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Democrat Edwards admits paternity Edwards admits campaign lovechild
(about 3 hours later)
Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has admitted he fathered a child with a filmmaker hired before his second presidential bid. US politician John Edwards has admitted fathering an illegitimate child while he ran for the White House in 2007 and his wife battled incurable cancer.
In a statement to the Associated Press, Mr Edwards said he was the father of the girl. The Democrats' former rising star told US media he had been wrong to deny that the child of film-maker Reille Hunter was his daughter.
Mr Edwards had initially denied that he was the girl's father. A former aide had claimed paternity of the girl. When he admitted the affair in August 2008 after a press report, he said it had ended in 2006 and denied paternity.
"I am Quinn's father," Mr Edwards said in the statement, released as Frances Quinn Hunter is about to turn two. His wife Elizabeth has said she will stand by him despite the revelations.
"It was wrong for me ever to deny she was my daughter and hopefully one day, when she understands, she will forgive me," the former senator said in the statement. Elizabeth thinks that he should acknowledge this Harrison Hickman adviser to John Edwards
Apology The dispute over Frances Quinn Hunter, who will soon turn two, was further complicated when an aide to Mr Edwards said he was the father.
He added that he had been financially supporting his daughter and that he had reached an agreement with her mother, filmmaker Reille Hunter, to continue providing support in the future. Mr Edwards, who also ran for vice-president alongside Senator John Kerry in 2004 and once served as a senator for North Carolina, stepped out of the race for the Democratic ticket in January 2008 after failing to win a single primary.
"To all those I have disappointed and hurt, these words will never be enough, but I am truly sorry," said Mr Edwards, who originally admitted having an affair in August 2008. The ticket was finally won by Barack Obama who went on to be elected US president.
The former aide who claimed paternity of the child, Andrew Young, is due to release a book on Mr Edwards's affair in early February. 'Disappointment and hurt'
The child was born on 27 February, 2008, suggesting she was conceived in mid-2007, several months after Ms Hunter had stopped being employed by the Edwards campaign. The child was born on 27 February, 2008, suggesting she was conceived in mid-2007, several months after Ms Hunter stopped being employed by the Edwards campaign, and in the early stages of the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Mr Edwards's wife, Elizabeth, who suffered from cancer during the campaign, has said she will stand by her husband despite the affair. JOHN EDWARDS'S AFFAIR December 2006: Declares bid for 2008 Democratic presidential ticketMid-2007: Daughter conceived with Reille HunterJanuary 2008: Pulls out of race for Democratic ticket
The child, she has said, "would be a part of John's life, but not a part of mine". In a statement released to US news outlets on Thursday, Mr Edwards said: "I am Quinn's father.
Mr Edwards stepped out of the White House race in January 2008 without backing any of his rivals after failing to win a single party nomination contest. "I will do everything in my power to provide her with the love and support she deserves.
"It was wrong for me ever to deny she was my daughter and hopefully one day, when she understands, she will forgive me."
He added that he had been financially supporting his daughter and that he had reached an agreement with Ms Hunter to continue providing support in the future.
"To all those I have disappointed and hurt, these words will never be enough, but I am truly sorry," said Mr Edwards.
In August 2008, he admitted having an extra-marital affair and lying about it during his campaign, but he dated the episode to 2006.
Speaking to ABC News, he said he had made "a serious error in judgment", that he had informed his wife about the affair in 2006, and that he had asked for her forgiveness.
His 2008 confession followed reports of the sex scandal in the National Enquirer newspaper, which Mr Edwards initially dismissed as "tabloid trash".
'John's life'
Asked by NBC why it had taken two years for Mr Edwards to publicly admit paternity, the politician's long-time adviser, Harrison Hickman, said: "There are a lot of adults involved, there are a number of families involved, and there are also a lot of kids involved."
"Elizabeth thinks that he should acknowledge this," Mr Hickman added.
Elizabeth Edwards, who has breast cancer, has said that it does not matter to her whether her husband fathered a child with Ms Hunter or not.
"That would be a part of John's life but not a part of mine," she said.
The couple have three surviving children. A fourth, their eldest son Wade, was killed in a car crash at the age of 16.
Andrew Young, the former aide who claimed paternity of the child, is due to release a book on Mr Edwards's affair in early February.