For the past few days, the world of politics and the world of tabloid gossip have been intertwined on in the news because of the publication of the book Game Change, written by journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilman. It’s a behind-the-scenes account of every major primary and presidential campaign from the 2007-08 political season. Over the weekend, most people were discussing the revelations that Sen. Harry Reid was (and could still be) the kind of man who casually remarks things like “Barack Obama is a light skinned African-American with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.” There are lots of political bombshells and juicy gossip, and if you’d like to know more, I suggest you simply tune in to CNN, MSNBC or Fox, because they’re all doing wall-to-wall coverage.

What I didn’t hear this weekend, and only began hearing this morning, was the new information about former Senator John Edwards, his wife Elizabeth and his mistress and baby-mama Rielle Hunter. There are new details about that scandal, and since we’ve been covering every sordid detail that comes out of the Enquirer, I thought we’d bring some more information:

Cancer-ridden Elizabeth Edwards ripped open her shirt screaming “Look at me!” at a terrified John Edwards after his affair with Rielle Hunter was first exposed by The ENQUIRER, a new book reveals.

Game Change [sic] an inside account of the 2008 Presidential Race by John Heilman and Mark Halperin reveals shocking new details about the John Edwards cheating scandal.

In the book, Edwards is described as an out-of-control narcissistic who became an egomaniac after meeting future mistress Rielle Hunter. His affair with Hunter, who told people she was a “witch”, was an open secret among his chief advisers — three who quit early in the campaign.

John Edwards is described as delusional while the public image of “saintly Elisabeth’s public persona” is shattered. Openly battling with John in front of aides, she belittled her “intellectually inferior” hubby in front of campaign workers.

Insiders describe her as “an abusive, intrusive, paranoid condescending crazy woman,” according to the book.

When The ENQUIRER first revealed the affair, John and Elizabeth fought violently in the parking lot of an airport terminal.

“Elizabeth was sobbing, out of control, incoherent. As their aides tried to avert their eyes, she tore off her blouse exposing herself. ‘Look at ME!’ she wailed at John and then staggered, nearly falling to the ground,” the authors recount.

In the wake of Edwards dismissal of The ENQUIRER’s investigation as “tabloid trash” it was only after The ENQUIRER’s world exclusive “spy photo” appeared in print and online of the disgraced candidate holding his love child by Hunter that Edwards admitted the affair, denying paternity, on national TV.

“Confronted then with the ENQUIRER photo of her husband cuddling Hunter’s baby, she insisted to (an aide) that she still believed he was not the father.”

‘I have to believe it,’ Elizabeth said. ‘Because if I don’t, it means I’m married to a monster.’”

With former loyalist and pretend daddy Andrew Young’s insider tell-all of the affair and the cover-up to be published next month AND the ongoing federal probe into Edwards’ use of political campaign funds to engineer payoffs to his mistress, for John Edwards the worst is YET to come.

[From The National Enquirer]

The Enquirer also got a scoop that was picked up by other media outlets: that Elizabeth was planning on meeting Frances, the daughter of John Edwards and Rielle Hunter. The Enquirer’s sources claimed: “Elizabeth feels that above all else, John and Rielle need to put their differences aside… As much as she hates that John has a second family, she can’t stand the idea of Rielle going public with their dirty laundry in court. She instructed John to have his lawyers call Rielle’s people and say they’re giving her what she wants. She’s also going to meet Rielle’s little girl face to face over the next few weeks.” The sources also claim that Elizabeth has a “soft spot” for Frances and that “Despite her anger at Rielle, who she’s painted as a stalker and a homewrecker, Elizabeth knows Frances didn’t bring any of this about…Elizabeth sometimes breaks down in tears when she talks about Frances. Once she said, ‘She needs a daddy.’”

With the mainstream media still picking up stories that the Enquirer broke – not just in regards to the Edwards’ family, but also the Tiger Woods drama – you’ve got to wonder if the Enquirer might be getting some love sent their way. On that note, it seems that some political blogger (Emily Miller of Politics Daily.com) thinks that the Enquirer should get a Pulitzer for breaking the John Edwards story. Hmm…

The National Enquirer is keeping the dirt coming on the John Edwards debacle. The former Democratic party poster boy isn’t getting along with the mother of the child he’s been denying to the public. According to the Enquirer, Edwards was about to finally admit paternity of Rielle Hunter’s 20 month-old daughter, Frances. He even bought Rielle and Frances a house in Charlotte, North Carolina at Rielle’s insistence. She was all packed and ready to move in when Edwards saw how greedy she was getting and decided not to let her move in. Rielle had requested $18,000 a month in child support, and John wasn’t having it.

