John Edwards admits he fathered child with mistress
former U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina has admitted he is the father of a 2-year-old daughter mothered by a campaign aide with whom he had an affair, according to a report this morning on NBC.
The network’s chief investigative reporter, Lisa Myers, said Edwards released a statement saying he had fathered the child with Rielle Hunter, a videographer in Edwards’ presidential campaign.
“I am Quinn’s father,” Edwards said in the statement aired on NBC’s “Today” show, referring to Frances Quinn Hunter.
“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.”
Edwards did not appear on camera, and NBC’s Myers said legal aspects of the case prevented him from doing so. there is an ongoing federal investigation into whether campaign money was used to try to cover up the affair, although Edwards has denied any wrongdoing.
Instead, longtime friend and adviser Harrison Hickman spoke with Myers on Edwards’ behalf.
“The senator wants to say, first of all, that he is the father of Quinn,” Hickman told NBC. “Secondly, he wants people to know that he has provided for her and will continue to provide for her, as he should, both financially and emotionally.”
Edwards apologized for his dishonesty about the child, saying: “To all those I have disappointed and hurt, these words will never be enough, but I am truly sorry.”
Attorneys for Edwards told NBC that the former Senator and Democratic presidential candidate has “been seeing” Quinn and providing financial support for about a year, and recently signed a child support agreement with Hunter.
The Observer previously reported that Edwards purchased a house in Charlotte for Hunter, 45, and her mother.
A spokeswoman for Edwards’ wife, Elizabeth, said she learned last summer that Quinn is her husband’s daughter.
The admission comes after repeated denials from Edwards that he was the toddler’s father.
“The reason it has taken so long for it to become public is that there were a lot of people involved,” Hickman told NBC. “There are a lot of adults involved, there are a number of families involved, and there are also a lot of kids involved.”
Elizabeth Edwards is undergoing treatment for cancer and opened a furniture store last summer in Chapel Hill.
Edwards’ relationship with Rielle Hunter was first reported in October 2007 by the National Enquirer. Initially, John Edwards called the report “tabloid trash that’s full of lies.”
Andrew Young, an aide to Edwards, said at one point that he was the father of the young girl. By 2008, Edwards admitted an affair with Hunter but denied he was Quinn’s father.
NBC-TV contributed.
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John Edwards admits he fathered child with mistress
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