Edwards aide says he lied about paternity

RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 22 (UPI) -- An ex-aide to Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards says he claimed paternity of Edwards' ex-mistress's child because he believed in him, lawyers said.

Edwards, a former U.S. senator from North Carolina admitted to having a liaison with Rielle Hunter in August 2008, but said he wasn't the father of Hunter's daughter, who was born in February 2008.

Andrew Young, a former Edwards staffer, has said he was the child's father, but later recanted, now saying he made up the story because he believed in Edwards, lawyers and others familiar with the affair told CNN.

Young, who never signed any affidavits or legal papers about the child's paternity, reversed his story after Edwards dropped Young "like a hot potato," one source said.

The news comes as a grand jury in North Carolina is investigating payments made to Hunter, hired as a campaign videographer, by the former senator's campaign and supporters.

Neither Edwards nor his wife responded to requests for comment from CNN.

Edwards paid Hunter's production company $114,000 for several videos before and during his 2008 campaign. In May, he said he believed "no funds from my campaign were used improperly."

Edwards served one term in the Senate and ran for president in 2004, becoming Democratic nominee John Kerry's vice presidential running mate. His 2008 campaign foundered after a string of third-place finishes in Democratic primaries.