WASHINGTON — Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Wednesday declined to answer questions about allegations in the National Enquirer that he had fathered a child outside of his marriage.
About a dozen reporters and photojournalists attended a speech Edwards gave to an AARP Foundation symposium on poverty and aging in Washington.
The birth certificate of a child who the tabloid newspaper claims is linked to the former senator doesn’t identify a father.
The certificate, obtained by McClatchy Newspapers on Thursday, shows Frances Quinn Hunter was born Feb. 27, more than two months after an Edwards aide claimed to be the father. Andrew Young, a former Edwards campaign finance director, claimed paternity in a statement from his lawyer posted at the political blog .
The girl was born at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, Calif., to Rielle Jaya James Druck, also known as Rielle Hunter. Hunter, 44, was a videographer on Edwards’ presidential campaign last year.
Asked Thursday why no father was listed on the birth certificate, Hunter’s attorney, Robert Gordon of New York, said, “A lot of women do that.”
The Enquirer first alleged in October that Edwards had had a sexual relationship with a woman hired to create a documentary about him. The Enquirer alleged in a story last week that Edwards visited Hunter and the child at a Beverly Hills hotel.
