The Lies of John Edwards
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone. Tonight, we begin with a story about lies, a politician's lies, the lies of John Edwards, the former senator who wanted to be president, or vice president after that didn't work out. Look, we have known for a year now that John Edwards had an affair while running for president and lied about it to his wife and to the country, to all of us. That's old news. But now, according to "The New York Times," Edwards may soon admit to yet another lie. "The Times" reports, Edwards may soon admit he did in fact father a child with his former mistress. They cite associates of Edwards as their sources. Now, the child is 19 months old. You see her there. What is so stunning about is that John Edwards was running for the highest office in the land. And not only did he lie about the affair. Even when he was supposedly coming clean publicly, he was lying even then. And, if published reports are accurate, he continued to lie even to interviewers. The damage he could have inflicted on the Democratic Party, had he won, not to mention the country, is incalculable -- incalculable. He is also now being investigated for possible misuse of campaign funds for the payments that were made to his mistress. Now, we now know that Edwards had been having an affair back in -- in March of 2007 and when he held this emotional press conference standing side by side with his wife Elizabeth, announcing that her cancer was back, but that his campaign for the president would go on, and that he would stand by her side. Look. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, MARCH 22, 2007) JOHN EDWARDS, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: I intend to -- to do the same thing I have always done with Elizabeth. We have been married 30 years, known each other longer than that. And we will -- we will be in this every step of the way together.</s>COOPER: OK. So, we know Edwards was having -- had been having an affair with Rielle Hunter, a woman who allegedly had been hired and paid to shoot behind-the-scenes video of his campaign. We also now know that, even at that news conference, his wife, Elizabeth, knew about the affair. In her book, "Resilience," Mrs. Edwards reveals that her husband first told her he had an affair three months earlier. Publicly, at the time, of course, Edwards continued to lie, denying rumors of the affair. And, then, in July of 2008, "The National Enquirer" published these photographs of Edwards having a secret meeting with Rielle Hunter and her daughter at a Los Angeles hotel. Edwards there is seen holding the baby. A couple days later, Edwards goes on "Nightline" and admits he had an affair with Hunter, but insists that Hunter's daughter could not be his. Listen. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "NIGHTLINE") EDWARDS: 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. Happy to take a paternity test, and would love to see it happen.</s>COOPER: Yes, there's been no paternity test. Now, according to a former aide, that was also a lie. The aide's name is Andrew Young. And, in a book proposal obtained by "The New York Times," he Edwards knew all along he was the little girl's father. He says Edwards pleaded with him to claim that Hunter's daughter was his, which Andrew Young did. He also says he helped set up secret meetings between Edwards and Hunter. And, what may be the most shocking allegation, he said Edwards promised that, after Elizabeth Edwards died, he would marry Hunter in a rooftop ceremony in New York City complete with an appearance by the Dave Matthews Band. According to "The Times," Rielle Hunter is now moving to North Carolina, where Edwards lives with his wife. Some associates tell "The Times" that Edwards may admit the baby is his. But they say Elizabeth Edwards is resisting the idea of her husband claiming paternity, saying she -- quote -- "has yet to be brought around." Here's what Mrs. Edwards told Larry King last month. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LARRY KING LIVE") LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": And the continued questions about the paternity factor, is there any solution there? DNA test? Do you know if anything is going to happen?</s>ELIZABETH EDWARDS, WIFE OF FORMER SENATOR JOHN EDWARDS: I -- my expectation is, at some point, something happens. And I hope, for the sake of this child, that -- that it happens, you know in, a quiet way.</s>COOPER: Well, the reason any of this matters, beyond just a politician lying, is that, last month, Rielle Hunter took her daughter to a courthouse in Raleigh and she testified before a grand jury about her relationship with John Edwards and the money she received from his supporters and his campaign. Charges could be brought against Edwards for misuse of campaign funds. Joe Johns is down in Raleigh tonight. He is working the story. He joins us with all the "Raw Politics." Joe, we mentioned a lot of this new information is coming from a book proposal by this former Edwards staffer, Andrew Young. What do we know about him? What's his angle?</s>JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, talking to lawyers around town and others who are familiar with this case, it seems pretty clear that this is a guy who believed in Edwards and worked for him for a long time. And when Edwards allegedly came to him and asked him to take responsibility for fathering the child of Rielle Edwards, he said he would do it. Of course, he would do it. He would do it because he believed in this man, and he also felt very strongly that he had to support him. So, you go through this thing for a while. You find out that this man, Young, effectively, did not sign any affidavits, any other documents, because he was worried that it might come back to haunt him legally at some time down the road. All of this, of course, changed some time later. We read have in the newspapers again and again how he recanted; he changed his story. What are the factors? Among the things we're hearing, he has a wife. He has children. He had to think for himself. He had to think about himself and his family. At the end of the day, he decided to recant his story, Anderson. He went back on that, said later, hey, I was not the father of this child.</s>COOPER: He also says, according to "The New York Times," that Edwards at one point had asked him about finding a doctor who could fake a paternity test. And now there's this grand jury investigation. What are they exactly looking into?</s>JOHNS: Well, the questions about campaign funds and how they were used. We do know that there are a number of reports out there that there were some campaign funds which, in fact, went to Rielle Hunter. The question is whether those were legitimate campaign funds. She said she was there as a producer. The question is whether that's why she got the money. There was also some money that changed hands that came from friends of John Edwards. That also, we're told, went to Rielle Hunter. The question, of course, is whether that was a legitimate campaign expense or whether it should be a tax legally. All these things, we're told, are being looked at in the grand jury -- Anderson.</s>COOPER: All right, Joe, thanks for the reporting. Pigeon O'Brien is a friend of Rielle Hunter, spoke to her often during the time Hunter was having an affair with the presidential could. She joins us now for a 360 interview. John Edwards, at least according to "The Times," is apparently moving closer to claiming paternity of Rielle Hunter's baby. Pigeon, do you have any doubt that this baby is his?</s>PIGEON O'BRIEN, FRIEND OF RIELLE HUNTER: None whatsoever. No doubt whatsoever.</s>COOPER: Why? I know the relationship they were in at the time of conception. And I know the context of the untruths that Mr. Edwards has spoken. So, I -- I'm able to read between the lines in what he's saying and point out significant inaccuracies in them. And I know the relationship they were in at the time of conception, when...</s>COOPER: I want to talk you -- I want to talk you to more about that in detail. We have got to take a quick break, a lot more to talk about. Also, join the live chat at AC360.com. Let us know what you think about this story, which is still developing. We thought this thing was over. Clearly, it is not over -- a lot more ahead tonight. Also, Afghanistan in the news -- the -- the -- the general in command has ordered -- has said he needs more troops on the ground in a report to the president. We were there just a few weeks ago. We will talk to our panel of experts, Michael Ware, Peter Bergen, and Rory Stewart, about that. Plus, breaking news tonight out of the Southeast, where floods have turned deadly and more rain is on the way. We will have the latest coming up.