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Campbell Brown
John Edwards Embroiled in Sex Scandal
Aired August 08, 2008 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everyone.
Breaking news tonight. John Edwards admits he had an affair with a woman who worked as a video producer for his campaign, and that he lied about it repeatedly while he was running for president. The woman, Rielle Hunter, gave birth to a daughter in February. Edwards insists he's not the little girl's father.
This afternoon, he put out a statement. In it, he said, -- quote -- "In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs. I recognized my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness. Although I was honest in every painful detail with my family, I did not tell the public. When a supermarket tabloid told a version of the story, I used the fact that the story contained many falsities to deny it. But being 99 percent honest is no longer enough.
"I was and am ashamed of my conduct and choices, and I had hoped that it would never become public. With my family, I took responsibility for my actions in 2006 and today I take full responsibility publicly. But that misconduct took place for a short period in 2006. It ended then. I am and have been willing to take any test necessary to establish the fact that I am not the father of any baby, and I am truly hopeful that a test will be done so this fact can be definitively established. I only know that the apparent father has said publicly that he is the father of the baby. I also have not been engaged in any activity of any description that requested, agreed to or supported payments of any kind to the woman or to the apparent father of the baby.
"It is inadequate to say to the people who believed in me that I am sorry, as it is inadequate to say to the people who love me that I am sorry. In the course of several campaigns, I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic. If you want to beat me up, feel free. You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself. I have been stripped bare and will now work with everything I have to help my family and others who need my help. I have given a complete interview on this matter and having done so, will have nothing more to say."
That statement refers to an interview that Edwards gave to ABC News addressing the affair.
Jessica Yellin is joining us with more.
And I know, Jessica, these rumors have been out there for some time. How did this finally come to a head today?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Campbell, today, we got word that Edwards did admit that he had this extramarital affair and that he had told it all to ABC News' "Nightline," and we got that word on the Internet.
We first saw it posted there on the ABC News Web site acknowledging that rumors of his involvement with this former aide, Rielle Hunter, were in fact true, and then as we started to pursue the story, it became clear that John Edwards was going to release the statement that you just read.
You know, you have to recall that a few months back this broke on the campaign trail. People asked John Edwards if in fact he had had this affair, if he had had a child with this woman. Edwards denied it repeatedly at the time, and a former campaign aide came forward saying that the child is his.
You heard John Edwards refer to that aide in the statement you just put out. Allegedly, John Edwards says to ABC News he's quite confident the child is not his, John Edwards, because the timing isn't right -- Campbell.
BROWN: And, Jessica, you covered him. You covered the Edwards campaign. And you mention when this first came out during the campaign, but even before that, was there any sense that anything like this was going on?
YELLIN: No.
You know, there were rumors, as I said, which he denied, and his former staffers say they really -- they believed his denials. You know, why would somebody be running for president allow this to go on this close to a campaign? Even his former campaign manager says that he feels John Edwards betrayed them all.
And what's most striking to me about this, Campbell, is that it's so at odds with John Edwards' public image. He campaigned as a family man. His wife, Elizabeth, who, as you know, is living with cancer, was almost always at his side. He regularly talked about her and their family.
And then in addition to that family man image, he also was the truth- teller, the man who would stand up to corporate America and tell it like it is. On both fronts, he's been proven to be a hypocrite. And that is devastating to him, politically, at least -- Campbell.
BROWN: And, Jessica, you mentioned family man, but talk about hypocrisy, I know it doesn't end there. You found a statement that John Edwards made during Clinton's impeachment trial for lying about his affair, right?
YELLIN: Right. In 1999, he said during the impeachment trial, "I think this president," meaning President Bill Clinton, "has shown a remarkable disrespect for his office, the moral dimensions of leadership, for his friends, his wife, and his daughter." He described Bill Clinton's disrespect as -- quote -- "breathtaking."
Well, that is something else -- Campbell.
BROWN: Jessica Yellin for us tonight -- Jessica, who covered John Edwards campaign for president -- Jessica, thanks.
So, after months of rumors and denials, John Edwards finally came clean today. The story of the affair first surfaced in "The National Enquirer."
And Drew Griffin is here with that part of the story -- Drew.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Campbell, stunning tonight. He says in his statement he hoped it would never become public, but actually he is the one who kept it in the news and kept it going for "The National Enquirer" by continuing to meet with this woman, Rielle Hunter, as late as just two weeks ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN (voice-over): The Edwards story has been fodder of "The National Enquirer" for more than a year. And the headlines show why.
A presidential candidate and former U.S. senator with a cancer- stricken wife has an affair and according to the tabloid fathers a child with this woman, a campaign consultant named Rielle Hunter. John Edwards had dismissed the "National Enquirer" allegations. This is what he said just last month in New Orleans.
