» John Edwards Affair: Deception Continued During ABC Interview

John Edwards’ Interview and Statement Contains Claims Sure to be Scrutinized

John Edwards on:
* Affair ended in 2006
* No more to say
* Tabloids
* What Baby?

Edwards’ “Web of Deception” Continues

A few short minutes after ABC announced that John Edwards admitted his affair with Rielle Hunter and was going to appear on Friday’s Nightline to talk about it, DBKP wrote:

“The political calculus is: Edwards hopes that his admission of having an affair will allow the incident to blow over, allowing him to proceed with his political career.”

UPDATES to follow, at end of story.
UPDATE #1: 15:33 EDT August 10, 2008 - MSM Scorned
UPDATE #2: 1557 EDT -What Ended Up on the floor & Shock and Awe Among Edwards’ Former Staff
Next UPDATE at 21:00 EDT August 10, 2008

After reading Edwards’ statement, one question arose immediately: did John Edwards only came forward after he was cornered by the National Enquirer–which he repeatedly labeled “tabloid trash”–and a few reporters in the traditional press were finally, after almost a year, beginning to take an interest? The answer is almost certainly: yes.

After watching Edwards’ Nightline appearance and examining the allegations he made in the interview, several of Edwards’ claims don’t hold up.

Tangled Web

Was John Edwards the “99% honest” man on Friday? At DBKP, we noticed one falsehood almost immediately, which was confirmed the next day. John Edwards said that his affair with Rielle Hunter ended in 2006. He said it three times in his statement: it must have been an important point.

It was–and is.

It allows Edwards to claim he is not the father of Frances Quinn Hunter. We weren’t the only ones who noticed that point.

How many times did Edwards prevaricate in his statement and interview? We believe that it happened three times–it’s likely there’s more when the whole truth finally comes out.

“my actions in 2006…”

“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…I was and am ashamed of my conduct and choices, and I had hoped that it would never become public. With my family, I took responsibility for my actions in 2006 and today I take full responsibility publicly. But that misconduct took place for a short period in 2006. It ended then.”
–Edwards’ statement: John Edwards Scandal: Edwards Releases Statement to Press

There are many reasons to believe that Edwards is lying–the word sounds harsh–when he stated that his affair with Rielle Hunter ended in 2006. There is only reason to believe John Edwards on this point: his word.

Sam Stein is back on the Edwards’ case at Huffington Post and reveals that Edwards lied during his appearance on Nightline.
John Edwards’ False Assertion During The ABC Interview

WOODRUFF: When you hired Ms. Hunter, that was back in 2006, the committee hired in July 2006, paid her $114,000 to make films for you… Uh was the affair going on when you hired her?

EDWARDS: No. No. And again, I always said this to you, I don’t think I’m going to go through the details of this, I already did it with Elizabeth– uh, she was hired to come in and produce films and that’s the reason she was hired.

WOODRUFF: But this had nothing to do with the fact that you were having an affair with her?

EDWARDS: Same answer. Same answer — no I did not.

WOODRUFF: So you hired her before it even started?

EDWARDS: That is correct.

A review of political action committee payments, contemporaneous reporting, and emails obtained by the Huffington Post reveal this statement to be false.

Edwards and Hunter initially met each other sometime during the winter of 2006 (either late December 2005 or early January) in a hotel restaurant in midtown Manhattan. It would be another seven months before Edwards would first pay her for the documentary work.

What happened in between that winter meeting and the start of filming? Emails sent by Hunter suggest that her romance with Edwards was in full bloom that spring. In early April, Hunter wrote about a trip she had taken to North Carolina to see the man whom she affectionately referred to as “my love lips.”

A week later she wrote another email in which she described the mental anguish of “being in love with a (still somewhat dysfunctional) married man.”

Stein rightly observes, “In the context of admitting to an affair, it may seem innocent for Edwards to have misled ABC about the starting point. But the precise date is important. Over the course of nine months Edwards would spend more than $114,000 of the One America Committee’s budget on Hunter’s films. Whether he did that in an effort to have Hunter around or as a legitimate documentary project would likely make a difference to those who thought they were contributing to a poverty-eradication effort.”

Nearly a year ago–at least eight months after John Edwards alleges the affair was over–a small item was published in the New York Daily Post, which support Stein’s claim.

Continue reading: John Edwards Scandal: Edwards Continues Deception in Interview

by Mondoreb
Source: John Edwards Scandal: Edwards Continues Deception in Interview

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