Top secret documents obtained exclusively by The ENQUIRER provide undeniable proof that John Edwards is the father of his mistress’ love child – and show that she’s asking for nearly $18,000 a month in support!

But Rielle Hunter’s cash grab so infuriated the disgraced presidential candidate that, sources say, he basically tossed her and their daughter out on the street just days before they were set to move into a house he’d bought for them!

The ENQUIRER has also learned Edwards had been preparing to publicly admit he is the baby’s father. But now that their child support negotiations have taken an ugly turn, Rielle is ready to drag the former North Carolina senator into court, insiders say.

“John thought he had sweetened the deal by getting Rielle a house, but she didn’t think what he’d offered to pay in regular support for their daughter was fair,” an insider disclosed.

“John was so angry that he wouldn’t let Rielle move into the house, even with a moving van full of her belongings en route.

“So a week after Thanksgiving, Rielle found herself without a place to live – and no agreement with John for their daughter’s long-term support. She’s absolutely furious, and may take the whole thing public!”

The abrupt breakdown between Edwards, 56, and the 45-year-old blonde divorcee came as he was preparing a statement that would finally publicly confirm he’d fathered Rielle’s daughter Frances, sources say.

[From The National Enquirer]

And here’s the breakdown of Rielle’s “expenses” from the Enquirer’s print edition:

The document identified “custody and “child support” as the issues in dispute, and names Rielle and “John Edwards” of Chapel Hill, N.C., as the parents of “Frances Quinn Hunter” born Feb 27, 2008.

It lists in detail both “current” and “anticipated” monthly expenses for Rielle and her daughter. The biggest “anticipated” expense is a $3,000 monthly mortgage payment for a home purchased “either by Defendant or a Trust.”

Adding in household expenses, a cell phone and cable TV, Rielle claimed to need $4,485 a month to cover her basic costs.

As for “personal” needs, Rielle lists $800 for eating at “restaurants,” $250 for “hair care,” $400 for “domestic held,” $300 for “sports and hobbies,” $1,5000 for “preschool,” $2,100 for “baby-sitting,” $1,200 for a “security guart” and other expenses that total $12,850.

Throw in $575 for “transportation” costs on her 2004 BMW SUV, and Rielle claims she’ll need $17,910 a month to live and raise her child!

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, December 21, 2009]

Does this woman work, because why would she need $1,200 for a baby sitter and $400 for domestic help if she’s collecting enough free money to live on? You would think she could make due with less help. Does she really need a $250 dye job every month and $800 just to eat out? She got greedy and now she’s going to have to go to court to get a more reasonable settlement. If John is really swimming in cash he should pay up, though. In a way I don’t really care what happens as Rielle’s a gold-digger and John’s a liar who deserves to get taken to the cleaners. I used to look up to the guy but it’s clear that he’s been duplicitous with his supporters and the public. A federal grand jury is still looking into whether Edwards misappropriated campaign funds to pay off Hunter and a former aid, Andrew Young, who initially claimed to be the father of Hunter’s baby. Depending on how that case turns out Edwards might not be able to afford even a fraction of Hunter’s alleged monthly expenses.

On Monday, we talked about the latest revelations coming out of Andrew Young’s book proposal. Young was the John Edwards campaign aide who was part of the Rielle Hunter cover up, and he’s been selling his story piece by piece for months, with some of the most sordid information out there. Monday was a big day in the Edwards’ ongoing drama – Andrew Young (or sources close to him) alleged that Rielle Hunter wasn’t the only woman John Edwards had an affair with, which is a claim I totally believe. Apparently, John was bangin’ lots of women on the campaign trail, according to Young, and I would guess that John was probably cheating on Elizabeth for many years.