JOHN EDWARDS (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have no idea what you're asking about. I have responded consistently to these tabloid allegations by saying I don't respond to these lies. And you know that, Raylene. (ph). You've covered me. And I stand by that.
GRIFFIN: Now the stunning about-face. In a statement, Edwards admits -- quote -- "In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs. I recognized my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness."
The pressure had been mounting on Edwards for several weeks, since news stories appeared about a confrontation with "The National Enquirer" here at the Beverly Hilton Hotel last month.
On July 21, the former senator was in Los Angeles raising awareness for the homeless. That night, "National Enquirer" reporter Alex Hitchen was waiting for Edwards at the hotel. The paper said it had a tip Edwards, Rielle Hunter, and Hunter's baby were meeting in a room. At 2:40 in the morning, Hitchen says he surprised Edwards as Edwards was trying to leave.
ALEX HITCHEN, "THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER": I say to him, Mr. Edwards, Alexander Hitchen from "The National Enquirer." We know that you have been with Rielle Hunter tonight and your child. And then we said to him, don't you think it's about time to actually tell everyone that you are actually the father of this child?
GRIFFIN (on camera): And the reaction again was?
HITCHEN: Sheer panic.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Hitchen says Edwards did not say a word. Instead, he ran down the stairs into this bathroom in the basement and held the door shut.
According to ABC News, Edwards now admits he did go to the hotel that night and did meet Rielle Hunter, as "The Enquirer" has reported.
Wednesday, the tabloid turned up the heat on Edwards, publishing this blurry photograph, a photo the paper claims was shot in the Beverly Hilton Hotel during the encounter. The paper says the baby in the picture is Edwards'.
But is it? Edwards told ABC News the child could not be his because of the timing of the birth. But the former senator says he wants to take a paternity test to prove he's not the father.
This man, Andrew Young, an Edwards campaign staffer, said last year he was the father, not Edwards. Still, the child's birth certificate adds to the intrigue. The name of the father's child's father is left blank.
John Edwards was a former North Carolina SNOW: , John Kerry's 2004 running mate, and this year a populist candidate for president. The pained language of his statement reflects how far he's fallen from those heady days.
"In the course of several campaigns, I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic. If you want to beat me up, feel free. You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: And, Campbell, we have more information tonight about the alleged payments to this woman and Andrew Young, the supposed father of this child.
Two newspapers, "The Raleigh News and Observer" and "The Dallas Morning News," are quoting a man named Fred Baron. He's a Dallas attorney and the former chairman or the president of John Edwards' campaign finance committee, saying that he actually paid Rielle Hunter and Andrew Young their relocation fees and moving expenses and living expenses to get out of North Carolina when the heat was turned up on this.
Mr. Baron is telling the newspapers that John Edwards was unaware of these payments.
BROWN: All right, Drew, Drew Griffin for us tonight. Clearly still a lot of questions here that we don't have answers to. We have got a lot more on this story when we come back. We're going to get reaction from John Edwards' former campaign manager. He's going to be joining me live.
Also ahead, we will dig deeper into just how the scandal unfolded. When did John Edwards meet Rielle Hunter? How did she get involved in his campaign? That and more when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: You're looking now at a live picture of John Edwards' home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, obviously being staked out by a lot of media now.
Today's confession left many of Edwards' supporters disappointed and angry, possibly none more so than those who worked with him.
We have now the man who managed his presidential campaign, former Congressman David Bonior. And he's joining me at this moment from Washington.
Welcome to you.
And, Congressman, how disappointed are you?
DAVID BONIOR, FORMER EDWARDS CAMPAIGN MANAGER: I'm very disappointed, and so are literally thousands of people who worked so very hard for John Edwards. And some of them are very angry.
I mean, these are folks who flocked to John's campaign because they believed that we really were going to do something about poverty and about getting universal health care and ending this terrible war and all of these issues that he led the campaign on. And then he obviously let them all down after they placed their confidence and their faith in him.
And what is particularly, I think, galling and disturbing to me and I know many folks who have talked to me over the course of the afternoon is the so many young people who gave of their time that worked 14, 15 hours a day, folks who contributed, went out and put their reputations on the line on behalf of advocating for John. And they just feel terribly let down. And it's a very, very tragic and sad day.
BROWN: Congressman, back in October of 2007, when the story first surfaced, you went out there, defended Senator Edwards. Your staff defended Senator Edwards. Did you ask him if it was true at the time?
BONIOR: Yes, of course.
Senator Edwards said at that time that this was tabloid trash, as I recall, and, you know, that this was in "The "National Enquirer" or the mainstream media didn't take it very seriously.
