標題:Edwards admits to extramarital affair
(CNN) -- Former U.S. senator and Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards
admitted Friday to an extramarital affair. He denied being the father of the
woman's child, as had been alleged in tabloid reports.
"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," he said in a written
statement. "I recognized my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison
with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness."
In an interview set to air Friday night on ABC's "Nightline," Edwards
acknowledged the affair with 42-year-old Rielle Hunter, which began after she
was hired to make documentary videos for his campaign, ABC said.
"You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself. I have been
stripped bare and will now work with everything I have to help my family and
others who need my help," he added in the statement. Read the full statement
He said that he has not taken a paternity test but that the timing of the
affair rules out the possibility that he could be her baby girl's father.
Andrew Young, a former Edwards campaign aide who is married, has publicly
said he fathered the child. The Washington Post reported Friday that Hunter
acknowledged Young as the father.
When the tabloid the National Enquirer first reported the affair in October,
Edwards flatly denied it, calling the claims "false" and "ridiculous."
Contacted through a former aide by CNN on Thursday, Edwards had refused to
comment on the reports. He also dodged reporters at a recent event in
Washington.
In a July 24 appearance in New Orleans, Louisiana, he would not answer a
reporter's question about whether he had provided financial support to Hunter
or Young.
Contacted through a former aide by CNN on Thursday, Edwards had refused to
comment on the reports. He also dodged reporters at a recent event in
Washington.
In a July 24 appearance in New Orleans, Louisiana, he would not answer a
reporter's question about whether he had provided financial support to Hunter
or Young.
Speaking in support of Obama in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Friday, Edwards'
former rival Sen. Hillary Clinton responded briefly to a reporter's question
about what, if any, impact the revelation of the affair would have on
Democrats.
"My thoughts and prayer are with the Edwards family today," she said. "That's
all I have to say."
While the National Enquirer's claims about the affair were months old, they
were revived July 22 when the tabloid reported it had confronted Edwards at a
Beverly Hills, California, hotel after receiving a tip he was meeting Hunter
and her daughter there.
A former Edwards campaign staffer on Friday would only confirm that Edwards
did the ABC interview, saying he wanted to speak for himself, but declined to
offer more detail. The same person said there was no word of a statement from
Elizabeth Edwards.
Edwards told ABC that his wife's widely reported cancer was in remission when
the affair began.
According to federal election records, the Edwards campaign paid Hunter's
production company roughly $114,000 in 2006 and 2007 for "Website/Internet
services."
The former North Carolina senator announced in January that he was dropping
out of the 2008 Democratic presidential race.
"It is time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path," he said
in New Orleans.
With his wife and children at his side, Edwards said he couldn't predict "who
will take the final steps to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," but he said it would
be a Democrat.
Edwards endorsed Sen. Barack Obama on May 14 during a rally in Grand Rapids,
Michigan.
He trailed Clinton and Obama in the early contests. He came in third in key
races in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Edwards had campaigned on the message that he was standing up for the little
guy, the people who are not traditionally given a voice in Washington, and
that he would do more to fight special interests.
After dropping out of the race, Edwards asked Clinton and Obama to make
poverty a central issue in the general election and a future Democratic
administration, something both agreed to do.
Edwards is a South Carolina native with an undergraduate degree from North
Carolina State University and law degree from the University of North
Carolina.
Before entering politics, winning a Senate seat from North Carolina in 1998,
Edwards was a lawyer representing families "being victimized by powerful
interests" and gaining "a national reputation as a forceful and tireless
champion for regular, hard-working people," according to his campaign Web
site.
CNN's Ed Hornick, Scott Bronstein, Drew Griffin, Matt Smith and Paul
Vercammen contributed to this report.
新聞來源:
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/08/edwards.affair/index.html
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