The second part of Monday’s revelations came from a Rush & Malloy report that basically claimed that Elizabeth Edwards was going crazy, that she was commenting on blogs (using the name “Cherubim”) that called Rielle Hunter every name out there. Elizabeth also allegedly threatened Andrew Young and his family, and blamed Rielle for almost everything. I tend to believe parts of that story – I think Elizabeth is definitely lying to protect her husband and her family, and I think she’s very distraught. I had been hoping this whole time that Elizabeth would grow a set and just leave John. I know, I know – she’s trying to keep her family together, et cetera. But at this point, in my mind, divorce would be a blessing for Elizabeth. According to the Enquirer (the publication that broke so many of the Edwards stories), Elizabeth is finally done – she’s ready to file for divorce and take every penny of John’s fortune:

Elizabeth Edwards has finally had enough – she’s threatened to divorce her cheating husband John and claim her share of their $53 million fortune!

The ENQUIRER has learned Elizabeth dropped the divorce bombshell after learning a former campaign aide is claiming Rielle Hunter, the mother of Edwards’ love child, isn’t the only woman he seduced on the campaign trail!

Furious at his betrayals, Elizabeth – still battling Stage 4 breast cancer – has vowed to destroy her husband of 32 years by disclosing everything she knows about his political career in divorce court, insiders say.

“Elizabeth had always sworn she wouldn’t divorce John. But every person has a breaking point, and Elizabeth’s friends believe she’s reached hers,” an insider told The ENQUIRER.

“Elizabeth made it clear to John that she will take him for everything he’s got. She will divorce him and claim their $53 million fortune.

“Elizabeth knows every dirty little secret in her husband’s political past. She’s been his confidant for years, and she’s always kept quiet. But now she’s prepared to reveal all his secrets in open court.”

Elizabeth’s patience finally ran out when she learned about the scandalous claims in a tell-all book by her husband’s former campaign aide Andrew Young, the married father of three who once claimed that he’d fathered Rielle’s child in a bid to protect his boss.

“Elizabeth was read portions of Young’s book proposal, and she flipped out,” said the source.

“What really pushed her over the edge is Young’s allegation that John had other affairs with women on the campaign trail. Elizabeth basically told John that if she found out that was true, she’d have to divorce him because then he’d be a ‘serial cheater.’ John claims Young’s book is a pack of lies.”

[From the National Enquirer]

Elizabeth is so the person I want to root for in this story, and she’s been disappointing me so much. That’s why I hope this is true. I know a lot of people would applaud Elizabeth for sticking with John through the worst, but I look at it a different way – what is Elizabeth teaching her children by staying with John, lying for him and blaming “the other woman” for all of the problems in her marriage? I think her kids will totally understand why their mother finally kicked their dad out of the house, if this divorce report is true.

We’ve been getting information from Andrew Young’s book proposal in drips and drabs for the past few months. Young is the former John Edwards campaign staffer who fell on his sword for Edwards, and claimed paternity of Rielle Hunter’s daughter – when everyone pretty much assumed John Edwards is the father. Young also got paid off in a big way – but now he’s trying to sell his story about what really happened between John, Elizabeth and Rielle. Previously, we’ve heard about John’s desire to move Rielle and her daughter closer to him, to his North Carolina neighborhood. We’ve also heard that John proposed to Rielle, and promised her a wedding in New York.

The new scandal (still part of Andrew Young’s continuing revelations) is that Rielle Hunter wasn’t the only woman John had an affair with. Shocking! Not really. That man seems as sleazy as they come. According to the National Enquirer, Young told the grand jury investigating Edwards that “Edwards had affairs with several other women along the campaign trail besides better known mistress Hunter.” Oh, but that’s not even the end of this week’s revelations. NYDN’s Rush & Malloy also have some additional scoops on Elizabeth Edwards, and how (allegedly) crazy she is with the scope of the scandal:

Former presidential candidate John Edwards is said to be ready to admit that he fathered a love child. But Hades may have a skating rink before his wife, Elizabeth, signs off on such a confession.

As a grand jury in North Carolina considers whether Edwards misused campaign funds to cover up the scandal, Elizabeth still can’t abide his former mistress, Rielle Hunter.

Word is Elizabeth vehemently opposed the plan, now in place, for Hunter and daughter Quinn to move from New Jersey to Wilmington, N.C., where the Edwardses have a beach house.

For months now, Elizabeth, who is said to be talking to a divorce lawyer, also has been sniping at Hunter – painting her as a blackmailing gold digger – in blog comments where she uses the pseudonym “Cherubim,” according to a source who knows Elizabeth.

Though “Cherubim” has recently described herself as an African-American woman, the source insists, “It’s Elizabeth. She’s used ‘cherubim’ as a password. Look at the gravestone of their son Wade: It’s an angel holding a boy.”

