing – I don’t even buy John’s statement as the complete truth. I don’t think he really cares about Rielle or Quinn or his family, especially since he’s still out there trying to sleep with whatever random women will have him. I think he only cares about himself, while also carrying with him some very self-destructive qualities. Some of the Washington pundits (like Mark Halperin, who co-authored Game Change) were discussing Edwards on Morning Joe this morning, and I had forgotten just how big of an a-hole Edwards was through the 2007-2008 presidential primaries and general election. If you go back, he was still engaged in an affair with Rielle, she was pregnant, then she gave birth to his child, all while Edwards was trying to convince people he should be the Democratic nominee. Then, after Quinn was born, he was still trying to convince Obama (then the Dem nominee) to pick him as vice president. Oh, and then Edwards still wanted to speak at the Democratic convention, even after he admitted his affair! This guy is delusional, and he has proven yet again that he’s scum.
Johan & Elizabeth on the campaign trail. Screencap image of Rielle, via a YouTube clip from Extra.
‘Clutching your pearls…” laughing out loud funny.
I admit I was sucked in by this guy when he first put himself out there as a presidential nominee. Not a good sociopath spotter, I guess. I agree, he is icky.
Only reason to admit this..Someone had some really and I mean really deep ugly dirt on him and were ready to spill all of it.
I predict more stuff coming out soon!
And the only reason he finally admitted to being the baby’s father was to beat Andrew Young to the punch since he’s coming out on the talk show circuit this week to let everybody know he is a lier as well. I cannot stand these types of people!!
he is just so nasty…
I don’t doubt there will be much more released in the near future. That poor child to have such sorry parents on both sides. I also feel for Elisabeth Edwards, but she chose her path a long while ago and I doubt she wants anyones sympathy. I am sure this was not his first “indescretion”.
Why is it that a presidential candidate is sleezy when he lies about an affair, but when the president does it, we’re not supposed to care?
Well DUH!!!!
And in other news, John Edwards will be appearing on Jeopardy. His special subject: The F*cking Obvious.
I’m so tired of the Edwards’ family…no sympathy for any of them,except for the kids.I used to feel bad for Elizabeth,but give me a break.
LOL! I’ll take “Politicians Lie” for $200, Alex.
so, will edwards bother explaining why Young took the fall, and why edwards denied paternity for so long?
agree with boo – edwards wants to spin his story before Young’s book is launched.
bottom line – don’t care. he’s a waste of (column) inches.
Sperm donor? YES.
Father? NO.
A father would never EVER deny a child being his, OR try to pass off a paternity to another man….
Does he have any intention of being in this child’s life at all? Or is he going to be an absent father, sending checks each month?
And how long does a federal investigation take? It’s been 2 yrs now…he either BROKE the law or he didn’t.
Why does it have to be so easy for horrible people to make a child. Two selfish, ambitious assholes. Mother only had her to hang on to the father and the father didn’t want her at all. That poor little kid. What a terrible start to life and it happens all too often.
This goes way past Captain Obvious. Its more like Admiral!
It’s about time, SCUMBAG.
Well dont think pretty boy John Edwards is the only politician screwing around on his wife. Most of those politicians are just like Tiger Woods.
National Enquirer for Pulitzer!
Those bastards are wrong a lot of the time, but when they’re right, they are right on the nose.
Investigative journalism, kept alive by a tabloid.
anybody see that big article on him in one of the ny magazines recently? amazingness. all about what a complete wackjob this guy is, and that his wife isn’t much better.
Blah, blah, blah… but I am seriously laughing at the intro picture used to go along with the title of this article. It’s so wrong, but hilarious.
So. I know we’re not surprised about this bit of a “rvelation”, right? 😉
I also wouldn’t be surprised if he pulled a Prince Charles, and ended up with the mistress … after (if) Elizabeth is no longer here.
NEVER liked him, democratic embarrassment!!! Dick Edwards. I wish politicians would stop trying to sell themselves as GOOD people and sell themselves as effective, intelligent, experienced at governing etc.
Obviously he lied about the baby because he didn’t want to lose his wife and his other children.
For many women, infidelity is a lot easier to accept than fathering a child with another woman. Having a baby means the husband will forever have a connection with his mistress and her child.
I knew from the first second I saw this prick that he was a complete and utter scumbag…and he proved me right. I love to tease my husband (who is from NC) about this…I say “Yeah, NC has never given us any presidents, but you’ve still got John Edwards”! It drives him CRAZY, especially since I’m from VA which has the nickname “Father of Presidents”, LOL!
But really, I found it interesting that ALL the major media completely ignored all of this, and the Enquirer was the one to break this story. Now, if it had been a Republican they would have had EVERY REPORTER on the story, and we would have been treated to 24-7 constant updates….and yet people say the MSM isn’t biased? Look at what they did with Mark Sanford, and while he was stupid and I am NOT defending his actions, he certainly didn’t do anything as sh*tty as cheating on his DYING wife, fathering a kid with some trailer park skank, paying off an employee to take the blame, and lying about it for…how long has this been going on? I cannot fathom how anyone can not see this, and the millions of other examples of this bias, but only call out Fox as being the biased one. Olbermann, Maddow and Matthews are WORLDS more biased and nasty than someone like Hannity or O’Reilly, but they get treated like responsible journalists, while Fox employees are sh*t on. Madness!
