Editorial: Going over a cliff

Wednesday, July 01, 2009 5:51 PM  |  Printer friendly version | E-mail to a friend |

Going over a cliffWe're well aware John Edwards' affair with Rielle Hunter involved sex and lies ... but videotape, too?

The latter claim has surfaced in a book proposal from Andrew Young, the former Edwards aide who at one point claimed to be the father of the child Hunter bore after her tryst with Edwards. In the book proposal, as reported by the News & Observer of Raleigh as well as the New York Daily News, Young alleges that Edwards promised to "take care of you for life" if Young would claim paternity of the baby. "You know I'd walk off a cliff for you," Edwards allegedly told Young, "and I know you'd walk off a cliff for me." In the proposal, Young also claims that he came across a sex tape involving Edwards and Hunter.

These are unsubstantiated allegations and are likely to remain so unless Young produces corrobating evidence. Given that he has disavowed being the father of a child he once claimed and that he stands to reap a rich payday for a "tell-all" book, Young's not exactly an unimpeachable source. But given Edwards' behavior, Young's claims don't strain credulity. Sex tape or no, the Edwards saga isn't a pretty picture — and it may get uglier.