John Edwards: "Yep, I am indeed a liar and a giant douchebag!"

[Caliga]

John Edwards Admits He Fathered Child During Affair
Former Presidential Candidate Made Statement Ahead of ABC Exclusive With Other 'Father'
By LEE FERRAN, BRIAN ROSS, and CHRIS FRANCESCANI
Jan. 21, 2010 

Former presidential candidate John Edwards abandoned his long denial that he had fathered a child during an affair with a campaign aide and admitted today that he is the father of the almost 2-year-old girl.

"I am Quinn's father," Edwards said in the bombshell statement this morning. "I will do everything in my power to provide her with the love and support she deserves.

The former senator and presidential hopeful had an affair with campaign cinematographer, Rielle Hunter, 42, and she later give birth to Frances Quinn.

"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 statement said, referring to the little girl.

"It was wrong for me ever to deny she was my daughter and hopefully one day, when she understands, she will forgive me," the statement said.

"To all those I have disappointed and hurt, these words will never be enough, but I am truly sorry," he said.

The admission comes a day before the man who had claimed to be the baby's father, former aide Andrew Young, was scheduled to appear on ABC News' "20/20" in an exclusive interview.

Young recently penned a book called "The Politician" about the situation and there is widespread anticipation about what it could reveal about the former presidential candidate.

Edwards' lawyer, Harrison Hickman, bluntly told NBC today, "He lied."

Hickman said that Edwards has been visiting Quinn and paying child support for about a year. Edwards' wife Elizabeth learned last summer that Quinn was her husband's child.

In August 2008 Edwards admitted the affair with Hunter but denied fathering the child in an exclusive "Nightline" interview with Bob Woodruff. Edwards said he repeatedly lied about the extramarital affair with Hunter, a 42-year old campaign employee but strenuously denied being involved in paying the woman hush money or fathering her newborn child.

Edwards categorically declared it was "not possible" that the baby was his.

"I know that it's not possible that this child could be mine because of the timing of events, so I know it's not possible," Edwards said. "[I'm] happy to take a paternity test, and would love to see it happen.

"Two years ago I made a very serious mistake, a mistake that I am responsible for and no one else," Edwards said in the interview. "In 2006, I told Elizabeth about the mistake, asked her for her forgiveness, asked God for his forgiveness. And we have kept this within our family since that time."

Edwards, 55, said he told his entire family about the affair after it ended in 2006, and that his wife Elizabeth, who has incurable breast cancer, was "furious" but that their marriage would survive. The couple have three children, Cate, 25, Emma, 9, and Jack, 7.

Months after the confession, Elizabeth Edwards authored a book, "Resilience," in which she discussed her husband's affair. While promoting the book on The Oprah Winfrey Show in May, she said no paternity test had yet taken place.

But in the summer of 2009, the National Enquirer published reports that Edwards had taken a paternity test and the results confirmed he was the father.

Hunter gave birth to daughter Frances Quinn in February 2008, a month after Edwards ended his bid for the presidency January 2008. She listed no name for the father on the birth certificate, which created further speculation about who it might be.

Andrew Young, a close political aide to Edwards, originally claimed he was the father of Hunter's daughter, not Edwards. But Young -- who has two children with his wife, Cheri -- has since retracted that story and was expected to reveal more about the affair in the exclusive "20/20" interview Friday.

[jimmy olsen]

Ugh, gotta be the biggest jackass to run for the Presidency in decades.

[Caliga]

In other news, zombie Hitler admits he has "a problem" with the Jews, and Al Sharpton admits he is black.

[Martim Silva]

Maybe he should have tried Polyamory.

[Caliga]

Actually, he did try polyamory.  He just didn't check with his wife and campaign manager first about whether that was a good idea.

[DisturbedPervert]

I thought he was a slimeball well before this

[Eddie Teach]

But did he use steroids?

[Caliga]

I thought he was a slimeball well before this

Well, the guy was a tort lawyer.  Duh.

[Viking]

Yes, but which one of these is a bigger liar and douchebag?



vs.

[KRonn]

No surprise. The big loser is his wife, though I guess she knew about the affair while he was running for President. Edwards tried to play on the fact of the caring husband with a sick wife; all the more he's a frigging jack ass, while trying to play up sympathy with the voters. Especially the reaction he'd get as it all backfired on him. 

[Caliga]

One can only imagine the hilarity that would ensue had this con artist managed to con his way into the White House. 

[Admiral Yi]

Say what you will, the man does have a beautiful head of hair.

[Caliga]

One should think so, since he spends $400 on a haircut!

[derspiess]

This man would have made one hell of a president-- imagine all the jokes he would have provided for our out of work comedians & comedic writers.  We should have listened to Ide

[Caliga]

Oh I forgot about that... Ide had a boner for this guy, right?