BROWN: And you believed him.
BONIOR: And we believed in him and his supporters believed in him. Most of the press believed in him. And -- and, as it turned out, he decided to run for president of the United States, it seems from his statement that you have just read, shortly after he had this affair.
BROWN: Today, as Drew Griffin reported a moment ago, the chairman of Senator Edwards' presidential finance committee said that he was making regular payments to this woman to move out of North Carolina. Did you know anything about this?
BONIOR: No, I know nothing about that. In fact, the first time I heard of any of that was today.
BROWN: I don't have to tell you that John Edwards was a self- proclaimed family man, someone who talked a lot about strong morals. What does this do to the people who supported him, not just the staff, but the people who supported him in this campaign?
BONIOR: Well, as I say, a lot of them feel justifiably betrayed, including myself.
You know, I'm not here going to defend John Edwards, but there's a lot of good about John Edwards as well. And it's just absolutely heart- wrenching to have this happen to that family and to his supporters, his staff, to those who just poured their heart and soul into his campaign. It's very, very painful.
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: If he had been up front with you about this and said, look, I had this affair, I have made my peace with Elizabeth, my family about it, but I'm still going to run, if he had been honest, would you have still supported him?
(CROSSTALK)
BONIOR: I would have told him not to run.
BROWN: You would have?
BONIOR: You don't run for president after just coming off an affair, and because that's certainly going to come up in the course of a campaign, and we have had enough of that in our politics in this country. We need to move on, to be focused on the things that matter to the American people, and those are the issues that I talked about. And we cannot be distracted by this kind of activity.
BROWN: All right, Congressman Bonior, I know you're going to stick with us. We're going to talk about this a little more coming back.
But we have a statement we're going to also have from Elizabeth Edwards, who has just put that up. We will have that coming up right after the break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: We have some new information just in right now. Elizabeth Edwards has just posted a statement on a Web site now. And Erica Hill is here with me in the newsroom who has a copy of the statement. She has some information.
(CROSSTALK)
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... wonder what Elizabeth Edwards does have to say about this.
We're going to read you the full statement now. I want to warn you, it is long. So, stick with us through this.
She begins by saying: "Our family has been through a lot, some caused by nature, some caused by human weakness, and some most recently caused by the desire for sensationalism and profit without any regard for the human consequences. None of these has been easy. But we have stood with one another through them all. Although John believes he should stand alone and take the consequences of his action now, when the door closes behind him, he has his family waiting for him.
"John made a terrible mistake in 2006. The fact that it is a mistake that many others have made before him did not make it any easier for me to hear when he told me what he had done. But he did tell me. And we began a long and painful process in 2006, a process oddly made somewhat easier with my diagnosis in March of 2007. This was our private matter, and I frankly wanted it to be private because as painful as it was I did not want to have to play it out on a public stage as well. Because of a recent string of hurtful and absurd lies in a tabloid publication, because of a picture falsely suggesting that John was spending time with a child it wrongly alleged he had fathered outside our marriage, our private matter could no longer be wholly private. The pain of the long journey since 2006 was about to be renewed.
"John has spoken in a long on-camera interview I hope you watch. Admitting one's mistakes is a hard thing for anyone to do, and I am proud of the courage John showed by his honesty in the face of shame. The toll on our family of news helicopters over our house and reporters in our driveway is yet unknown. But now the truth is out, and the repair work that began in 2006 will continue. I ask that the public, who expressed concern about the harm John's conduct has done to us, think also about the real harm that the present voyeurism does and give me and my family the privacy we need at this time."
BROWN: OK. All right, Erica.
And we will be telling people a little bit later there's still talk of a prominent role at the Democratic Convention for Elizabeth Edwards. There was talk of one for John Edwards. Probably not going to happen now.
HILL: Not anymore. Not likely.
BROWN: But we will be talking a little bit later with some of our panelists about whether Elizabeth Edwards will still be playing a role at the convention.
Erica, thanks very much.
Joining us one again is David Bonior, who was Edwards' 2008 campaign manager, a former congressman. And also joining me from New Orleans is CNN political contributors James Carville as well. And he of course was Bill Clinton's campaign manager back in the 1992 presidential campaign.
And, James, you obviously went through this with former President Bill Clinton. How does John Edwards make the same mistake?
(LAUGHTER)
JAMES CARVILLE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: How does he make it? I don't want to shock anybody, but this kind of stuff has been going on since time immemorial. And it's going to continue to go on.
BROWN: They both so vehemently denied these affairs. Is fessing up sooner a smarter strategy, or is there just no good strategy for this sort of behavior?
CARVILLE: Again, people have a past, people deny a past. I can sympathize certainly where Congressman Bonior is, as he put a lot of effort into this, and I'm sure he feels some level of betrayal.
