The Edwards affair: Late 2006?

Posted: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 9:15 AM by Domenico Montanaro

WashingtonPost.com reports: “Photographs distributed by wire services and posted online by technology blogger Robert Scoble show that former North Carolina senator John Edwards took his mistress Rielle Hunter with him on the plane during his late 2006 presidential campaign announcement tour. As can be seen in this Dec. 28, 2006 photo (that's Hunter in the jeans and jester hat, as can be seen more clearly in this side-profile photo), Hunter stood off to the side of the national press corps filming Edwards as the former Democratic vice presidential nominee announced his second bid for the presidency in New Orleans.”

Some of the photos here.

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Comments

Oh goodie. More distractions.

Where is Howard Wolfson to blame Edwards for the loss?

the Pajama Pundit (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 9:22 AM)

After his comments yesterday, Howard Wolfson is the Sergio Garcia of American politics. He always has another excuse, another "what if," and another "but for." Wolfson's comments yesterday about Iowa, in direct contradiction to the facts, were laughable. The man needs to grow up and take a few lessons in sportsmanship 101.

reality check (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 9:23 AM)

...and this is still being talked about today because...?

Pete - Albany, NY (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 9:24 AM)

NO offense to FR, but is this really news today? I think this has been covered ad nauseum, and I am upset that this seems to reflect on Obama somehow, even though McCain was the guy with the wandering eye...I don't care if it's Larry Craig in a MN bathroom or John Edwards on the plane getting a, well, you know, a Bill Clinton, I'm sick of hearing about these guys and their sexual deviances.

LB, Virginia (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 9:25 AM)

Yawn.

The REAL news - about most American companies paying NO INCOME TAXES (good grief!) is here:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hK6PvUKazIU7T7oE7Qe-cJwP5rogD92GMEP00

P.S. First Read . . . I will lose alot of respect for you if this is not reported.

Nashville_fan (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 9:25 AM)

can we leave the edwards story alone please

New Dem Ad: Exxon John
http://sensico.wordpress.com/2008/08/12/new-dem-ad-exxon-john/
or
http://sensico2.blogspot.com/2008/07/my-blogs.html

camie (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 9:27 AM)

This is still being talked today because someone will have to answer to charges if it becomes known that someone used campain funds to pay this woman off. I'm sure the justice department will be looking into it.

It is also being talked about because this was a man who was thought to be the ultimate family man who knew what it took to be a man but just went down flaming like your typical liberal.

jerry/corpus christi texas (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 9:35 AM)

Edwards is still lying! He and Hunter were on a three-day overnight trip to Iowa, NH and NV December 27-29, 2006. There's no way that would have happened if Elizabeth knew about it.

In late February, 2007, Hunter is on Extra, behaving like a giddy, happy love-struck teenager, not like a woman who's been dumped by her married lover.

Edwards was stupid to keep lying because there are people out there who know the truth and are coming forward. One of Hunter's best friends was on CBS this morining spilling her guts!

Yvonne (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 9:36 AM)

FR...Are you serious?

I know you all are laughing at us? Give us more credit than this.

The real story is who is McCain and what kind of man is he to leave his first wife in her devastating state of health?

Michelle Zee (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 9:45 AM)

If the story had anything to do with Bill or Hillary all of you who are saying Yawm or "is this news" woudl be trashing Bill and Hill to the high heavens. When they sneeze you claim it was done for so and so reason.

Edwards had an affair while his wife was sick - while men are naturally promiscuous by nature - this country is so uptight and makes a huge deal of this. At the same time, to do it while she is battling cancer is being a heel - and saying that he didn't love his mistress, whatever John, I bet you didn't say that when you were nailing her.

sean (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 9:45 AM)

Jerry: you are kidding right? Went down flaming like the typical liberal? Golly day, I had no idea that George H W Bush, Newt Gingrich, Larry Craig, Mark Foley, Livingston etc were all liberals!! I guess I must be a conservative then--right there along with Obama, Kucinich and others who HAVEN'T CHEATED ON THEIR WIVES.

LB, Virginia (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 9:49 AM)

The real story is who is McCain and what kind of man is he to leave his first wife in her devastating state of health?
Michelle Zee (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 9:45 AM)

It never ceases to amaze me the lengths and lies the left will go to smear the other side when their side has so many failings. Like Michelle here, or what ever other names this person is posting under (looks to be about 3 or 4). Honey, you need to cut down on the caffine intake.

Not Michelle (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 9:53 AM)

ok, I apologize for that "man being a man" comment, but it is true. Just let the man rest. His wife has forgiven him, let it go!

MIA in Miami (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 10:03 AM)

Jerry/Corpus Cristi "a man who was thought to be the ultimate family man who knew what it took to be a man but just went down flaming like your typical liberal."

Oh yea, Dem's cheat on their wives with women - Repubs prefer boys...