UGH. I have never liked this man and never wanted to give him my respect, even though at first I couldn’t put my finger on why not. He just oozes smugness and is the definition of insincere, sneaky, shady, and cocky. Oooph. That big cheesy look on his face and his pathetic ramblings make me feel ill.
“if it had been a Republican they would have had EVERY REPORTER on the story, and we would have been treated to 24-7 constant updates…”
I think that is because people think that being a democrat means you have loose morals, Republicans are for the most part far more religious and therefore it would be more of a “scandal” if they did it as opposed to a Democrat doing what is “expected” of him/her.
Yeah, you can spin it negative both ways.
So he is the father….but will he be a dad to the little girl? I doubt he will step up for that.
Samantha, I don’t agree with the idea of it being more of a scandal if it were a republican because people think that democrats have loose morals and republicans are religious. Do people really think that? That’s so ignorant and narrow-minded. Obviously people of all kinds make up both parties.
I think the idea of it being more of a scandal if it were a republican has to do with the republican party being known for touting “family values”. However in my mind anyone who takes marriage vows and wears a wedding ring has made a commitment to family values and the scandal has nothing to do with his political association and everything to do with him breaking his marriage vows. The big scandal to me though is that when he should have just shut his face and repeatedly told reporters “no comment” and asked them to mind his privacy, instead he went out there and fueled the story with his lies. I don’t care what party he belongs to I am just glad he didn’t make it into the White House. Does anyone think this liar and media manipulator would have had the best interest of the American people in mind? When he didn’t even have the best interest of his own family in mind when he cheated and then further dragged out the nonsense by taking interviews and making false statements, when instead he could have just kept quiet?
“… trust that future efforts to show her the love and affection she deserves can be done privately and in peace.”
dude, even with a speech writer this is how you choose to word this?
I wonder how he’ll word things when he gets caught with his proverbial pen in the party Palin
Didn’t Lizzie-baby essentially give him a free pass on Oprah last year about having to own up to his repsonsibilities to “it (as she called the then newborn that everyone knew was a girl)?”
I want to say she sort of implied that he’s got too much going on “over here” to worry about them over there. I thought that was one of the many reasons people took issue with her.
Someone help or correct me on this.
And I agree, this feels like a pre-cursor to something. A pre-emptive strike…
What a douche bag!!! No one except the deluded believed him anyway…what an as****e
I agree with L. There was something offputting about him from the start. Turns out my intuition was right. And I don’t care what Elizabeth said at this point–considering that she’s fighting cancer with all the inherent drug issues, a cheating husband, and worrying about her own kids’ futures, I’m willing to cut her plenty of slack.
Ok I’m in the minority here but this whole thing breaks my heart. I was blessed with a Dad who treated my Mom like the precious asset she was to him and to us. To be John Edwards child, to have lost your respect for your father’s sense of honor and ethical behavior to know how he has treated your Mom who is very ill and beyond that there are 2 books on the subject. These kids must be devastated, they can’t help that their dad is a royal douche, they just know him as dad. Now they have a sister to bring into the mix I pity them and pray they will get the support they need.
@ L…..I’ll take it a little further.
It extends beyond a mere association with famly values. Some members of the right wing figuratively martyr themselves as they adopt a personal crusade to act as a moral compass for the rest of the country, and perpetually toss around their self-rightousness and moral superiority. Just like the right are known for being thinly-veiled socialists who would rather save a tree than a child. Whatever. So, when you have types like Bill O’Reilly coming into your living room every night so that you can receive your daily instruction on how to repent from your philistine ways in order to be a better, more perfect human being like himself, it’s profoundly hypocritical when he (and his ilk) get caught up in scandals that prove that they are no different and certainly no better than the rest of us who don’t make it our mission to tell people how depraved they are. Since some of them are so found of name dropping, didn’t Jesus say “let he who is without sin cast the first stone?”
If they approached this type of blanketed social morality with some more humility, then perhaps the media would cut them some slack. As that is probably not going to happen, it will continue to be open season on members of the GOP (or any politician for that matter but especially Republicans) who want to preach and legislate how I live my life while they are bonking their secretary.
Also, I really loathe the body language between Edwards and his wife in that last photo. Sad.
I am so ashamed that he is from North Carolina (where I live).
They’re all a bunch of douchebags.
correction: “..just like the LEFT are known for being thinly-veiled socialists.”
I’m glad he admitted it. But I don’t think it’s easy to live with a woman like his wife, and I do think he would be better off with Rielle. I actually think he still is with Rielle except that he doesn’t say so because his wife would raise a stink. EE should have the courage to let him go.
Just read that John-ho is in Haiti. Would it be cynical to point out that he made his paternity announcement right before he left on an image-boosting humanitarian mission?