Protecting the people from the powerful. Its intoxicating stuff. Reality, of course, is less glamorous. Supporting that candidate is an army volunteers, donors, political operatives, and they can sometimes get too wrapped up in in the lore, the legend, which brings us to the story of Johnny Reid Edwards an american success story, crusading trial lawyer, family man. The senator from North Carolina was seen by millions of americans as the future of the Democratic Party. Candidate john edwards was inspirational. People seemed as if they would go to the ends of the earth for him. And in some cases, he made them. Because in reality, john edwards the person well, he was no savior. [cheers and applause] [amplified voice] i will give you back your Democratic Party. I will give you back the white house, and i will give you back your country. Tapper who could ever forget this handsome face . John edwards. Being honest and changing course in iraq is the first step in trying to restore americas moral leadership in the world. Crowd [chanting] Edwards Edwards was hot stuff and within striking distance of the white house for years. [cheering] he had been john kerrys Vice President ial pick in 2004, and even though that didnt work out, it made him an early favorite entering the 2008 democratic president ial primary. He was a good talker. He was goodlooking. He had the right politics. Yes, edwards was the Dream Candidate perhaps even the dreamy candidate. That beautiful head of hair just stole my heart. [audience laughter] thank you. John edwards was able to articulate the Economic Issues that plagued this country, able to talk about the two americas. That was his famous speech. We can build one america where we no longer have two Healthcare Systems. Edwards stated mission to bridge the gap between Rich Americans and poor Americans Still seems progressive more than a decade later. He was young, smart, married to his law school sweetheart. Though hed made a fortune as a trial attorney, edwards proudly championed the working class, and he was from a southern state. They called him bill clinton without the baggage. Until the baggage arrived. John edwards seemed too good to be true, and was. Tonight, john edwards political career lies in shambles his personal life and lies laid bare. He lied about an extramarital affair when he ran for president this year. Reporter john edwards now admitting he is the father of the child born to Campaign AideRielle Hunter. Andrew young, a former aide to john Edwards Young had initially taken the fall for saying he was the father of the baby. Reporter 2 and what about edwards wife of 32 yearselizabeth . Shes not only had to deal with her husbands betrayal. Shes dealing with a cancer that threatens to take her life. Tapper yes, it was as bad as it sounds. Edwards cheated on his cancerstricken wife, had a baby with his secret girlfriend employee, and then tried to pass it off as a key Campaign Staffers kid. For years, edwards followed the three simple rules for unfaithful men deny, deny, deny. I have no idea what youre asking about. I dont respond to these lies. So when the truth came out, he looked like the most untrustworthy politician in the United States. Heres the statement john edwards issued today. The scandal torpedoed his career, and with it, the dreams of so many people who had believed in him. Its very shocking. This is a man i was willing to vote for as president. Why would he do a thing like that . Why would he do that . He had to know that his personal failures would detonate his political career . Yet he still seemed to believe that he was destined to transform the United States. And it wasnt just him. So many smart people surrounding him accommodated his lies, believing that the ends justified the means. This storys 15 years old, but it burned so many people, including many staffers who still work in politics and refuse to talk about the scandal to this day. John edwards isnt talking either, and his exwife elizabeth, sadly, died in 2010. Thankfully, i was able to find answers and understanding in kentucky, sitting and talking with someone who once, fairly or not, was the most infamous woman in the United StatesRielle Hunter. The image of john edwards was, you know, this John Grisham Hero Come To Life crusading southern lawyer, had some difficulties in his life, wants to fight for you. We held him responsible for not being the image that he had given us. And held me responsible for that, too. We did in the media . Yes. Itits hard talking about it, even, you know, 15 years later. Ii dont wanna hurt anybody. Or him. I dont wanna hurt john, either, you know . Well, were here to get your side of the story. By february 2006, Rielle Hunter had lived many lives. She was an actress with bit roles in films such as ricochet, where she played a reporter alongside denzel washington. Mr. Styles, are you all right . A new york party girl and muse for her exboyfriend jay mcinerneys novel, story of my life, a selfdescribed spiritual healer, and, finally, an aspiring documentary filmmaker. John edwards, by contrast, was softlaunching a president ial campaign and a leader of the Democratic Party. So lets just start with the very beginning. Youre at the regency hotel. Oh, god. [laughing]. In 2006. Were you there to meet him . Being there was aa fluke. Tapper was he by himself . Who was hunter yeah, he was in a business meeting. I was with my friend. Were at a table, and, uh, john edwards was behind her, and he kept looking at me as though he knew me as well. And then we got up and left, and when we were standing on the