Rielle Hunter and Andrew Young, two of the main characters in the John Edwards love child scandal, have remained reclusive figures, behaving more like participants in a federal witness relocation protection program than two people caught up in a modern day morality play.

No one quite knows where Rielle Hunter, the ex-mistress of John Edwards, is currently living. The long time friend and ex-director of operations of Edwards’ 2008 Presidential campaign, Andrew Young, refuses to talk to the press, as does Hunter. According to the Enquirer, both Hunter and Young relocated to Santa Barbara, California, in December, and that a very pregnant Hunter lived with Young along with his wife and children in a multi-million dollar mansion that neither could afford.

Both Hunter and Young claimed in December that Young is the father of Hunter’s baby, and not John Edwards. John Edwards claims he isn’t the father. So, it would seem the matter of who the father of Hunter’s baby is has been resolved. Yet Hunter and Young’s behavior, such as their “living arrangements”, the large sums of money given to the two from Edwards’ long time friend and political backer Fred Baron, and their refusal to talk to the press, can’t help but fuel further speculation that Edwards wasn’t telling the whole truth in his ABC Nightline “confessional” last Friday night.

It was Edwards and Hunter’s behavior that initially got Edwards into hot water. The National Enquirer reported in October that Edwards was “caught in a shocking mistress scandal that could wreck his career”. Both Edwards and Rielle Hunter denied the affair.

In December the Enquirer reported a second story on Edwards’ affair, this time about an alleged “love child”. The Enquirer claimed Hunter had relocated to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. According to the Enquirer, Hunter was being helped by Young.

Andrew and Young might have been able to pull it off if their behavior hadn’t been so strange: Hunter was esconced in an upscale home a few blocks from where Young lived with his beautiful wife and children. The Enquirer reported that Hunter had been to the Young’s home and had dinner with them.

On July 21, the Enquirer reported Edwards was caught by Enquirer reporters sneaking into and out of a Beverly Hilton Hotel room in Los Angeles. The woman in the room, Hunter, along with her baby. Edwards purportedly ran from the reporters and locked himself in a men’s room where a hotel security guard had to be summoned to escort Edwards from the hotel.

Edwards’ behavior after the Enquirer story broke was also telling: a few days later after the Enquirer story broke, Edwards, in the midst of touring the country touting his new “poverty” organization, Half in Ten, was visibly flustered when a reporter asked him about the National Enquirer. Edwards’ response was garbled, he muttered something about “tabloid trash”, and “tabloids are full of lies”. On July 30, Edwards attended a symposium in Washington, D.C.. He refused to answer questions from reporters as he left the building. It was the last appearance by Edwards until his “confession” on Nightline.

Edwards claimed in last week’s Nightline interview that he was at the hotel to stop the affair from “becoming public”. He also claimed he would take a DNA test to establish the paternity of Hunter’s baby even though he knew he couldn’t be the father. A day later, Hunter issued a strange statement regarding DNA testing through her attorney. Hunter claimed she had no desire to participate in any DNA testing in regards to the paternity of her baby. Even though Hunter issued a statement she still refuses to speak to reporters.

In fact, no one knows where Hunter was. According to the latest Enquirer, Hunter and Young, along with his family, relocated to Santa Barbara, California, and that they all lived together under the same roof until Hunter and Young’s wife got into a “spat”. The Enquirer also claimed that two days before Edwards’ “confession” on Nightline, Hunter was “whisked away to an unknown location” in a private jet. The Enquirer claimed Hunter has lived in several locations since Chapel Hill and that Edwards’ “political operatives” are still paying Hunter and Andrew Young.

If Edwards is telling the truth, that Hunter’s baby isn’t his, and Young is the father of Hunter’s baby, then why are Hunter and Young in hiding? Neither one of them are political figures. Why not go on Larry King Live or Oprah, the standard operating procedure of people wanting to tell their side of the story, and back up Edwards’ claims that he isn’t the father of Hunter’s baby?

One problem for Hunter might be her original denial back in October that she wasn’t having an affair with Edwards. Edwards confessed on Nightline that two did engage in hanky-panky which means Hunter, and well as Edwards, were caught lying when they claimed in October they didn’t have an affair. Since both were willing to lie in October, how will we know if what they are claiming now is the truth?

Hunter and Young would have to explain their current and past behavior:

Does Young and his wife have an “open” marriage where a mistress and love child are “part of the family”?

How did Young’s wife feel about having to relocate her home and family to California over an “affair”? John Edwards didn’t have to move. Hunter, Young, along with his family, moved from North Carolina to California.

How did Young’s wife feel having her husband’s pregnant mistress in the same home as her small children?

Why were Young and Hunter so destitute that they had to accept “money” from Fred Baron to relocate and live on?

How did the Enquirer reporters make Hunter and Young’s life “so miserable” that they had to “go into hiding”?

Fred Baron is up for questioning too. Why would a long time financial backer of Edwards pay large sums of cash to move Hunter and Young to California, put them into a very nice mansion pad, and pay their expenses? We’re not buying the benevolent buddy story Baron claimed in a statement released to the Dallas Morning News. Baron claimed he did it out the goodness of his heart, cause the supermarket tabloids were “hounding” Hunter and Young.

Young and Hunter’s silence isn’t helping Edwards. They could have come forward after Edwards appearance on Nightline and confirmed Edwards’ story, after all in this modern age we live in, a baby out of wedlock is hardling a big deal. It’s Hunter and Young’s “behavior” that’s turning it into one.

Hunter and Andrew could get a guest spot on Oprah and talk about “redemption”. Instead Hunter and Young have chosen to remain silent and in hiding. Young hasn’t spoken with reporters while Hunter issued the one curious statement where she said she wouldn’t participate in DNA testing for her baby’s paternity.

Edwards hasn’t booked any appearances on Larry King or Oprah either. Edwards, who never passed up a press conference in the past, has been pretty reclusive himself. His appearance on Nightline did little to clear up the circumstances surrounding the affair with Hunter and her baby. He claimed he had no idea about the “hush money” being paid to Hunter and Young. Perhaps he should read the Enquirer to find out what he’s missing in regards to his scandal.

By LBG

Image – Federal Agent