But I can't believe that anybody would be shocked that a man had an affair and then lied about it. And his wife said, by the way, that she told him about it in 2006, and I think this whole thing, it's unfortunate. I feel sorry for Mrs. Edwards. I feel sorry for those children.
BROWN: How did you feel when President Clinton finally admitted his affair?
CARVILLE: Well, I had a pretty good feeling he probably had.
You know, it was -- he's a good man had done a bad thing. And I said, you know what? He's a friend of mine. And if I fell out with everybody I knew that had an affair, my friends would be fewer than they were before.
BROWN: I know.
(CROSSTALK)
CARVILLE: I just can't get that gassed up about it.
BROWN: James, come on. Not everybody is running for president. Not everybody knows that in the back of their mind, they are having to keep this secret as they're running for president under enormous scrutiny from the media. It is different.
CARVILLE: Well, I'm sorry, but people that run for president have sex, too.
And I understand. I'm not saying that what he did wasn't wrong, but I think that if anybody is falling out of their chair shocked that a politician had sex, I'm sorry, it just -- it doesn't shock me. I can understand how someone would be disappointed. Certainly, his political career is in shambles. It's not going to come back.
I humanly feel sorry for Mrs. Edwards. I feel sorry for the Edwards children. But I'm not shocked, and I guarantee you it's going to happen again. I promise you.
BROWN: Congressman Bonior, what I have been hearing from a lot of people today is what if he had gotten the nomination and what if we were in this position now, where we're just weeks away from the convention and this story comes out and it's breaking as it is now? What would this have done to the Democratic Party?
BONIOR: Exactly.
He put the party -- he put -- first of all, his family, of course, but he put his staff, he put the party, his supporters in a terrible, terrible position. He should never have run for president coming off of an affair and then going right into a presidential campaign.
BROWN: Do you agree with James? Do you think his political career is over?
CARVILLE: His career is -- I think James used a word that I would agree with -- is in shambles right now. He needs to -- I don't want to give him advice, but if it was anyone that I cared about and loved, I would suggest that they focus in on their personal and their family right now.
BROWN: James, can anyone sort of recover from this? Can you be rehabilitated? Bill Clinton certainly has been in some ways.
(CROSSTALK)
CARVILLE: I think the situation was different. And I think that Senator Edwards is very highly unlikely to have any kind of political comeback.
And maybe he doesn't need to have a political comeback. He probably has other things on his mind right now. But, you know, I do feel for -- the man made a personal mistake. He didn't steal anything. He didn't start a war. He didn't kill anybody. And we ought to keep that in mind.
And I think that people ought to understand that forgiveness is part of life. And I can certainly understand how his supporters felt. And Congressman Bonior is exactly right.
Had he been a nominee, it would be a terrible mess right now. But we ought to keep in mind that what he did was a human weakness. It wasn't a crime and it wasn't -- or anything else.
BROWN: All right. We're going to end it there.
But, Congressman David Bonior, James Carville, appreciate your time tonight. Thanks to both of you. (CROSSTALK)
BROWN: Coming up next, we're going to take a closer look at the political implications that we were just talking about of today's news, and, then later, the other woman in her own words. Stay with us for what Rielle Hunter has said already about her experiences in the Edwards campaign.
This is the ELECTION CENTER.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Today's announcement by John Edwards was nothing short of a political bombshell.
And joining me now to talk about the potential aftershocks, CNN contributor and Republican strategist Leslie Sanchez, CNN political analyst Roland Martin, and CNN contributor Dana Milbank, national political correspondent also for "The Washington Post."
Hey, guys.
LESLIE SANCHEZ, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Hey.
BROWN: Dana, let's start by taking another look at the statement that Edwards released today, because it was pretty extraordinary.
In a snippet of what he said: "In the course of several campaigns, I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic. If you want to beat me up, feel free. You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself."
What do you make of the statement?
DANA MILBANK, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: It was an extraordinary statement.
First of all, he came out in his first interview, and it was sort of the "I didn't inhale" defense, saying, I didn't love her. It was when my wife's cancer was in remission. That was completely unacceptable.
I think this one gets a lot closer to the real point here. And that is that there's been a whole rash of these. I mean, think about it, Spitzer and Vitter and Larry Craig and Mark Foley. There seems to be a growing sense in various areas among our leaders that they seem to feel that they are not vulnerable, they are exempt from the rules that they are making and expecting everybody else to follow.
It's almost like a thrill-seeking behavior we're seeing here. And it explains a great deal a bit about why Congress is held in esteem by about 16 percent of the American public, and majorities distrust both John McCain and Barack Obama. It's really created a wide range of cynicism.