corner, john edwards turned the corner and saw me there, and he literally, like, almost jumped into my arms. And my response what came out of my mouth was, youre so hot. And wwhat did he say back . [laughs] why, thank you. I said, uh, i can help you, and he said, i wanna hear. He said, you know, can you come over . So you went up to his room . Mmhmm, i did. And then cause then i didnt feel like it was sexual, either. You didnt . No, i did not. cause it sounds like there was an attraction. You said, youre so hot. [laughs] that was i know, i know, i know. I mean, thats inherently. No, i getno, i. A little sexual. No, i get it, yeah. Did your intimate relationship with him begin that night . Yes. I was in love very quickly. Not because he was john edwards. No. Not at all. Make no mistake, like, all of that, like, added to the package, you know . Sure. Its just like, im human, you know . Right. So hes a goodlooking guy. He was very charismatic. Yes, he and he was, like, john edwards. He hit all the boxes. Except he wasnt single. Thats a. Thats a box. [laughs] its a big one. Clearly, johns marital status was no barrier to pursuing rielle, and the feeling was mutual. Ironically, at the same time, the country seemed infatuated with john edwards pictureperfect marriage and his wife, Elizabeth Edwards, a former attorney herself turned healthcare reform crusader, who was said to be edwards secret weapon on the Campaign Trail. My value is that people trust me. They trust me to say whats on my mind and be direct. The election was still two years away, but elizabeth and john seemed like they were everywhere, pushing john as the next great democratic hope. It was the beginnings of a 21stcentury president ial campaign, which created a unique opportunity for rielle and johns relationship. At what point does he Start Talking about figuring out a way for you to come on board the campaign . I pitched him the idea of Doing A Webisode series, because my entire thing about him was who he really is did not translate onto the camera, and i wanted to help him capture that, cause i thought he was pretty cool. In hours of behindthescenes footage, rielle captured more than maybe even she imagined at the start. She showed who john edwards really was as a person, for better or for worse. You think most people have any idea what were doing when were not on the stage . Youre trained to be careful. Were conditioned to say whats safe. Were conditioned to be political. I actually want the country to see who i am, who i really am. Id rather be successful or unsuccessful based on who i really am, not based on some plastic ken doll that you put up in front of audiences. I. Thats not me. Be careful what you wish for, john. In 2006, john edwards was preparing for his president ial run. Hed also brought his extramarital affair with Rielle Hunter on the road by hiring her as campaign documentarian. People were starting to notice. There were pretty weird episodes, right . Like, the footage was, like, clearly you love this man. Youre not even holding the camera steady. You guys are flirting here. Thats my speech. [laughs] oh, my goodness. [laughs] its a great speech. [rielle laughs] can you read it . Yes, i can read it. You can . Yes. The webisodes did they suggest anything . Maybe when he was like, he was a little flirty, but he flirted with everybody. Mmhmm. I wasnt that wasnt unique to me. But everyone read into it, that oh, hes so flirty, you know . That is a great speech. [rielle laughs] im so glad you like it. [laughs] i like it. At the time, rielles largerthanlife presence on the Campaign Trail had some staffers and journalists talking, but it was just thattalk. And even though he had not officially announced he was running yet, there was so much heat behind an edwards candidacy. It was really about this sense of thethe failed george w. Bush administration. Were coming out of katrina. We were heading into an economic crisis. The war in the middle east was so badly managed and prosecuted. With so much at stake, elizabeth had the idea to target young voters as a break with politics as usual. I was hired by the campaign because they were looking for bloggers. Blogging was really new, and that was the Edwards Campaign trying to stand out from the more traditional campaigns at the time. Elizabeth had been out front. She had joined the blogosphere. She was writing about universal healthcare and progressive policy, generally. For the first time in 15 years, were actually trying to fix a broken Healthcare System and deal with the twin problems of the, uh, status quo, which are skyrocketing Healthcare Costs and millions of americans living without healthcare coverage. I first met Elizabeth Edwards, um, on the Campaign Trail, and she was at the front of the bus working on something. By the time we get to our campaign stop, um, elizabeth says, i have this for you, and it was a sketch of me. And i was just so sort of impressed, and, like, what a nice gesture. She didnt have to do that for me. And she was good. I knew then she was. A phenomenon. She was the brains of this mission. She knew how to make it look soft when it felt hard. She really was the allamerican fabric. Part of what made the Edwards Campaign so riveting and why so many people rooted for john and elizabeth was the story behind their relationship. Tragedy had compelled them to get into politics. My oldest son wade died in an Automobile Accident seven years ago, and, uh, this is his Outward Bound pin, so i wear it. They began getting involved with a community in new and different ways when their son died as a