Her preggieness...
Posted on 12/19/2007 12:37:19 PM PST by Yaelle
Presidential candidate John Edwards is caught up in a love child scandal, a blockbuster ENQUIRER investigation has discovered.
The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively that Rielle Hunter, a woman linked to Edwards in a cheating scandal earlier this year, is more than six months pregnant — and she's told a close confidante that Edwards is the father of her baby!
The ENQUIRER's political bombshell comes just weeks after Edwards emphatically denied having an affair with Rielle, who formerly worked on his campaign and told another close pal that she was romantically involved with the married ex-senator.
The ENQUIRER has now confirmed not only that Rielle is expecting, but that she's gone into hiding with the help of a former aide to Edwards. The visibly pregnant blonde has relocated from the New York area to Chapel Hill, N.C., where she is living in an upscale gated community near political operative Andrew Young, who's been extremely close to Edwards for years and was a key official in his presidential campaign.
And in a bizarre twist, Young — a 41-year-old married man with young children — now claims HE is the father of Rielle's baby! But others are skeptical, wondering if Young's paternity claim is a cover-up to protect Edwards.
Meanwhile, Edwards' cancer-stricken wife Elizabeth has joined him on the campaign trail.
In a statement issued to The ENQUIRER through her attorney, Rielle said: "The fact that I am expecting a child is my personal and private business. This has no relationship to nor does it involve John Edwards in any way. Andrew Young is the father of my unborn child."
But a source extremely close to the 43-year-old divorcée says Rielle has told a far different story privately: "Rielle told me she had a secret affair with Edwards. When she found out that she was pregnant, she said he was the father."
Rielle loves Edwards and will do anything to protect him, the source says.
In The ENQUIRER's Oct. 22 issue, we revealed that Edwards, 54, was involved in a mistress scandal and the shocking allegations — if proven true — could devastate the Democratic hopeful's campaign.
At the time, we withheld Rielle's name, but reported that an insider told The ENQUIRER that she claimed that she began the affair some 18 months earlier. She talked about her relationship in phone calls and e-mails.
After our story was published, several political bloggers correctly identified "the other woman" as Rielle, a self-described filmmaker whose company was hired by a pro-Edwards group called One America Committee and paid $114,000 to produce videos for Edwards' campaign. She worked with Edwards on those videos.
Reporters asked Edwards about The ENQUIRER report during a campaign stop in Columbia, S.C., on Oct. 11. Edwards responded: "The story is false. It's completely untrue, ridiculous," adding: "Anyone who knows me knows that I have been in love with the same woman for 30 plus years."
Rielle issued her own statement through MyDD.com, a pro-Democratic Web site, saying: "The innuendos and lies that have appeared on the Internet and in the National Enquirer concerning John Edwards are not true, completely unfounded and ridiculous.
"My video production company was hired by the Edwards camp on a six-month contract, which we completed Dec. 31, 2006. When working for the Edwards camp, my conduct as well as the conduct of my entire team was completely professional."
But what the rest of the press didn't know is that when Rielle made that claim, she was pregnant, hiding it and had told her confidante it was Edwards' baby.
That's also when it was decided Rielle would relocate to North Carolina, said the source.
The ENQUIRER has confirmed that Young placed Rielle in a rental home in the Governors Club, the same gated community where he lives in a multimillion-dollar home with his wife Cheri and their young children. That home is owned by an Edwards' backer and is less than five miles from Edwards' national campaign headquarters in Chapel Hill, N.C.
A former "Director of Operations" for Edwards' campaign, Young's last official position with the campaign was "North Carolina Finance Director." He left that job about a month ago - about the same time Rielle settled in Chapel Hill.
A source close to Young vehemently denies that he funneled campaign money to Rielle - who drives a BMW SUV registered in Young's name.
The ENQUIRER spotted Rielle — visibly pregnant in a black sweater and loose-fitting slacks — leaving her OB/GYN's office in Cary, N.C., on Dec. 12.
And when asked for a comment about her relationship with Edwards by an ENQUIRER reporter, Rielle responded: "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Asked why she was living in Young's gated community, she answered: "I have no idea what you are talking about."
