When the National Enquirer broke the story of John Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter, and his love child, I defended Edwards.
I thought Edwards, who was in the hunt for the Dem presidential nomination at the time, was the latest victim of silly, tabloid trash.
I said I didn't for one minute believe that Edwards would cheat on his wife, especially given her health situation.
During their marriage, they've faced tragedies and challenges together. I couldn't imagine Edwards doing that to her.
Now there's a new chapter in the Edwards saga, also brought to you by the National Enquirer.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS CAUGHT WITH MISTRESS AND LOVE CHILD!Vice Presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards was caught visiting his mistress and secret love child at 2:40 this morning in a Los Angeles hotel by the NATIONAL ENQUIRER.
The married ex-senator from North Carolina - whose wife Elizabeth continues to battle cancer -- met with his mistress, blonde divorcée Rielle Hunter, at the Beverly Hilton on Monday night, July 21 - and the NATIONAL ENQUIRER was there! He didn't leave until early the next morning.
Rielle had driven to Los Angeles from Santa Barbara with a male friend for the rendezvous with Edwards. The former senator attended a press event Monday afternoon with L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on the topic of how to combat homelessness.
But a months-long NATIONAL ENQUIRER investigation had yielded information that Rielle and Edwards, 54, had arranged to secretly meet afterward and for the ex-senator to spend some time with both his mistress and the love child who he refuses to publicly acknowledge as his own.
The story of the rendezvous and Edwards' early morning departure from the hotel reads a bit like a screwball comedy.
At 9:45 p.m. (PST) Monday, Edwards appeared at the hotel, and was dropped off at a side entrance. NATIONAL ENQUIRER reporter Alan Butterfield witnessed the ex-senator get out of a BMW driven by a male companion and stroll into the hotel.
Said Butterfield: "Edwards was not carrying anything. He walked in alone. He was wearing a blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He was looking around nervously before he entered the hotel.
"Once inside, he interestingly bypassed the lobby and ducked down a side stairs to go to the bottom floor to catch the elevator up - rather than taking the elevator in the main lobby. He went out of his way not to be seen."
Meanwhile, Rielle had reserved rooms 246 and 252 under the name of the friend who had accompanied her from Santa Barbara, Bob McGovern. Rielle was in one room and McGovern was in another with her baby. This allowed her and Edwards to spend time alone, a source revealed.
Edwards went out of the hotel briefly with Rielle, they were observed by the NATIONAL ENQUIRER and then went back to her room, where he stayed until attempting to sneak out of the hotel unseen at 2:40 a.m. (PST). But when he emerged alone from an elevator into the hotel basement he was greeted by several reporters from the NATIONAL ENQUIRER.
Senior NATIONAL ENQUIRER Reporter Alexander Hitchen asked Edwards why he was visiting Rielle and whether he was ready to confirm that he was the father of her baby.
Shocked to see a reporter, and without saying anything, Edwards ran up the stairs leading from the hotel basement to the lobby. But, spotting a photographer, he doubled back into the basement. As he emerged from the stairwell, reporter Butterfield questioned him about his hookup with Rielle.
Edwards did not answer and then ran into a nearby restroom. He stayed inside for about 15 minutes, refusing to answer questions from the NATIONAL ENQUIRER about what he was doing in the hotel. A group of hotel security men eventually escorted him from the men's room, while preventing the NATIONAL ENQUIRER reporters from following him out of the hotel.
Said reporter Hitchen: "After we confronted him about seeing Rielle, Edwards looked like a deer caught in headlights!
..."Some guests up at this late hour watched the spectacle in amusement from a staircase nearby."
I have difficulty believing that Edwards would arrange to see his alleged mistress and baby in a hotel in LA.
Certainly a more discreet location could have been the site of the meeting.
And then Edwards attempting to slip out of the hotel, thwarted by Enquirer reporters and a photographer, the running around, the hiding out in the restroom -- It's a goofy scene.
If Edwards was, in fact, holed up in the bathroom for 15 minutes, I'm sure an Enquirer photographer would have captured that. There would have been plenty of time.
One of the reporters could have taken photos or video on a cell phone.
It's strange to me that there's no photographic evidence of the episode.
However, the Enquirer seems bent on proving this story to be true. After all, it has been a "months-long investigation."
Moreover, I wouldn't think the Enquirer would want to mess with trial lawyer Edwards. It would be like begging for a lawsuit.
I don't buy the details of this latest account, but I am beginning to wonder about the alleged affair and the child.
I still don't want to believe that Edwards would betray his wife Elizabeth as she battles her disease. I would hope that he would have the decency to love and respect his wife and children as they deal with Elizabeth's health crisis.
Edwards did get kind of close to being a heartbeat away from the presidency of the United States. It's not good to think that someone next in line to be leader of the free world would be the type to have a Charles Kuralt thing going.
This revelation, true or not, does cast a dark shadow on Edwards, possibly making him less likely to have a role in what could be an Obama administration.
It's hard to say. The National Enquirer has been right, but it's been wrong.
I don't know what to believe. I know what I want to believe.




