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John and Elizabeth Edwards’ Privacy vs. The Public’s Right to Know

John Edwards’ admission, that he had an affair while running for President, has raised the issue of whether the public has the right to know versus the Edwards’ right to privacy.

Elizabeth Edwards, a former attorney, asserted in a statement released on the same date as her husband’s appearance on ABC’s Nightline with Bob Woodruff, that her husband’s affair was a “private matter”:

From Elizabeth Edwards’ statement on DailyKOS:

“John made a terrible mistake in 2006. The fact that it is a mistake that many others have made before him did not make it any easier for me to hear when he told me what he had done. But he did tell me. And we began a long and painful process in 2006, a process oddly made somewhat easier with my diagnosis in March of 2007. This was our private matter, and I frankly wanted it to be private because as painful as it was I did not want to have to play it out on a public stage as well.”

The response of the public upon learning John Edwards participated in an affair while gearing up to run for President has been to paint Elizabeth Edwards as a victim of a cheating spouse. Yet in her statement Elizabeth Edwards casts both her and her husband as victims of sensationalists and profiteers:

“Our family has been through a lot. Some caused by nature, some caused by human weakness, and some – most recently – caused by the desire for sensationalism and profit without any regard for the human consequences. None of these has been easy. But we have stood with one another through them all. Although John believes he should stand alone and take the consequences of his action now, when the door closes behind him, he has his family waiting for him.”

[Background information: Access almost 100 DBKP stories on the John Edwards affair, scandal and cover-up: John Edwards Love Child Scandal Library.]

While Elizabeth Edwards casts her and husband as “victims” of sensationalism and greed, she also claims the matter of her husband’s affair is private and therefore, out of bounds for public dissection. She goes further, claiming the “recent pain” in her family’s life stems from the actions of those who uncovered her husband’s adultery, and not from Edwards admission he had an affair and then denied it to reporters in Ocotober. If one were to follow Elizabeth’s line of reasoning, only insensitive clods would seek answers about the Edwards affair.

We found it fascinating that John Edwards repeatedly mentioned the year 2006 in his “confession” to Bob Woodruff. Not only John, but Elizabeth too. We looked into why the Edwards may have wanted the public to key into the “2006″ date, and how it plays a role in the Edwards’ narrative regarding the affair.

There are those who argue that the Edwards affair fell under the aegis of politicians, political campaigns, and the public’s right to scrutinize the candidate’s personal life while running for public office. The Edwards benefit from this line of thought, as they can now argue a technicality,that since John didn’t “formally” announce his candidacy until December 28, 2006, then the affair is “off-limits” to the prying eyes of the “sensationalist” public.

Cloaking the affair as a private matter prohibits further questioning of the role Elizabeth Edwards may have played in perpetuating the myth that her husband was the most qualified person to run for President, as well as any other questions regarding her husband’s behavior which hasn’t been thoroughly explained. For example, recently discovered photos of the “other” woman, Rielle Hunter, show Ms. Hunter, along with both John and Elizabeth at a campaign event held on December 30, a little over 24 hours until the advent of 2007, which could very well mean the Edwards may have been “fudging” about the affair time line.

Edwards was a candidate running for office, and not just any office, but the top spot, the Oval Office, Commander-in- Chief, head of the Executive Branch. Edwards’ campaign was essentially an audition for the job of President. Edwards, a one-term Senator from North Carolina, and former VP pick of John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential race, lacked substance in regards to his resume. Voters were left with Edwards’ character which Elizabeth vouched for on the campaign trail. Amazingly, in light of what we’ve learned, Edwards began his campaign preaching about America’s morality and “moral leadership”.

From an Edwards podcast dated December 26, 2006, two days before Edwards formally announced he was running for President:

John Edwards: “And actually, one of the things that all of us have a responsibility together is re-establish America’s moral leadership and moral authority in the world.”

In the podcast Edwards spoke about his upcoming trip to New Orleans were he would film his announcement that he was running for President which would be broadcast on Youtube:

Edwards: As I said a minute ago, you know it’s Tuesday, the day after Christmas, December 26th in the morning and in a just a few minutes I’m about to leave to go to New Orleans, where on Thursday I’ll announce that I am a candidate for President of the United States.

Edwards, who had just spoken about “morality leadership” would meet up with his mistress, Rielle Hunter, in New Orleans, where she continued to “film” Edwards for the mini-web documentaries.

Hunter also accompanied Edwards on his four-day Presidential Announcement Tour. The tour ended in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at the new John Edwards for President campaign headquarters where Hunter was caught on film videotaping the event. DBKP acquired a photo which showed Hunter with her camera on December 30 at the final Presidential announcement tour event in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Edwards’ home town and new campaign headquarters. In the photo with Hunter are John and Elizabeth Edwards.

John had “told” Elizabeth about the affair in 2006, and that the “repair work” had also begun the same year, yet the photo of Hunter at the Chapel Hill event on December 30, 2006, tells a different story, that Hunter was still in the picture, literally and figuratively. According to Elizabeth, any questions about why Hunter was still in the picture at the end of 2006, when both John and Elizabeth claim the affair was purportedly over and being dealt with, would be an invasion of the Edwards’ “privacy”.

Elizabeth campaigned for her husband after he admitted to her that he had engaged in an affair. Some posit that she shouldn’t have “allowed” Edwards to run, that the two perpetrated a hoax upon the voting public. It’s unlikely that Elizabeth has that kind of power, that’s reserved for characters in cheesy novels. Elizabeth may been operating on a more human level of compassion for her husband and forgiveness. She may have still believed–although it’s hard for those outside their marriage to understand–her husband, as President, could “make a difference”.

In regards to the issue of the Edwards’ marriage and privacy, it was John who just couldn’t let sleeping dogs lie. In a cryptic comment to ABC’s Bob Woodruff, Edwards claimed that no knew “what was inside” of his and Elizabeth’s marriage. Woodruff asked Edwards how his wife found out about the affair, her reaction, and how did she cope with the affair:

EDWARDS: She was mad, she was angry, I think furious would be a good way to describe it. She didn’t understand. We both went through a process of trying to figure out how it happened, why it happened. But she was amazing, she’s just an amazing person. Elizabeth and I have been married 31 years. The admiration she gets from the public is deserved and, but nobody can see — Bob, you’ve been married a long time, nobody can see inside everybody’s marriage. … This is not something Elizabeth did, this something I did. And I continue to love and admire her because she has just stood with me.

Someone should remind Edwards that Elizabeth is more than just someone who has “stood by” him. Edwards called his wife “amazing” and then interjected a big “but” into the equation, that “nobody can see inside their marriage”. The questions this remark raises are probably best left to “private” speculation.

The Edwards’ marriage is private. The affair, hidden by Edwards from his wife, and then from the public by both John and Elizabeth, is not covered by the “private matter” clause. Edwards was running for public office, his behavior was part and parcel of how voters made their decision on whether they wanted to vote for this man for President. Edwards knew this, which is why he hid the affair. As for the Edwards now claiming the matter is “private”: the public had the right to know about the affair back when Edwards was running for President, yet the Edwards decided it was “private”.

Once the Edwards deceived the voters, then they forfeited their right to privacy in regards to the affair. The public, who was deceived, now has the right to know the details–especially without being chastised by the Edwards.

by LBG

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