John Edwards: Ready to Claim Paternity of Rielle Hunter Love Child?

By now we all know the facts. Former presidential candidate John Edwards was caught two-timing his wife of 30 years, Elizabeth, with Rielle Hunter.

There are rumors he also fathered the daughter of the weird videographer. He has adamantly denied this up until now, but his word means nothing.

Given that he's a proven liar, and every piece of circumstantial aligns perfectly, the assumption is that Edwards is the father of Frances Quinn Hunter.

But is an official admission of paternity finally imminent?

According to the New York Times, the disgraced former U.S. Senator from North Carolina may be on the verge of acknowledging what we all know.

Not because he's a good guy or anything - he's effectively being forced to. His former aide Andrew Young, who first claimed to have knocked up Rielle Hunter to cover his boss' a$$, is preparing to publish a book filled with revelations.

Young, who once signed an affidavit stating Frances was his daughter, only to later rescind the claim, testified before a grand jury investigating the use of Edwards' campaign funds. It is theorized that he came clean under oath.

John and Elizabeth Edwards remain married, although how close they are these days is debatable. Among the bombshells reported by the Times:

• Andrew Young says Edwards pleaded with him to claim paternity of Rielle Hunter's daughter in an attempt to "make the scandal go away."
• Edwards told Rielle he would marry her after Elizabeth died at a rooftop ceremony at an NYC hotel with the Dave Matthews Band performing.
• Young claims that he set up meetings between Hunter and Edwards over the course of a year so they could keep their relationship a secret.
• That Hunter's daughter's middle name, Quinn (similar to the Latin prefix for five) was chosen because the girl is John Edwards' fifth child.

So when's he going to admit it, if at all? Wade Smith, a Raleigh lawyer who represents Edwards, issued a statement about the paternity rumors:

"There may be a statement on that subject at some point, but there is no timetable and we will see how we feel about it as events unfold."

Elizabeth Edwards said on CNN this summer that she hoped any DNA test and results would be private, "for the sake of this child ... in a quiet way."