“Cherubim” has also heaped scorn on estranged Edwards aide Andrew Young, who is working on a book in which he’s due to reveal that Edwards and wealthy supporters paid him to claim that he fathered Quinn.

In a proposal for the book, Young contends that Elizabeth blamed him for helping her husband carry on the affair and forced Young to quit the campaign. He also alleges that Elizabeth left taunting messages on his family’s answering machine – telling his wife, Cheri, that Rielle supposedly had slept with Young and that she was likely to again.

Along with claiming that Edwards and Hunter made a sex tape, the proposal alleges:
* Edwards had had affairs with other women on the campaign trail.
* When Edwards was forced to call off a birthday date with Hunter because he found out that Elizabeth’s cancer had returned, an unsympathetic Hunter screamed at him.
* After learning of the affair, Elizabeth made John sleep in their barn though she would wake him up with accusatory rants.
* Hunter relied on a California psychic named Bob to tell her where to live and what to do.
* Edwards had little affection for John Kerry – once comparing him to Richie Rich – but changed his tune when the Democratic presidential nominee tapped him as his running mate.
* Ted Kennedy once told Young about a would-be assassin who managed to get into his Senate office because one of his bodyguards was having a gay liaison with one of his top aides.

Elizabeth’s publicist and lawyers for John Edwards and Hunter declined comment.

[From Rush & Malloy]

I honestly don’t know about all of the other stuff – yes, I’ll buy that John cheated on Elizabeth multiple times, with multiple women. I doubt the campaign trail was even the first time he strayed. But I find the whole “Cherubim” story sketchy as all hell. I want to believe that Elizabeth is a lot classier than that. But I’ve been disappointed before. Elizabeth seemed to lay the overwhelming bulk of the blame for the affair on Rielle’s shoulders, describing Rielle as “pathetic” while giving John a pass for the most part in her last book. I also feel pretty strongly that Elizabeth has been lying about the paternity test in several of her latest interviews. Who knows?

There’s a lot of history in here, but I’m just going to try to sum up as simply as possible. Initially, when John Edwards was trying to keep his former/current mistress Rielle Hunter under wraps, he arranged for one of his campaign’s former aides, Andrew Young, to act as Rielle’s partner/boyfriend, and raise the child as his own. Most sources agree that both Andrew Young and Rielle got paid off big time – most of it funneled through sketchy or outright illegal channels. Some sources say that John Edwards has definitely taken a paternity test, and Rielle’s daughter Frances was definitely his. Alas, Elizabeth Edwards denied this in one recent appearance – but I tend to think she’s lying.

Anyway, once the sh-tstorm commenced, Andrew Young sort of jumped ship. He’s been off selling his story piece by piece, angling for a book deal. This weekend, the New York Times got their hands on Young’s book proposal. The details are… sketchy. And I’m being kind. They include details of John Edwards’ promise to marry Rielle once Elizabeth died, and his promise that they would get married on “a rooftop in New York and the Dave Matthews Bands would make an appearance”. In one tragicomic piece of information, Young claims that one of the ways money was funneled to Rielle was through billing Edwards’ political action committee for “furniture”. Because that’s what Rielle was.

A man who once claimed to have fathered the child of John Edwards’ mistress says in a book proposal the former presidential candidate is the real father and that Edwards worked with his campaign finance chairman to hide that secret, according to a newspaper report published online Saturday.

The New York Times said the book proposal by former Edwards aide Andrew Young states he helped facilitate the affair between Edwards and Rielle Hunter. According to the newspaper, Young wrote that Edwards once told Hunter they would wed after Edwards’ wife, who has cancer, died.

Edwards told Hunter that the ceremony would be held on a rooftop in New York and the Dave Matthews Bands would make an appearance, the newspaper said, citing its examination of the book proposal.

St. Martin’s Press has said Young signed a book deal with the publisher in June and it involved a strict confidentiality agreement. A spokesman for the publisher did not immediately return a phone message and e-mail seeking comment Saturday.

Edwards has said the affair with Hunter ended in 2006. That year, Edwards’ political action committee paid Hunter’s video production firm $100,000 for work. Then the committee paid another $14,086 on April 1, 2007. The Edwards camp has said the latter payment from the PAC was exchanged for 100 hours of unused videotape Hunter shot.

