Getting Ahead of ABC Interview, NBC Gets Edwards Admission He’s the Father of Mistress’s Baby

Next Friday, ABC’s “20/20″ airs a Bob Woodruff interview with former aide to John Edwards, Andrew Young, who is releasing a tell-all called “The Politician.”

But this morning, NBC News stole some of that thunder by getting an exclusive statement from Edwards admitting that he’s the father of a 2-year-old daughter conceived with Rielle Hunter, a campaign videographer with whom he had an affair.

In a written statement provided first to NBC News, the former North Carolina senator and Democratic presidential candidate writes, “I am Quinn’s father.”

In her story on “Today,” NBC’s Lisa Myers got an on-camera interview with Edwards’ close friend Harrison Hickman: “I am speaking for the senator to the extent that anyone can,” says Hickman.

> More: Not to be outdone, ABC News is reporting this morning that Young was asked by Edwards to steal a diaper to secretly check his paternity.

> More, More: While NBC had the statement first, with enough time for Myers to produce a story, the Edwards camp was having it both ways, making sure all the networks had the statement for the lead on the morning newscasts.

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