And the Father of Rielle Hunter's Child is ...

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The birth certificate of a baby girl born to Rielle Hunter on February 27 - a baby the National Enquirer claims is the love child former Democratic Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina - doesn't identify the child's father.

The document, obtained through a routine records request, shows that Frances Quinn Hunter was born to Rielle Hunter, a former Edwards campaign staffer.

But the space for the name of the father is blank, although the child was born more than two months after Hunter identified Andrew Young, Edwards' campaign finance director, as the father of her then-unborn child.

Young claimed paternity in a statement from his lawyer in what some celeb news sources hypothesized was an effort to cover for John Edwards.

The birth certificate shows the girl was born at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, Calif., to Rielle Jaya James Druck, also known as Rielle Hunter.

With unmarried couples, California law requires parents sign a "Declaration of Paternity" form before the father's name is put on the birth certificate.

If the father isn't present, his name may be added to the birth certificate later, after proper forms are obtained from the Department of Vital Records.

Edwards withdrew from the presidential race in January, but he remained a major figure in the presidential contest throughout the primary season as both Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama coveted his endorsement.

If nothing else, the National Enquirer's allegations, if unresolved, are likely to hurt Edwards's ability to participate in the 2008 campaign.

The Enquirer first claimed that John Edwards had a sexual relationship with Hunter back in October, when he was a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, and Edwards flatly denied the allegation.

In December, the celebrity news tabloid reported she was pregnant.

Last week, the Enquirer said Edwards visited Rielle Hunter and the child at a Beverly Hills hotel for over five hours, and then was confronted by its reporters as he was leaving in the middle of the night.

The newspaper claimed that John Edwards, upon being cornered and caught off guard, ran and hid in a restroom to elude the reporters.

At a July 23 speech in Houston, Edwards responded to a reporter's question about the Enquirer story by calling it "tabloid trash."

On Wednesday, Edwards awkwardly sort of denied the story, then declined to answer further questions about the allegations.

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