Legal Commentary

Timing: John Edwards Affair and His Candidacy

By Jeralyn

I just watched ABC's World News Tonight. It shows the interview with John Edwards without sound, using text overlay for some of his quotes. You'll have to watch Nightline to hear him in his own voice.

The interview does provide these dates:

• Edwards says he met Rielle Hunter in 2006 -- after she was hired as a campaign videographer. The affair was in 2006.
• He told Elizabeth about the affair in 2006. She was furious.
• Edwards launched his presidential campaign in December, 2006.
• The National Enquirer reported the affair in October, 2007, and Edwards denied it.
• Edwards came in second in the Iowa caucuses in January, 2008 and dropped out a few weeks later.
• The baby was born in Feb. 2008.
• He denies being the father because the affair ended before Hunter would have conceived.
• Edwards met with Hunter last month at the hotel in Beverly Hills to convince her to stay quiet about their affair. He doubts the authenticity of the Enquirer photograph showing him holding the child.

More...

Edwards says he's paid Hunter nothing. But his campaign finance chair says without Edwards' knowledge or consent, he paid Hunter $114k. The AP reports the payments were made from Edwards' One America Committee beginning on July 5, 2006. She incorporated her company, Midline Groove Productions LLC , 5 days earlier in Delaware.

The last two payments to Hunter were totalled $14,461, and were made on April 1, 2007.

Update: Elizabeth Edwards has posted this diary today at Daily Kos. She asks for an end to the voyeurism of the media as they continue the repair work they began in 2006.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on August 08, 2008 (boomark / email).