BROWN: Leslie, he also said in a statement that being 99 percent honest is no longer enough. But the reality is, he had this affair and then continually lied about it. Is it the infidelity or is it the lying that's most damaging politically?
SANCHEZ: It's always the cover-up, Campbell, and it seems to be consistent with that.
And listening to your previous interview, Congressman Bonior was exactly right. It's the kind of thing that you would have counseled a candidate to put past their own personal ambition, look out for the party, look out for the ticket, and not run for office, especially something that is so new and so fresh and that was ongoing, even if -- and it -- and you knew it could be potentially damaging.
It's already incredibly difficult for the family, but it's that growing cynicism. And I don't buy that -- you know, this idea that oh, it's a culture and we expect it now from politicians. It's almost like you're trying so say, you know, wipe it away, it's done. It happens. And I was a victim to it, too. You know, I think a lot of people say we have a tremendous amount of public trust we put into you and we expect something in return. So it's difficult to accept in that sense.
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, Campbell, I would have to -- I understand Leslie's point. But I think when people make that comment of what we expect, it is a reality when you look at the state of marriage and divorce in the United States. Several months ago I wrote a column on CNN.com dealing with this, and I can't tell you the number of e-mails that I got from people talking about how their marriages were broken up because of infidelity, because of adultery.
And so, this is not necessarily an issue limited to politicians. It also speaks to a moral issue in America when it comes to the state of marriage. So it goes beyond John Edwards.
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: I do want to ask though, Roland, I mean, do we have any reason, frankly, to take him at his word? You know, he claims this affair ended in 2006, that he's not the father of this baby.
You know, he told his family about it, yet the "National Enquirer" that has been reported, caught him at her hotel with her just a couple weeks ago. Is it fair to say that a lot of what he's saying is raising new questions?
MARTIN: Look, in the absence of there being a paternity test, all we can simply do is take him at his word, take her at his word. The problem is not just -- I heard people say, well, he's a private citizen.
Campbell, just two weeks ago John Edwards said that he was available to be the vice presidential nominee. Just imagine if he was actually on the Obama short list. This would be just an absolute ridiculous story.
I mean, John Edwards also must apologize frankly to the party because he has put the party in a difficult position when here they are two weeks before their convention, all the focus should be on that then this comes out.
Just imagine -- there's no doubt, you can't ignore the reality had he actually won the nomination or even been close to being the VP, what this would do to the Democrats chances in November.
SANCHEZ: But, Campbell, I think to that point, I think we have to look at this for what it is. There's a lot of political catnip for people in the media, a lot of pundits. You know, we're going to see that spin out. But the reality is he was already damaged goods. I hate to put it this way...
MARTIN: He lost three times.
SANCHEZ: ... but at least we know his history.
MARTIN: Right.
SANCHEZ: You know, he had already exactly third party -- you know, the candidate -- he came in third. He was a weak candidate. He left the race early. He couldn't even carry his own state in 2004. He wasn't somebody who was about to ascend on the presidency.
BROWN: Right.
SANCHEZ: And that is distinctly different, for example, from Governor Spitzer who was the governor --
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: Right.
MARTIN: Very true.
BROWN: Let me ask Dana, just a few minutes ago we heard from Elizabeth Edwards for the first time. She says her husband did admit the affair. She asked for privacy for her family. All in all, though, a very supportive statement.
DANA MILBANK, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Yes, and she has been throughout, and obviously she's the one who gets everybody's sympathy in this case. Now, we're spending a good bit of time talking about what could have been had he been the nominee. I think that given that he's not, what we can just say now is that what he is suffering today is a political capital punishment, and it very much does fit the crime to the extent that that would be a crime.
Now, you know, he spent much of the last six years talking about there being two Americas. Now, America is seeing that there are two John Edwards and that's something that he will never recover from.
BROWN: And, guys, there has been a number of places have reported that Elizabeth Edwards was supposed to have a fairly prominent role at the Democratic Convention, especially given all that she has done, her work on raising awareness and fighting against cancer. Do you think given all this that we will still see her in a very prominent role at the convention? MARTIN: Well, frankly, Campbell, that's wide open in terms of what the roles are going to be. But, look, when you read her statement, this was a woman who was honest, forthright. She's just got right to the point and laid it out.
BROWN: I get that.
MARTIN: And so, that's what you get.
BROWN: My question, Roland --
MARTIN: I don't think that she should be disqualified from having a role at the convention. I don't think so.
BROWN: I'm not suggesting that, but let me ask a political question. Is this something where Barack Obama is going to say, you know what, I don't want to touch this. I don't want this being part of the political process of the presidential campaign. Do you see that in any way? Leslie, do you think that's a possibility?