The same day, the Edwards presidential campaign had injected $14,034.61 into the PAC for a “furniture purchase,” according to federal election records.

Edwards, a U.S. senator representing North Carolina from 1998 until his vice presidential bid in 2004, acknowledged in May that federal investigators are looking into how he used campaign funds. Grand jury proceedings are secret, and the U.S. attorney’s office in Raleigh has declined to confirm or deny an investigation.

Edwards adamantly denied during an interview with ABC News last summer that he had fathered a child with Hunter, and he welcomed a paternity test. His wife, Elizabeth, has said she doesn’t know if her husband is the father.

Young said in 2007 he was the child’s father. Hunter said around the same time that Young was the father and the birth certificate does not list a father’s name.

Michael Critchley, Hunter’s attorney, declined to comment Saturday. A lawyer for Young did not immediately return messages left at his office Saturday. Joyce Fitzpatrick, a spokeswoman for Edwards and his attorney, Wade Smith, said that Edwards would not comment Saturday. Smith has said Edwards may make a statement at some point in the future about the paternity of Frances Quinn Hunter, who is 19-months old, but there was no timetable for that.

Young hasn’t spoken publicly since saying he was the father in 2007 and has repeatedly ignored reporter requests for interviews. Young got his last campaign paycheck in the middle of November, a month before he and Hunter publicly declared through attorneys that he was the father. Fred Baron, who was Edwards’ national finance chairman and a wealthy Dallas-based trial attorney, said last year he quietly sent money to Hunter and to Young’s family to resettle in California.

Baron, who died following complications from cancer just a few months after Edwards acknowledged the affair, said he provided the money on his own, to “help two friends and former colleagues rebuild their lives when harassment by supermarket tabloids made it impossible for them to move forward on their own.”

The New York Times said the book proposal states Edwards knew from the start that he was the father of the child and expended considerable effort trying to conceal that. The proposal says Edwards pleaded with Young to claim paternity and asked Baron to check whether a doctor would fake the results of a paternity test.

[From Huffington Post]

Do you feel like you need a shower? I do too. I know it’s totally weird, but I find the financial stuff some of the sleaziest parts of the story. I know, I know. The sex, the lies, the paternity shenanigans, all of that is really sleazy too. But all of the information coming out about the financial stuff is killing me. John Edwards is a really wealthy guy – and he never thought about paying off Rielle and Andrew Young through his personal accounts? He had to use campaign money?!? The last bit freaked me out too – they wanted to pay a doctor to fake a paternity test! Totally bananas. I have no words.

John Edwards is shown below in July, 2008. Credit: WENN.com

Elizabeth Edwards on CNN vs. Tommy Thompson on Health Care. The John Edwards part is not in this video

Last night, Elizabeth Edwards appeared on Larry King Live to talk about the health care debate currently raging all over the country. They set it up so it was Elizabeth versus former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. The bulk of Elizabeth’s appearance was her talking about the need for health care reform and her support for the public option.

Later in the interview, once Thompson was gone, Larry managed to get in a few questions about the Rielle Hunter scandal (video at Radar). The National Enquirer has run two covers in a row about John Edwards and Rielle. Last week’s story was that John had been confirmed as the father of baby Frances, via a DNA test. This week’s story, that we covered yesterday, was about how John is moving Rielle and Frances closer to him so he can be involved as a parent. Elizabeth pretty much denies these stories, insinuating that the paternity test hasn’t happened yet. Elizabeth says that she “expects” that the test will happen, “in a quiet way.”

One week after a report claimed that John Edwards was going to admit fathering the 18-month-old daughter, Frances, of his ex-mistress Rielle Hunter, Elizabeth Edwards says she expects her husband to take a paternity test.

“My expectation is that, at some point, something happens,” Elizabeth said on a Wednesday night appearance on Larry King Live. “And I hope for the sake of this child that it happens, you know, in a quiet way.”

Earlier this month, Hunter testified at the federal courthouse where a grand jury is investigating whether campaign funds were illegally used to buy her silence. John could admit he’s the baby’s father before the investigation concludes, according to North Carolina CBS affiliate WRAL.

Despite reports of martial discord (The National Enquirer says she packed her bags angrily after John moved Hunter and the baby into a nearby home), Elizabeth told King “things are going fine” with John.

“We’re getting the children ready for a new school year,” she said. “Everything seems to be going pretty smoothly at my house.”