When asked who fathered her baby, she answered: "I have no idea who you're talking about or what you're talking about."
She even denied that she was Rielle Hunter!
But things changed dramatically when The ENQUIRER contacted Edwards for a comment just days later.
Edwards' lawyer called The ENQUIRER and denied the well-coiffed Democratic candidate is the father of Rielle's baby, adding that Rielle would deny it as well.
A day later, in a shocking twist, the attorney for Mr. Young issued a statement that Young fathered Rielle's baby!
"Andrew Young is the father of Ms. Hunter's unborn child," declared his Washington, D.C.-based attorney.
"Sen. Edwards knew nothing about the relationship between these former co-workers, which began when they worked together in 2006.
"As a private citizen who no longer works for the campaign, Mr. Young asks that the media respect his privacy while he works to make amends with his family."
Neither Young nor Rielle offered any evidence of their prior romantic relationship, and both turned down an ENQUIRER request to take polygraph tests on the claim that Young fathered her child.
Now some insiders wonder whether Young's paternity claim is simply a cover-up to protect his longtime pal Edwards.
"If you have an alternate explanation for a scandal, you don't take 24 hours to offer that explanation, let alone days or weeks," a political insider told The ENQUIRER.
Simply put, Edwards could have nipped the earlier cheating scandal in the bud by instructing his aides to explain that Rielle had been romantically involved with a married man on the campaign. But he didn't.
Instead, Rielle has been telling a confidante that Edwards is the father of her child.
"Rielle told me while Andrew Young is a friend, she's not romantically involved with him," says the source close to Rielle. "Rielle says he's been responsible for finding her a place to live and even getting her a car to drive.
"If he really were the father of her baby and had engaged in an extramarital affair with her, I doubt seriously that he'd bring his wife and kids over to her house for dinner — which Rielle told me he did a few weeks ago.
"Rielle has said from the beginning that the baby is John's, but she appears willing to do whatever they want her to do to protect his candidacy.
"I think what's taking place is simply a cover-up by Edwards' campaign."
And no one has denied the source's information that Rielle has been in phone contact with Edwards since finding out she is pregnant.
When ENQUIRER reporters contacted Young in person at his home on Dec. 12, he became furious — and denied he was Andrew Young.
He also denied knowing "any Rielle Hunter," yelling at the top of his voice: "You don't even know who I am!" But when his wife called him "Andrew," he shot her a dirty look.
An enraged Young called police, demanding our reporters be arrested for trespassing. Officers from the Chatham County (N.C.) Sheriff's Department responded, questioned everyone and made no arrests.
While controversy swirls around her, Rielle — a wannabe actress who by her own admission was a drug-using New York party girl in the '80s — stayed in touch with Edwards.
"Rielle told me that she remains in phone contact with John, but can't see him for obvious reasons," said the source close to her. Published on: 12/19/2007
Young is falling on the sword for Johnny boy.
Some people, like Young and Hillary Clinton, are very understanding of their spouses and recognize their needs.
Edwards will probably get a ten point bounce out of this. LOL
I wonder how long a National Enquirer article will last around here. . .
It’s not that big a deal. After all, this sort of thing didn’t hurt President Hart any, did it?
Any pictures of this Rielle Hunter person available?
toast
He should look on the bright side. At least that will shift attention away from his hair.
Her preggieness...
If that’s THE Andrew Young, we’ll know for sure in about 3 months...
Sorry - i didn’t know if we were allowed to quote from there or not. But they have actually fleshed out the story with provable interviews.
It is indeed strange that both Rielle and Andrew pretended not to “know anything” until they all got their stories straight the next day. The Enquirer usually has some source that they find credible, or they don’t go forward with something this big. And Senator Edwards knows his way around the courtroom, if he desired to sue.
Methinks the “confidante” proved to the Enquirer that she was indeed a very close friend of Rielle’s.
‘When asked who fathered her baby, she answered: “I have no idea who you’re talking about or what you’re talking about.” ‘
Only a blonde could give this answer to this question, folks.....
“Young is falling on the sword for Johnny boy.”
Yeah that or the Enquirer has published a false story, which would be unprecedented. After all, George Bush is still drinking and Laura Bush and the President are estranged.