SANCHEZ: Campbell, you're exactly right. That's the choice the Democratic Party has to make. It's a very hard choice. She's definitely a role model to many women. She has such a strong platform for herself.
But women and men will look at her and say, is she the woman scorned? I mean, is that always going to be the solution? How do you contrast that? And it's completely unfair to her but it is the challenge the Democrats are going to have to face when they decide whether or not to continue putting her on the platform.
BROWN: All right, guys. To Leslie, Roland and to Dana, thanks very much. Appreciate it.
As we mentioned earlier, John Edwards apparently started his affair with Rielle Hunter in 2006. He hired her to produce videos for his presidential campaign which started in late December of that year. In 2007, Hunter told the TV show "Extra" how she met Edwards. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "EXTRA")
RIELLE HUNTER, HAD AFFAIR WITH JOHN EDWARDS: It was a random meeting. He was in a business meeting in New York, and I was in the same place. I'm pretty courageous by nature, and I really felt that I could help in some way.
I traveled for six months. It was great. We went to Africa, which was an amazing experience going to Uganda. The whole experience was life-altering for me. One of the great things about John Edwards is that he's so open and willing to try new things and do things in new ways.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Ted Rowlands joining us now from Los Angeles with more about Rielle Hunter -- Ted.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Campbell, most of the things we know about Rielle Hunter came from that interview. It came from herself. She's been keeping a very low profile as of late.
CNN has tried to get a hold of her and has been unsuccessful. She identifies herself as a 42-year-old documentary video producer. She says she met John Edwards in a bar in New York just by chance, as she said in that interview that she did last year.
She said she's not a political junkie at all. In fact, she finds politics uninteresting, but she claims that she found John Edwards "very interesting and very open." She ended up producing four behind- the-scenes videos for Edwards.
Basically, they're little short episodes that you could see on the Internet, specifically on YouTube. And they're of Edwards in his plain and behind the scenes candidly talk about a number of different things from shoe styles to what it's like to be on the campaign trail.
Here's a little bit of one of those episodes. And listen closely. We think that Miss Hunter is the woman laughing in the background behind the camera.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so glad you like it.
JOHN EDWARDS (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I like it. Wait until you hear me give it live.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: Just a small snippet of those webisodes, as she called them on the Internet. They didn't get a lot of play, just four of those episodes. But according to figures from the Edwards campaign, Rielle Hunter's production company, Midline Groove Productions, was paid nearly $115,000 for "Web site Internet services."
The interview that Hunter did do last year with that television show, "Extra" had her talking very glowingly throughout about John Edwards saying that she spent time with him, as you heard, in Africa and saying that it was in total, life-altering. So a little bit of a window into her, but, again, have not heard anything from her since this has broken -- Campbell.
BROWN: All right. Ted Rowlands for us tonight. Ted, thanks very much.
The big question and we ask it every time there is a political sex scandal is why do people who spend their lives in the spotlight think they can get away with stuff like this? We do have a psychiatrist who is going to be joining us in a few minutes. We'll ask her that.
And then while the Edwards story is dominating the news, there is a full-fledged international crisis out there right now. A situation getting much worse.
Coming up next, we are going to update you. Russian jets and tanks on the attack, and American lives could be at risk. We'll tell you what's going on when we come back.
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BROWN: Coming up, we're going to talk a little bit more about how exactly John Edwards got into this mess that is now threatening his political career.
But first, to Erica Hill back with tonight's "Briefing" -- Erica.
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Campbell, we begin with news where hundreds are dead after a major conflict involving Georgia and Russia. Georgia ran the offensive today to regain control of a breakaway province. That province is called South Ossetia. And they want to return it to Russia.
Russia's tanks rolled in, bombed Georgian air bases. Two thousand Georgian troops will now head home from Iraq tomorrow to fight in this conflict.
Investigators say the charter bus that crashed just north of Dallas early this morning was operating illegally. The bus flipped. It slammed into a highway guardrail and then slid down an embankment.
Fifteen people were killed. Regulators ordered the operator to take its buses off the road two months ago. Investigators say though the company then changed its name to stay in business.
Vicious campaigning backfires in Tennessee. Congressman Steve Cohen won the Democratic primary in Memphis yesterday by 60 points. His opponent, Nikki Tinker, used footage of the Ku Klux Klan in her attack ads. Cohen is Jewish. Most voters in his district are African- American.
And Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is out of jail but he is not out of trouble. Charged today with assaulting two police officers in addition to perjury and misconduct charges, Kilpatrick actually spent the night in jail because he went to Canada for a meeting without the judge's permission. He now must wear a monitoring device -- Campbell.
BROWN: All right. Erica Hill for us tonight. Thanks again, Erica.
