John Edwards Scandal: Photos Shift the Scandal to MSM Coverage

Will Media cover it now?

"You can bring a MSM reporter to the story, but you can't make him report it."
--DBKP's LBG

Radar contacts Hairstylist

The Enquirer gives the MSM a BIG smoking gun

August 6 turned out to be Christmas for many mainstream media outlets across America, as the National Enquirer gave them not one, but a whole collection of smoking guns. [THE PHOTOS EVERYONE'S BEEN WAITING FOR!]

The Enquirer released the long-awaited John Edwards scandal photos. The traditional press now has the "proof" that they have been using as a reason not to report the story to their readers.

The Enquirer gave the MSM a smoking gun over two weeks ago: Edwards running from reporters as he was leaving the Beverly Hilton.

"Not big enough," said some, while others thought it didn't even look like a gun: it was only an Enquirer toy gun.

But will many MSM outlets report it even now?

The New York Times' quandary now--outside of stock that's dropped to half its value a year ago--is: How do you hide a howitzer from your readers, many whom already knew about it by searching the Internet?




THE REAL SCANDAL

The real scandal wasn't that Edwards fathered a baby while married to a cancer-stricken wife. It may not even have been the "elaborate cover up", as the Enquirer labels it. It was the monolithic refusal of the American mainstream press to even investigate the facts of the story, which were, with the application of a little legwork, easy enough for them to investigate.

After Edwards was caught by the Enquirer's reporters at the Beverly Hilton at 2:40 in the morning July 22, the reason for not reporting was "there's no confirmation". When FoxNews confirmed the run-in by interviewing one of the hotel security guards involved, the reason shifted to, "We want to see pictures".

Two weeks ago, Enquirer Editor-in-Chief, David Perel told us, "The onus is on them to do some reporting."

But outside of a few dailies and a few mentions at FoxNews, there was none. Customers of CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, the New York Times, Time, Newsweek and the LA Times --where LAT's Blogs Editor, Tony Pearce, infamously and specifically ordered his reporters not to blog on the topic--are still in the dark.



We weren't the only ones in the blogosphere that takes deserved shots at the Mainstream Media for it lack of Edwards coverage.

Gateway Pundit [National Enquirer Releases Photo of John Edwards & Love Child] observes that "the National Enquirer continues to do the hard journalism the mainstream media refuses to do". The photos he concludes are "Proof that is just too much for the tainted American media."

Gawker's Alex Pareene expands on the theme [The Edwards Love-Child Old Media Doesn't Want You to See]:

Hooray! The National Enquirer has published photos of former political person John Edwards with a baby. The baby is almost certainly made up in part of DNA he left in a woman named Rielle Hunter, a former Edwards staffer who now spends her time cashing checks and hiding in hotels and denying everything to the media (until Good Morning America finally books her!). So now would be a perfect time for, like, established print media to cover this story, right? Anyone? Ha, no, they are all too embarrassed. Once again, it's up to the internet!

Radar did some legwork by contacting the Chapel Hill hairstylist of Andrew Young's wife, Cheri, and concluded: "And there you have it: definitive proof of the affair! Get to it, mainstream media!"

They detail their efforts with their tongues-in-cheek, which highlight the glamourous-not side of reporting: [Stylist At Center Of John Edwards Lovebaby Rumors Clams Up]

With a little bit of legwork, we established that Young gets her hair done at Mina's in Chapel Hill. We tried repeatedly to get Young's stylist on the phone, but were told that she wasn't authorized to speak to the press, and that we'd have to go through the owner, Louann. Louann seemed quite amused when we briefly explained why we wanted to talk to the stylist four days ago (all we said was that Cheri Young had been in the news, and that we wanted to talk to her for a few minutes); she said that she'd ask the stylist if she felt comfortable talking and get back to us, but that it didn't seem like it would be a problem.

When she got back to us today, however, her tone was a little different: "She knows nothing, they've never had a conversation about that," she said politely but firmly. When we asked what "that" referred to, Louann said, "That's all I will really say about this."

Thus, Louann was asked one more time about the scandal than John Edwards was from November 2007 through July 23, 2008.

UPDATES to follow at DBKP.com [John Edwards Scandal: Enquirer Give MSM a BIG Smoking Gun]


by Mondoreb
images: national enquirer; military pictures

John Edwards Scandal: Where's Andrew Young?

"[Andrew Young] is living large, [in California] with no visible means of support."
--DBKP on John Edwards' former Director of Finance, Andrew Young.



What's happened to Andrew Young, one of the central players in the John Edwards love child scandal?

Young stepped forward, claiming he was the father of Rielle Hunter soon-to-be-born baby back in December. From the National Enquirer's UPDATE: JOHN EDWARDS LOVE CHILD SCANDAL!:

A former "Director of Operations" for Edwards' campaign, Young's last official position with the campaign was "North Carolina Finance Director." He left that job about a month ago - about the same time Rielle settled in Chapel Hill.