"P-s-s-s-s-s-s-t-t-T-T!!!
Did you know Edwards has a love child with another woman?
It's true..."
inopportune
Love to see a picture of the Breck girl with a pacifier in his mouth on a baby body with an Edwards shirt—lol.
In other news, Edwards poll ratings just went through the roof here in California..........
I think it's very suspicious that she has suddenly begun querying Hillary about infidelity right about now - when Edwards was about to clobber her in Iowa. Very suspicious indeed.
Just as if it were all on queue - all planned...
And I thought he was neutered or spayed.
>> “LOvE cHiLd... that’s like so cool man...”
That’s one weird-looking... uh... whatever-it-is.
That... thing looks like a love child Bill Clinton fathered with David Lee Roth, although one wouldn’t think that would be possible.
And until I heard this story, I really thought Edwards was the one we had to beat. I could see Hillary almost having her Margaret Hamilton Melting Moment, and I believed Obama would fizzle eventually, and I saw Edwards as “sitting pretty,” waiting to take up the silky mantle of nomination.
Now I am wondering: what is the right thing for Edwards to do in this situation? If this is his child, it will be fairly obvious after the birth: Mommy is all sharp angles and John is all round and cute in the face. He can’t possibly expect that this will stay Andrew Young’s baby forever and all will be forgotten, can he? SOMEHOW he would have to funnel money to this chick.
Maybe the only way to save his bacon is to stand up on TV, with Elizabeth, and cry and moan about how Elizabeth’s treatments meant they could not be intimate, and that they loved each other only, but it got lonely on the campaign trail, bla bla, but they would do right by this woman and baby, waaaaah, and try and get some sympathy from the American People. It has worked for others in the past.
Then again, maybe it’s just not true. In that case, Edwards would have been on TV YESTERDAY saying that he’d love to do a DNA test and have the baby do an amnio and find out in three weeks that it’s NOT his child because it could NOT be his child because he never touched her. End of story.
At least Hart had a looker.
We’ll know it’s true if the baby’s hair comes out perfect. /s
Somebody must have told the Enquirer it was time to run with this story. Clinton Inc., you think?
Who is the Andrew Young they’re talking about?
Great one!
Oh, this is so yummy. Where’s the popcorn?
Do you remember this:
"I do declare... It seems the good Senator has changed his position on off-shore drillin'!"
BWAHAAAHAAAHAA! Undoubtedly the funniest thing I ever heard on the floor of the Senate! Who said that anyway?
I believe that lovely quote was after Sen. Kennedy was caught en flagrante on a boat at sea on top of a (probably gasping for breath) young thing...
If this was the story the L.A. Times was holding off on, then I do think the Enquirer got the nod that “it was time.” And, gee, from whom?? Round up the usual suspects.
"Yes, I did knock her up! I am a virile, manly candidate and I DO sleep with my aides! I DO SO! Oh yes, it IS true!"
I think it was Fritz Hollings
That’s what I was wondering too- but it can’t be- first of all- the article states that Andrew Young is 41 yrs old- and the one in your pic is a good deal older than 41...
Yep it was said about Kennedy — by Heflin of Alabama.
No, I am fairly certain it was Gary Hart... The pictures of him on a boat with his mistress are what started all his problems.. though I could be wrong...
I’d think he’d have to be white if his child would be interchangeable with Edwards’s.
No matter which way things go in the primaries and even in the general, it's not a matter of if but when: Hillary will lose her cool in a spectacularly public way. It's inevitable. It's the nature of the beast -- no pun intended! ;^)
No, two different men. Fmr. UN Ambassador Andrew Young shown in the photo with Carter is now about 75 yrs. old.
K. I concede... still awfully well put. LOL!
If this was his child, he would not have her there in the neighborhood, in one of his houses, for his wife and kids and friends and neighbors to socialize with, he wouldn’t have bought her a car, and he wouldn’t have set his family up to be the butt of ugly gossip and harassment by tabloid reporters.
So that means his family, his integrity, his reputation and his friendships are of less value to him than the career and lily white a** of John Edwards.
As I said, if I was his wife, I’d be ticked.
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