So for months when John Edwards was saying no, there was no affair, what was going on in his mind? We're going to have that story ahead, right here on the ELECTION CENTER.
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BROWN: "LARRY KING LIVE" is coming up in just a few minutes with continuing coverage of the John Edwards scandal. Wolf Blitzer is in for Larry tonight. And, Wolf, a lot of ground to cover.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. We're going to have a lot more, Campbell.
On the breaking news, the bombshell about John Edwards. The former presidential candidate now admitting he lied about having an extramarital affair. We'll also have the latest on this story and the questions that still remain.
Did he father a child with the other woman? Was she on the campaign's payroll? What does all this mean for his political future? It's all coming up at the top of the hour, Campbell, on "LARRY KING LIVE."
BROWN: All right, Wolf. We'll see you then.
John Edwards denied the affair for months before he admitted it. When we come back, how his story suddenly changed and what was going on in his mind.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN EDWARDS (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have no idea what you're asking about. I have responded to -- consistently to these tabloid allegations by saying I don't respond to these lies, and you know that. You covered me. And I stand by that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator, how do you feel the situation in Los Angeles on Monday will affect your future in politics and this administration, a potential Obama administration?
EDWARDS: None.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: None? Not the "National Enquirer" story?
EDWARDS: I don't talk about these tabloids. They're tabloid trash. It's full of lies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Full of lies. It makes you wonder what's been going on in John Edwards' mind. There he was in the hot seat answering and dodging questions about an affair. First the denials. Tonight, the admission and the apology.
So how did this happen? Why did this happen?
Dr. Gail Saltz is an associate professor of psychiatry at New York Presbyterian Hospital and the author of "Anatomy of a Secret Life." And she is joining me now, along with Steve Kornacki, who is a columnist for the "New York Observer." and Democratic strategist Jonathan Prince, who was once Edwards' deputy campaign manager. Welcome to everybody.
Gail, let me start with you because I feel like we ask you this question a lot every time there's a political scandal. But what gives? Why do people, more often than not, men in positions of power feel like this is OK and that they can get away with it? DR. GAIL SALTZ, N.Y. PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL: You know, power is intoxicating, and it often corrupts. And when you're surrounded by people that make you believe that you are so powerful that possibly the rules don't apply to you, you start to buy it. And so, there is a feeling of playing fast and loose.
A lot of the men who enter politics are by nature high risk takers. It makes them actually in some ways great politicians and great campaigners, but unfortunately, it also makes them risk-taking seeking. They're looking for that edge, and so it's not that farfetched.
And also, by the way, when you say that you've seen in a lot of these men, they're the ones that seem to be most out there saying don't do this, or I disagree with this or I prosecute this, and that is because it is their defense against the intense urge to do just that.
BROWN: Jonathan, you worked very closely obviously with John Edwards.
JONATHAN PRINCE, FMR. EDWARDS DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MGR: I did. I did.
BROWN: And you heard his statement today. I just want to read it very briefly.
PRINCE: Sure.
BROWN: He said, "It is inadequate to say to the people who believed in me that I am sorry, as it is inadequate to say to the people who love me that I am sorry. In the course of several campaigns, I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic."
Did you see a change, this sort of change in him?
PRINCE: You know, first of all, I think it's important to say when folks are running for president of the United States obviously, you are putting a whole host of attention and responsibility on them and the idea they could, you know, be the leader of their free world is, as Dr. Saltz just said, you know, really does kind of force them into this position where they think the world can revolve around them.
On the other hand, I will also say to you that in my experience with him kind of up close and personal, no, I really didn't. I think today, as I thought yesterday and as I thought a week ago and as I thought six months ago, that John Edwards is a good guy who cares about all the right things and now I know clearly like lots of other good people out there made a mistake, a big one.
But I don't think that -- you know, I certainly take him at his word that he feels like he's, you know, undergone some of these changes that he's not so proud of, and I frankly respect him for standing up and saying so. But I have to be just honest, to be myself in my kind of personal dealing with him over the course of the campaign? No. I thought he was a terrific candidate to deal with.
BROWN: You know, Gail, he used the words himself that Jonathan just mentioned, egocentric, narcissistic. What do you think? Did he fit that definition?
SALTZ: Well, first of all, I think he's trying to preempt every shrink that's going to come on and say he's egocentric and narcissistic. You know, that is not the kind of stuff that just occurs overnight, to be perfectly honest. So, you know, being narcissistic, which really means underneath it all, having a certain amount of insecurity that you cover up with grandiose fantasies of what you should be or would like to see yourself as, that's something that takes many, many years to sort of evolve.
