Note: As I was typing up my latest opus on this subject, the National Enquirer finally posted some of the photos everybody’s been demanding. Cry “Photoshop,” and let slip the dogs of denial!

There he is, allegedly, with his alleged baby. I think the pic in the lower-left corner is supposed to be from when the Enquirer guys, well, cornered him. Allegedly. Either that or he’s being shocked with defibrillator paddles. [Correction: According to a commenter at JammieWearingFool, the caption says: "Earlier this year, Edwards was seen wearing a similar T-shirt with a similar sweat stain at a workout in New York (left).] And the arrows there are comparing the curtains behind him with the ones in the Beverly Hilton. Curtains, how appropriate…

Boy, you skip a day on the John Edwards/Rielle Hunter non-story and you miss a lot of non-news. Let me try to play catch-up here:

First and Foremost: Slate’s Mickey Kaus, Rielle-Hunter #1, lists five good reasons to cover this. (Personally, I only need one: because the people who are supposed to be covering it aren’t.) Kaus slaps down the “He’s not a politician anymore!” argument, points out Edwards’ alleged hypocrisy, and much more. I only had one quibble with it:

If the scandal is true, it almost certainly means that during the campaign Edwards presided over an elaborate coverup involving at least a) having an aide wrongly claim paternity and b) having other aides go out and lie to reporters.

While I appreciate his choice of the verb “preside,” considering Edwards’ obvious White House ambitions, the past tense isn’t really appropriate here. As I’ve tried to show, almost every available scrap of background information on Rielle Hunter and her palm-reading buddies is currently being scrubbed from the Internet. The coverup is ongoing.

Speaking of the Coverup: Those dirty, nasty sleazemongers at the National Enquirer just keep ruining journalism by reporting easily verifiable facts that some people find unpleasant. According to DBKP, the latest issue of the Enquirer claims that Andrew Young, the purported father of 5-month-old Frances Quinn Hunter, has moved from North Carolina to Santa Barbara to be closer to mother Rielle and the child. And guess who he brought with him?

“Young had to pretend to be by [Rielle's] side — but he’s living in a separate home with his wife and young children. The word is that he’s sick of living this lie. His wife Cheri is particularly fed up,” said the source.

Young and his wife are still married, despite his claim that he fathered Rielle’s child, a claim that sources say is absolutely false and part of Edwards’ elaborate coverup.

Reminds me of that old song: “If You Leave Me, Can I Come Too?” DBKP adds:

Now, a reliable DBKP source reports that Young is indeed in Santa Barbara, “living large with no visible means of support.”

If you believe the Enquirer’s earlier report that Young is getting at least $15,000 a month to continue the ruse, then yes, his financial support is indeed invisible as far as the mainstream press is concerned.

Of course, this information is coming from scummy tabloids and miserable blogs. Why would a single “legitimate” journalist in the whole country want to, y’know, check?

Cheri Young Is a Saint: Thank you to Deceiver readers “Fortunate Son” and the ever-reliable Kris for the tip about Cheri Young’s participation in Oprah’s Pay It Forward Challenge back in 2006. Cheri, along with 300 other Oprah audience members, was given $1,000 and told to use it to help the less fortunate. Within a week, she had raised over $35,000 for needy families in western North Carolina:

Continue reading ‘The John Edwards Anti-Scandal Continues to Not Continue’