John Edwards' Affair, Tryst with Rielle Hunter? National Enquirer Claims Proof

But Does the National Enquirer Have Any Real Proof?

It seems the National Enquirer has gone after former North Carolina senator and 2008 Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards again, claiming that they have proof of John Edwards' infidelity, a story the tabloid has been doggedly pursuing since it broke the original story in October 2007 that Edwards was cheating on his wife, Elizabeth. This time, the National Enquirer claims to have caught him in the act. But things are not always what they seem.

Who Is Rielle Hunter?

The original allegations against John Edwards came, as most allegations in the National Enquirer do, through an undisclosed source, a friend of alleged mistress. The mistress? Rielle Hunter, an actress/writer/producer of a documentary short, "Billy Bob and Them," and some campaign webisodes done for the Edwards presidential campaign that got very little airtime. According to the Enquirer's unnamed source, Hunter became Edwards' mistress during the shooting of said webisodes.

Over the ensuing months, the National Enquirer and various other tabloids, blogs, and gossip columns would chronicle the pregnancy of Rielle Hunter, alleged mistress to John Edwards, allegedly the carrier of his "love child." At the same time, as Edwards continued his run for the presidency, he stood by his wife, Elizabeth, who has cancer. Without proof to substantiate the claims, however, the soap opera-ish undercurrent of lust and betrayal became a much ignored subtext of the Edwards campaign story.

What Is The National Enquirer Claiming Now?

The National Enquirer now claims to have proof of John Edwards' meeting with Rielle Hunter under suspicious circumstances. The Enquirer is reporting that one of their reporters, Alan Butterfield witnessed Edwards getting out of a BMW at around 9:45 p.m. on Monday, July 21, and entering the Beverly Hilton, where Hunter had reserved two rooms under an assumed name. When leaving the hotel at 2:40 a.m., Enquirer senior reporter Alexander Hitchen confronted Edwards and asked why he was visiting Hunter (and also if he would confirm he was the father of Hunter's baby).