Elizabeth, who was diagnosed in 2007 in incurable breast cancer, also opens up about her health.

“The numbers don’t look that optimistic, but I feel good,” she says. “And I’ve had recent tests that show me to be in pretty good health, all things considered. I’m still out here fighting.”

[From Us Weekly]

Ugh. I don’t even know what to say about this. Is it weird that I think Elizabeth is lying? I actually think the Enquirer might be more reliable on this scandal than Elizabeth. After all of this time, I believe John has already taken a paternity test – although it was probably unnecessary, because I think John knew he was the father of Frances from the beginning. That’s why he initiated this mangled, sketchy cover-up. It wasn’t just a cover-up for the affair, it was for the baby. It’s just so sad, because in the first part of the interview, Elizabeth is kicking ass talking about health care. She’s such a strong, informed, educated advocate, and it makes me sick to see her still out there defending her douche husband.

These days, whenever I see John Edwards’ smug face, I get nauseous. I actually used to feel a little barfy seeing John before the Rielle Hunter stuff even broke last year. I know a lot of people seemed to like him and his ideas at one point, but I’ve always found him to be too slick, too greasy, too phony. I was so disappointed when John Kerry picked Edwards for a running mate in 2004 – that alone, in my opinion, helped sink Sen. Kerry in the general.

As I follow the epic scandal of Rielle Hunter and John and Elizabeth Edwards, I find myself having very little sympathy for any parties. Elizabeth seemed to lay the blame for the affair almost entirely at Rielle Hunter’s feet, calling Rielle “pathetic” and all of that. Meanwhile John kept denying and denying that he was the father of Rielle’s daughter Frances. Last week’s the Enquirer’s cover story was the confirmation of what most of us have known in our hearts and our queasy stomachs all along: that John Edwards is the biological father of Frances (“granddaughter of a mill worker”). Now that it’s confirmed, the Enquirer’s cover story this week is about how John is going to move Rielle Hunter and Frances closer to him, in Wilmington:

John Edwards is moving the mother of his love child into his North Carolina neighborhood and will help raise their baby, The ENQUIRER reports exclusively.

In a stunning change of heart, the disgraced 2 time presidential candidate loser – who’s denied being the child’s father for more than a year – has embraced fatherhood and wants to be intimately involved in the life of daughter Frances.

The ENQUIRER also learned that his cancer-stricken wife Elizabeth exploded in a rage when he told her of his parenting plans and that he’s moving his mistress and baby to Wilmington, near his plush $2.6 million waterfront mansion.

The bombshell development comes on the heels of our exclusive report last week that Edwards underwent a secret DNA test proving he fathered 18-month-old Frances with former lover Rielle Hunter.

Sources close to the 45-year-old blonde divorcee say they believe Edwards is paying for her move, although they have no proof of this.

“John is definitely behind Rielle’s move to Wilmington,” declared an insider. “There’s absolutely no way that he didn’t approve or arrange her moving closer to him – it’s all part of his new plan to do the right thing.

“John’s admitted to his family and close friends that he’s the father of Frances. He says he wants to be a part of her life and help raise his daughter.”

As The ENQUIRER exclusively reported, in the wake of the positive DNA test, attorneys for both Edwards and Hunter began hammering out an agreement for child support payments.

And the former senator made a decision to announce the paternity results before the conclusion of the federal grand jury looking into his possible violation of campaign finance laws, say sources.

Edwards’ long-suffering wife Elizabeth was furious that John intended to help raise the toddler and have Rielle as a neighbor, said a source close to the couple.

“Elizabeth was hit with an overwhelming one-two punch,” another source told The ENQUIRER.

“She’s always figured the child may be John’s, but the positive DNA result really floored her. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, John told Elizabeth he needed to be in his daughter’s life – and that Rielle was moving to North Carolina.

“He told Elizabeth he was tired of all the lies, and that’s why he was ready to publicly admit Frances is his baby. That’s when Elizabeth exploded! In a fit of rage, she grabbed a suitcase and started packing her things . . .”

[From the National Enquirer]

I get why this is being told from an “Elizabeth is so devastated” angle, but I have a question. Whatever happened to Andrew Young? Young was the former Edwards staffer who spectacularly fell on his sword for his boss, and claimed that Frances was his baby. Young and Rielle Hunter have been living together as a “family” for something like two years. The last we really heard of Young, he was maybe planning a tell-all on Edwards and the whole situation. Since then, Young has kind of disappeared from media coverage. Are he and Rielle still living together? Is he still helping to raise the baby?

