Edwards admits he lied about affair

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who cast himself as the most electable of Democratic presidential hopefuls, admitted Friday that he held — and lied about — a secret that could have destroyed his campaign and his party’s hopes for the White House.

Edwards’ confirmation of an extramarital affair with a woman he met in a New York bar shakes the public persona of a man whose image was deeply linked to his role as a devoted husband. It effectively rules him out as a vice presidential nominee, and it may cost him a prime-time speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention — though Edwards is still considering a convention appearance.

Edwards confirmed to ABC News’s Bob Woodruff, in an interview airing tonight on Nightline, that he had an affair with Reille Hunter, 42, whom he hired to make a documentary film of his 2006 campaign.

His interview confirmed a series of reports in the National Enquirer suggesting the affair, reports that people around him had gradually come to accept as true.

Edwards told Woodruff that he did have an affair with Hunter, but said that he did not love her, ABC News said in a press release.

He denied he was the father of Hunter’s child, and said his wife, Elizabeth, learned of the affair in 2006, ABC said. Edwards also tells Woodruff that he began the affair before his wife’s cancer recurred last March.

Edwards had denied the affair heatedly after the Enquirer first floated the possibility last October 11.

“The story is false. It's completely untrue, ridiculous,” he said of the original report.

"I've been in love with the same woman for 30-plus years," Edwards added, “and as anybody who's been around us knows, she's an extraordinary human being, warm, loving, beautiful, sexy and as good a person as I have ever known. So the story's just false."

ABCNews Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross said the Enquirer’s reporting had been “95 to 96 percent” accurate.

Some former Edwards aides dismissed the affair as a mere personal dalliance, while others expressed bitter disappointment.

“I am disappointed and angry. Thousands of friends and supporters of Senator Edwards put their faith and confidence in him and he has let them down,” former campaign manager David Bonior said in an email statement. “Young supporters who put their time and energy into his campaign with a newfound energy and idealism for politics have been betrayed by his actions. But the issues we cared about and fought for – poverty, worker justice, clean environment and healthcare for all – are issues worth continuing to fight.”

“I’m very disappointed,” said Rob Tully, Edward’s Iowa co-chairman. He got the news wile at the Iowa State Fair, where Tully had taken Edwards through years of campaigning.

“People are human and they make mistakes. I feel bad for his family and I feel bad for him. I’m sure this is one of those times when being human catches up with you.”

He acknowledged, however, that for “anybody looking at this, it’s going to be difficult for John in the future politically.”