A source close to Young vehemently denies that he funneled campaign money to Rielle - who drives a BMW SUV registered in Young's name.

ALSO at DBKP: Click on banner to access over 60 DBKP stories and videos on the John Edwards scandal.

For readers new to the story, from December's [John Edwards’ Love Child Scandal: Reille Hunter “Kept” Woman]:

Former Edwards campaign Director of Operations, Andrew Young, gives Open Marriage advocates something to cheer about.

The 41-year-old former “North Carolina Finance Director” of the Edwards campaign has stepped forward and not only claimed the “alleged” love child of John Edwards as his but has also moved his six months pregnant mistress, Reille Hunter, into the same multi-million dollar gated community as his own wife and children.

No word from Young’s wife on how well she’s adjusted to the new neighbor, the ‘other woman' and the impending “bundle of joy.”

According to the National Enquirer, the bald-headed stepchild of the MSM, an unnamed source claims Young, and his ‘first’ family, his legally married wife and legitimate children, had dinner with his pregnant paramour in her newly acquired abode.

Hunter and Young's purported relationship was perhaps the strangest item in a strange cover story. More from December's Enquirer:

A day later, in a shocking twist, the attorney for Mr. Young issued a statement that Young fathered Rielle's baby!

"Andrew Young is the father of Ms. Hunter's unborn child," declared his Washington, D.C.-based attorney.

"Sen. Edwards knew nothing about the relationship between these former co-workers, which began when they worked together in 2006.

"As a private citizen who no longer works for the campaign, Mr. Young asks that the media respect his privacy while he works to make amends with his family."

So just how has Andrew Young been doing in the seven-plus months since the Enquirer published its allegations? Has he made "amends with his family? The same family that played host to Rielle Hunter for dinner at their home, according to the Enquirer?

According to the National Enquirer's latest print edition (the information is not on the Enquirer's website), dated August 11 2008, Andrew Young has followed his bliss, so to speak; following Hunter to California--and bringing along his wife and their young children.

The source also revealed that to keep the coverup going, Andrew Young, 42, and his family relocated to Santa Barbara, CA, where Rielle is living with her child.

"Young had to pretend to be by her 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.

In December, DBKP characterized Young's statement as "taking a bullet for the [Edwards campaign] team".

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

That Young might have followed Hunter across the country, to be with the mother and child, would have been believable. But, dragging his wife and children across the country so they could also be close to Hunter and her child?

That's a Jerry Springer wet dream.

To those who decry that this is of no import, we present Susan Estrich, who is no conservative apologist: Estrich, August 1, at FoxNews.com [Is an Ex-Senator's Alleged Love Child News?] recalls:

It feels like only yesterday that I was spending half my time arguing just that, as Republicans sought to make President Clinton’s relationship with Monica Lewinsky into an impeachable offense. It wasn’t the sex, they argued, but the lying. I never bought that. It was the sex. Yes, she was an intern. On the other hand, she didn’t get pregnant and have a child. On the other hand, he didn’t have one of his aides come forward and say he was the guy who had the affair: in this case, the fall guy, if that’s what he was, was a younger former associate who was and is married with children, and supposedly invited the woman and child to his home for dinner with his wife and children after publicly taking responsibility for the pregnancy, all of which understandably contributed to people wondering if all of them knew something we didn’t. Like the truth.

Setting up a fall guy to protect the big shot, if that’s what it was (and that’s certainly how it looks), understandably bothers a lot of people. It’s one thing to mess up; it’s one thing to say, truthfully, that the details are not any of our business and simply to refuse to answer questions. If he can live with that, and his wife and kids can live with that, and the other woman can live with that, we should live with that. But setting up some other guy, especially a guy who is married and has a family of his own, to take responsibility sort of stinks.

Estrich then asks a few of the same questions posed here about this pretzel-like cover story gone wild:

Besides, if he really was the father, as he announced publicly, why not put his name on the birth certificate? And why hasn’t he come forward in the last two weeks since the Enquirer broke the latest story? One of my friends, who is himself in the news business, says he’s been trying, without success, to find the guy for the last two weeks. I don’t blame the putative father for disappearing, but, coupled with the empty space on the birth certificate, it certainly doesn’t look good for the senator.

NOTE to Susan E.: tell your news friend to start looking in Santa Barbara, CA. Andrew Young should not be that difficult to find, using Santa Barbara as a starting point.

TIP: Remember, apparently, he's come into some money.

WARNING: "Newsfriend" may have to leave his desk. Perhaps, even actually have to go to Santa Barbara to do this--but maybe not.

After all, if such tabloid trash as the National Enquirer was able to track Young and his family down, surely a crack investigative reporter from the mainstream press should do the same.

by Mondoreb