As for the whole story about John moving Rielle closer to him… I sort of buy it. It could happen. I could see John trying to come out and play the victim, saying “Look, I’m trying to do the right thing, I’m trying to raise my daughter…” And I’m sure Elizabeth does find the whole thing devastating. She probably feels like John’s already lining up potential second wives for when she dies.

Back when former Presidential candidate John Edwards admitted to an affair with campaign worker Rielle Hunter in September, 2008, he steadfastly denied that Rielle’s baby was his. Edwards claimed that the baby, who was five months old at that time, was fathered by another campaign aid, Andrew Young. The National Enquirer, which broke this story, revealed that Young, his family, Rielle and the baby were all living rent free in a mansion in Santa Barbara. They were also reportedly being paid off to keep quiet, with the amounts listed at $20k a month for Young and $15k a month for Hunter, all off the books and through supporters. Young, his family, and Hunter relocated separately after the payments ceased. Edwards is now under federal investigation for misusing campaign finances.

The heat is on, as hearings are underway to determine exactly how Edwards broke the law. Both Andrew Young and Rielle Hunter have testified, reportedly against their former employer. Young is shopping around a tell-all book about his time with Edwards, and Hunter is also thought to be writing a book. What’s more is that Hunter has finally pinned down Edwards as the father of her daughter through DNA testing. She is said to be negotiating with him for child support payments:

John Edwards has secretly undergone a DNA test – and it proves he’s the father of his mistress’ love child, The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively.

Multiple sources confirm the bombshell development, and reveal lawyers for the disgraced presidential candidate are privately hammering out child support payments with his former lover Rielle Hunter.

Edwards – who hotly denied he was the child’s father when he publicly confessed his affair with Rielle on ABC’s Nightline a year ago – has broken the news to his cancer-stricken wife Elizabeth, sources say.

But The ENQUIRER has also learned that Rielle testified against Edwards before a federal grand jury that’s probing whether he broke campaign finance laws by secretly funneling money to her – and her testimony could send the former North Carolina senator to jail!

The positive DNA test finally ends the elaborate cover-up that Edwards engineered to hide the fact that he fathered Rielle’s 18-month-old daughter Frances.

As The ENQUIRER previously reported in a series of explosive investigative reports, the cover-up involved “hush money” paid to Rielle and Andrew Young, a once-loyal Edwards aide who claimed he’d fathered her child. The secret payments were made by the late Fred Baron, who was Edwards’ national finance chairman.

With Young being left out to dry by Edwards, he pulled a “John Dean” to testify before the grand jury before he could publish his tell-all book about the conspiracy.

“Rielle had no choice but to demand John take a DNA test,” said the close friend.

“She was worried about getting long-term financial support for her daughter. So she hired an attorney, and John consented to undergo a secret swab test to establish paternity.

“There was no surprise: The results of the DNA test proved John was Frances’ daddy.”

Another source confirmed to The ENQUIRER: “John always knew he was the father of Rielle’s baby.

“Despite the ongoing financial negotiations, sources say Rielle testified against Edwards in front of the grand jury, spending nine hours inside the courthouse on Aug. 6 in Raleigh, N.C.

Rielle’s testimony against Edwards came as a “cooperating witness” for the government, added a source familiar with the investigation.

“Rielle is not dumb. She knew the feds had subpoenaed her bank statements and knew about every payment she received,” said the source.

“The FBI told her it was in her best interests to tell the truth, and she did. And unlike the others who have testified, Rielle was driven to the court by FBI agents and escorted in by them. She got favorable treatment because she testified against John.”

The arrogance with with Edwards pulled off this lame conspiracy is astounding. Everyone knew that baby was his and he should have just admitted it last year when he was forced to own up to his affair. Instead, even his cancer-striken wife was claiming that she wasn’t sure about the paternity of that baby while defending her husband and vilifying his mistress. Now he’s about to pay for his stupid scheme, and sadly it’s his deceived wife and family that are going to suffer for it. Maybe he’ll get some time in Federal prison too.