Get Over It... (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 10:04 AM)

Dom,,,,Are you going to do a peice on McCains affairs,or where there to many you would not know where to start.While you seem happy to be slamming only Edwards.Bomber had quit the rep on the bases he was station at,bagging inlisted personal.But while you and other msnbc staff Like Andera Mitchell,All blow Joe,and his side kick Pat,and lets not forget David G and his (do we know Obama,can we trust him, every night,and please find Barnical Bill a new gig.he sucked while Chris was off,you guys are doing a great job of not reporting ,

jesse St.Paul Minnesota (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 10:04 AM)

"Edwards is still lying! He and Hunter were on a three-day overnight trip to Iowa, NH and NV December 27-29, 2006. There's no way that would have happened if Elizabeth knew about it.
Yvonne (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 9:36 AM)"

Has it occurred to anyone that she may HAVE known about it and let it happen? Maybe that part of their marriage wasn't...uhh...happening (which is understandable) and she OK'd it. I've heard of stranger things happening.

BTW - Bill was PRESIDENT when his stuff hit the fan, so yeah, it got more coverage. His real crime, though, was lying under oath - the cheating wasn't illegal. Lying about it was. I have a guess that HRC knew all about that, too, but that's just MHO.

MI Chick (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 10:07 AM)

What about McCain's infidelities?
The wife U.S. Republican John McCain callously left behind
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/The-wife-John-McCain-callously-left-behind.html

McCain Pressed On Past Marital Infidelities During Town Hall (VIDEO)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/04/mccain-pressed-on-past-ma_n_105189.html

John Mccain Adulterer Homewrecker dishonest cheater
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10XBa-uIGOc

banko (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 10:20 AM)

I personally don't care that John Edwards put his vows aside for a romp with a cheap mindless bimbo, as I also don't care about McCain dumping his sick deformed wife for a rich mindless bimbo. Thse two disingenuous dogs have shown themselves as men not to be trusted to keep their word and are not rightious people. I personally will not have anything to do with them or their like.

Pacheck, Huntington Beach, Ca. (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 10:50 AM)

Whether Edwards was telling the Am people the truth when he claimed that he was finally "telling the truth" is not of critical importance now but it will be if/when he wants to be 'redeemed' and pick up a public life again. I had not paid enough attention to the time line to realize that he very clearly decided to make this run for the presidency at the time that the affair was on-going. That says something about judgment - a lot. ----------- It also says that Elizabeth Edwards may not have known *when* the decision to run was made, even if she knew later - and people have been reaching conclusions about her because they assumed differently. Elizabeth, unlike John, may have and should have the opportunity to server in an Obama administration or other public position. --------- In the same way, I'm less interested in the details of McCain's cheating and leaving his first wife than I am with whether he has been honest with the public (and himself) about it. Even saying "that's a private matter and I will not discuss it" is much more honest than fabricating lies.

E, NY (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 11:06 AM)

So many lies... so many hypocrites. If this were a Bill and Hill story the I told you so's would be all over this board.

I don't want it to go away. He's still lying because that baby is his but he doesn't want to look like a total jerk by knocking up his mistress as his wife suffers through incurable cancer.

Steve, Los Angeles (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 11:10 AM)

Anyone else see a problen with McCain possibly running for only one term. And Hillary hoping to run in four years?
Makes me wonder who is in charge of our government.
Owl

Owl,Idaho. (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 11:22 AM)

I love Jerry's post. His implication is that no conservative ever had an affair with a woman (or a man! Or a teenaged page!) and lied about it. No, never.
Still, it is always disappointing to find out that someone you liked turns out to be a scumbag. It happens a lot with politicians, though, I've noticed...

Class Warrior, D.C. (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 11:27 AM)

Does it really matter? I think not since this is an old story; the affair is over. Edwards is clearly out of the running for the nomination. He is likely to stay in the shadows of public life for some time and not be elected to office anytime soon. Why do we care about this? It has nothing to do with us!

S.B. Stein E.B. NJ (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 11:35 AM)

Too bad Obama didn't pick Edwards as his VP before the news of the affair broke. Then it truly would have been, "An affair to remember" Now it's just tabloid in hindsight!

Paul A Trouve, Montague, NJ (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 11:38 AM)

Seriously. We need to leave this man alone. I sure wish Larry Craig or Tom Vitter had this much coverage on their sex scandals. John Edwards is not an elected official, and he didn't have sex with a prostitute. What he did was terrible to his wife and extremely stupid considering he was running for the POTUS, but it's done, he's not in any governmental position and let's leave his wife with some modicum of privacy.

Jennifer O (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 12:12 PM)

It is diffinitely time to give this issue a rest. It is out and we have listened to it for almost a week. The only people it truly concerns NOW is John Edwards, his wife and family.

Lonestarkaty (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 12:17 PM)

ok...so she and the supposed other guy get set up in 2-3 million houses financed by friends of Edwards without him knowing??? C'mon...There is more to this story....just a matter of time b4 it comes out. Why would someone go to that extent if there aren't additional details here???

PJ, ct (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 12:27 PM)

How come the media isn't talking about McCain's affair. He had an affair with Cindy when his poor crippled wife Carol was home-bound! Also, his marriige certificates appear to over-lap. The media has no problem putting Obama under the microscope and giving McCain a free pass on the assumption everyone knows McCain, which is not true. I hope for some real fairness!

TJ (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 12:33 PM)

I want to know why the press is giving McCain a free ride about his cheating on his first wife (now that Edwards is being publicized) and about his Keating Five scandal. How come, MSNBC? I always watch your channel and you guys are strangely mute on these explosive issues about McCain.

Rhonda Rahn, Sacramento CA (Sent Tuesday, August 12, 2008 12:52 PM)

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