And so, I doubt that this was an overnight I woke up and now the world revolves around me. It was probably a growing phenomenon, something that could have occurred potentially even when he was younger.
But, yes, you would have to say that what are we talking about here? We're talking about intense narcissism when you can lie to your family and lie to people who invested their entire careers on yours, in terms of promoting you and being a team with you that you could risk all of their feelings and their livelihoods for a need of your own.
BROWN: Go ahead, Jonathan.
PRINCE: I have to say that I mean I understand all the analysis, and I'm totally not a professional in terms of, you know, the psychiatric analysis of it. But I do think that you got to remember that this isn't a phenomenon that is unique to politicians by any stretch of the imagination, you know.
BROWN: I'll let you finish your point. But what is unique is that you are walking a high wire when you --
PRINCE: No question.
BROWN: When you are under the kind of scrutiny that somebody is running for president you fall (ph) under.
(CROSSTALK)
PRINCE: No question. No question.
But, look, the behavior, I think, of most people who are engaged in this kind of behavior is to try and pretend that everything is the way it's supposed to be and keep on doing what they've always done. I think that's probably true for police officers and waiters and waitresses and doctors and lawyers and everybody else who engages in this behavior.
BROWN: Right.
PRINCE: This is a guy -- and you know, and to his credit, this is a guy who really believed some big things about the direction of this country -- poverty and things like that. And so, he just went on doing what he's been doing, which is to go out there and make the case for those things. And I think what happens is these people -- you know, you read about it all the time and you hear people describe it. They wall off that part of their lives and then they just try to continue on like everything is normal.
BROWN: All right. I'm going to get Steve's political perspective on all of this after we take a short break, but we'll come back with Steve Kornacki and political implications coming up next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: John Edwards, his words and his actions under the microscope tonight. And let's turn again to Dr. Gail Saltz, Steve Kornacki and Jonathan Prince.
And, Steve, given what you've heard, you know, all day today, look at this with a political eye, and especially the statement that he put out today, because I have heard a number of people say that they thought it was rather strange. It was almost like providing too much information as though he was still running for something. Why not just say I'm taking time to be with my family. I apologize, end of story.
STEVE KORNACKI, "NEW YORK OBSERVER": Right.
BROWN: Did you find that striking at all?
KORNACKI: I read it the same way, especially there's a portion there I think this might haunt him in the days ahead where he says I was 99 percent truthful. And, you know, I don't know if the truth on the situation with the child or whatever, but I don't think any fair reading of the situation would say this was, you know, a 99-1 situation. This was like, you know, 20/80 in the other direction.
There's understandably I think political reasons why he wasn't honest, but the fact is he wasn't honest. And beyond just the sex, the dishonesty, and the fact that he sold it so convincingly over the last six months, just the total knee jerk outrage at the tabloid trash and all that.
This is a guy, don't forget, you know, he's always had to fight this sort of caricature that comes with being a former trial lawyer, an ambulance chaser and all that...
BROWN: Right.
KORNACKI: ... until we talk about the future for John Edwards, if he ever or to even think about getting back into politics. What he's done for the last six months is reinforce the worst stereotype that could ever be used against him in politics. That he is the seedy trial lawyer.
BROWN: Quickly, Steve, because I want to get one more question in. The media has known about this for a while and stayed away from the story.
KORNACKI: Right.
BROWN: Do you think we should have been reporting it early? KORNACKI: Well, what was there to report? You know, you had two denials. You could have gone and looked at the birth certificate and I think a paper in North Carolina did that. You know, it's a story but it's not a story.
And you have the history of the "National Enquirer." They've been right before but they've been wrong.
BROWN: Right.
KORNACKI: Ask Carol Burnett about that.
BROWN: Yes.
KORNACKI: Remember there was a rumor about John Kerry in 2004. That wasn't true either.
BROWN: A fair point. Jonathan...
PRINCE: Yes.
BROWN: ... is his career over politically?
PRINCE: Look, I don't know what he's going --
BROWN: And how disappointing, if it is, is that for you given what you invested?
PRINCE: Look, here's what I think. I think, you know, there's no shortage of -- there's a huge shortage of poverty advocates out there. It's not like the roster of poverty advocates have been filled up with all the perfect people. And there's plenty of room for, you know, human beings who are flawed to get out there and fight for things that he cares about.
BROWN: All right. Guys, we have to end it there. But -- Dr. Gail Saltz here with me in the studio and Steve Kornacki, and, of course, Jonathan Prince, appreciate your time tonight. Thanks, guys.
We're going to take a quick break. We'll be back right after this.
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BROWN: That's it for us. Have a great weekend everybody. We'll see you on Monday.
Wolf Blitzer is hosting "LARRY KING LIVE." It starts right now.