Last week we covered a report from the The National Enquirer that John Edwards’ former aide, Andrew Young, is planning to write a tell-all book about his time with the Presidential hopeful. It’s said that it will include details of how Edwards paid Young $20,000 a month and set him up in a posh mansion in exchange for getting him to claim that he was the father of Rielle Hunter’s baby. (Edwards eventually admitted to the press that he had an affair with Hunter but claimed the baby wasn’t his due to “timing.”)

Young is currently trying to find a buyer for his book proposal, and according to the National Enquirer the proposal includes the bombshell that Young “found” a sex tape of Edwards and a then-pregnant Hunter getting it on. They seem to be basing this on another story and it doesn’t originate with them, so let’s hope they’re getting bad information:

Young will describe the sex video in his forthcoming tell-all book, according to a published reported.

The political aide’s book proposal reportedly says he found the shocking video while unpacking after he and his family relocated to a new home in California.

To hide the affair, Rielle had lived for a while in Young’s guest room – where a cheating Edwards secretly hooked up with her, according to the close source.

“John and Rielle think Andrew concocted the story that he ‘found’ the tape. They think he may have been the one responsible for recording it,” divulged the close source.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, July 20, 2009]

I hope this isn’t true, or if it is – that the tape never sees the light of day. Maybe Young can get Edwards to pay a hefty fee for it to disappear. If there’s one thing I don’t want to see, it’s Edwards’ O-face.

We haven’t heard a peep from Rielle Hunter despite rumors that she was insisting on a DNA test for her daughter so that she could secure child support. She was also said be considering a televised interview to reveal her side of the story. Maybe she’s classier than we think, or maybe Edwards continues to see her and make sure his baby is well taken care of.

So far former Presidential hopeful John Edwards has avoided federal prosecution for allegedly funneling campaign money to his mistress, Rielle Hunter, and a former campaign aid, Andrew Young, who claimed that Hunter’s baby was his. The National Enquirer, along with breaking this story, uncovered an elaborate scheme where Edwards set up Hunter, his love child, and Young and his family in a $5.6 million mansion in Santa Barbara paid for by a wealthy contributor. The Enquirer reported that Young was being paid up to $20k a month from a supporter along with being set up with his family in that posh free mansion with Hunter. Hunter was allegedly being paid $15k a month off he books by another Edwards supporter. Edwards admitted the affair and claimed the baby is not his due to “timing”. He has not taken a paternity test and Hunter is said to want one now that the money has dried up. We haven’t heard much about that in a while, though.

While doing press for her book this spring, Edwards’ long-suffering cancer-striken wife, Elizabeth, dismissed questions about her husband using campaign finances illegally. She said “it’s just not possible” because campaign finances are all public record. Elizabeth has publicly stood by her husband after his affair was made public by the National Enquirer and eventually the rest of the press. (According to the Enquirer, she kicked him out of bed after she found out about the affair, though and he’s now living in a condo nearby.)

This week The Enquirer reports that Edwards’ affair and gross misuse of campaign funds might not fade away so easily. Andrew Young, who is no longer on Edwards’ payroll, is writing a tell all. Many expect him to reveal how Edwards paid him off to claim he was the father of Rielle’s baby:

A year and a half after The Enquirer exposed Andrew Young’s role in the coverup of John Edwards’ affair and love child, Young is finally coming clean in a bombshell expose.

The book could provide the evidence needed for a federal grand jury investigating Edwards to indict the North Carolina politician on violations of election laws, say sources.

Young has claimed he is the father of the baby born to Rielle Hunter – Edwards’ ex-mistress. But investigators have been looking into whether Edwards funneled hush money to both Rielle and Young – who is married with three children.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, July 13, 2009]

They go on to say that The Daily Beast broke the news of Young’s book. It will indeed be a tell-all, and he’s currently shopping it around trying to get a buyer.

The Enquirer is also reporting on that Young just met with the grand jury investigating Edwards’ campaign finances. They say that it’s assumed he’s going to tell them everything, and that “insiders believe he is… testifying against his former boss in exchange for immunity.”

He may get immunity from prosecution along with a hefty advance and the proceeds from this book. This story is such juicy gossip, and as much as it pains me to see a politician I used to admire cheating on his wife, lying and stealing money I sure can’t stop reading about it. I know I would buy this book and so would countless other people. What surprises me is that Rielle Hunter has yet to grant an interview or pen her own tell-all. Maybe she’s classier than we assume, or maybe Edwards is still slipping her some on the side.

John Edwards is shown on 7/30/08. Credit: WENN.com