[Update] 8/6/08- National Enquirer produces photos.
Disclaimer- I have never particularly trusted stories in the NATIONAL ENQUIRER but once in a while they do get things right and there is so much detail to this story that it should be easy to prove or disprove.
So, with a grain of salt added, here is the run down.
The NATIONAL ENQUIRER got wind of a meeting that was going to occur, watched Edwards enter the Beverly Hilton hotel where blonde divorcée Rielle Hunter was staying on July 21, 2008,then saw the couple leave, return, and the reporters waited for Edwards to depart and greeted him.
They say he actually hid in the bathroom until hotel security helped escort him out.
They produce pictures and there will be no way he can get out of this one.
The NATIONAL ENQUIRER learned ahead of time that one such meeting was set for yesterday.
At 9:45 p.m. (PST) Monday, Edwards appeared at the hotel, and was dropped off at a side entrance. NATIONAL ENQUIRER reporter Alan Butterfield witnessed the ex-senator get out of a BMW driven by a male companion and stroll into the hotel.
Said Butterfield: "Edwards was not carrying anything. He walked in alone. He was wearing a blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He was looking around nervously before he entered the hotel.
"Once inside, he interestingly bypassed the lobby and ducked down a side stairs to go to the bottom floor to catch the elevator up - rather than taking the elevator in the main lobby. He went out of his way not to be seen."
Meanwhile, Rielle had reserved rooms 246 and 252 under the name of the friend who had accompanied her from Santa Barbara, Bob McGovern. Rielle was in one room and McGovern was in another with her baby. This allowed her and Edwards to spend time alone, a source revealed.
Edwards went out of the hotel briefly with Rielle, they were observed by the NATIONAL ENQUIRER and then went back to her room, where he stayed until attempting to sneak out of the hotel unseen at 2:40 a.m. (PST). But when he emerged alone from an elevator into the hotel basement he was greeted by several reporters from the NATIONAL ENQUIRER.
Senior NATIONAL ENQUIRER Reporter Alexander Hitchen asked Edwards why he was visiting Rielle and whether he was ready to confirm that he was the father of her baby.
Shocked to see a reporter, and without saying anything, Edwards ran up the stairs leading from the hotel basement to the lobby. But, spotting a photographer, he doubled back into the basement. As he emerged from the stairwell, reporter Butterfield questioned him about his hookup with Rielle.
Edwards did not answer and then ran into a nearby restroom. He stayed inside for about 15 minutes, refusing to answer questions from the NATIONAL ENQUIRER about what he was doing in the hotel. A group of hotel security men eventually escorted him from the men's room, while preventing the NATIONAL ENQUIRER reporters from following him out of the hotel.
They have more, read it for yourself.
I am waiting for picture proof or witnesses to speak up, but if this can be proven, or if they have photo evidence, then that rumor that he is on the Obama VP short list, just blew up and that list just got shorter.
Pajamas Media says they also had wind of the story but didn't have proof enough to publish, then they make this point.
Oh, one last thing, for those of you who says it’s The National Enquirer, how do we know it’s true? I suggest you Google the “National Enquirer and OJ Simpson.” They broke most of the important stories on that case. In general, these days they’re vastly more reliable than The New York Times.
That is a good point.
The Corner also notes that it was the Enquirer that broke the Limbaugh story long ago.
[Update] I delve more into the story and ask some questions in a more detailed piece I wrote at DJ, found here.
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