way to try to have some good come out of his death. Good morning. Um. Im here in new orleans to announce that im a candidate for the presidency of the United States, uh, in the election of 2008. By early 2007, john had made his official announcement for the presidency. Rielles webisodes, which revealed a little more truth than edwards was perhaps ready to admit, disappeared from the internet, but their relationship continued. How often were you seeing john at this point . Every week . Every couple weeks . A lot. Or more . I went everywhere. The staffers knew who i was, so, like, for me to get into his hotel room was challenging. John edwards believed he could outsmart anyone, but someone has to be complicit here in this. The Person Rielle and john say enabled their affair was Campaign Staffer andrew young. Andrew denies that he was doing anything more than following johns orders, so keep in mind this is a history full of unreliable narrators, and opinions differ. And, of course, the only Person Cheating on a spouse and lying to voters about who he was was the candidate himself. They had a separate phone they called the batphone. Whenever John Would Wanna talk to rielle, theyd start humming the theme from batman, and that was kind of the cue for andrew to flip him the phone, uh, to talk to rielle, so it was quite elaborate. Why would andrew young do that . Well, in his book he wrote, i joined in the deception, and at the time, amazingly, i believed it was the right thing to do. I did this for one primary reason i believed in john edwards and all the things he said he stood for. How much was he involved in helping. This relationship to happen . Oh, it wouldnt have happened without him. Every time we reached some sort of obstacle or hurdle, andrew would clear clear that, remove it. One of the things thatsthats hard to get across to folks is how much it was really possible that john edwards was going to be the next president of the United States. In my personal opinion, i didnt think he should run for president. You didnt think he should run for president because of the relationship . Yeah. Yeah. Well, there. [chuckles] did you tell him that . Yeah. You know, i was the only one. Everybody wanted him to run. What did he think was gonna happen . Like, its all based on a lie. Right. You know, its like, howthis is not gonna end well. It was only a matter of time before john edwards secret would come out to the press, but not to the Mainstream Press. I think many traditional journalists ended up in the tabloids. Putting together a story was the easy part. Getting the information that was the hard part, and that took a certain type of journalist. Barry levine was Executive Editor of the National Enquirer when a tip came in on john and rielle. Previously, the juiciest gossip about john had been the price of his haircuts. Levine it was right before the iowa caucuses. He was running right with obama and hillary clinton. I thought, wow, if this story is true, the rug would really be pulled out from under him. In march 2007, a few months after barry started looking into the affair rumors, the edwardses received devastating news. Elizabeths breast cancer, which had been in remission since 2004, was back, and this time, the doctor said it was not curable. The candidate says hell be there for his wife anytime, anyplace despite the president ial campaign. Yet, john edwards says that campaign will continue. Elizabeth was sick, and elizabeth had found out about me at the same time. You know, she called the thethe cellphone that we had together. There was only one number on the cellphone, and it was mine, and she called it, and i answered the phone, and she hung up. He ended up confessing to her that he had had an affair with her, but it was over, and he was never gonna do it again, so and she believed she actually believed that. At this point, editors and Executive Producers in the Mainstream Press seemed to have no stomach for digging into rumors that john edwards was cheating on his dying wife. We had heard rumblings. We were all sort of thinking about how we would report on it. There just was no evidence of it. Tabloids in the u. S. Play by different rules than mainstream reporters. They use Checkbook Journalism paying for information, for access, for photographs. The standards may seem lower, but in this case, the enquirer was going to do whatever it took to break the story. I went into my battle mode in the sense of were gonna go fullcourt press. The first thing were gonna do try to find out a little bit more about who this woman is. We went to a home in new jersey where we believe that Rielle Hunter was living. The National Enquirer ended up on my doorstep, so i bought a ticket, and i flew, and andrew picked me up at the airport and took me to his house in North Carolina, where cheri and the kids were. I stayed with him, and then he rented me my own house. But the enquirer was still circling, and levine had enough to start publishing. Hunter october 2007 was when the first piece came out from the National Enquirer, and they didnt name me. He gets asked about this, and he denies it on camera in front of everybody. Hes on the Campaign Trail. Hes still running for president. Yeah. Reporter . The the National Enquirer story. Ii dont talk about these tabloids and theyll theyretheyre tabloid trash. Its full of lies. Im here to talk about helping people. What was your response when you heard that . You got mad . You gotyou cried . Sad. I mean, its just sad. Its because hes denying your love. Correct. So hes stillhes still in the relationship. Yes. Yo