Young says Elizabeth Edwards tries to hide truth

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- In a one-on-one interview with ABC11 Eyewitness News, Andrew Young talks about what he says is an effort by Elizabeth Edwards to cover up the truth.

Young says Elizabeth Edwards is threatening to file an "alienation of affection" lawsuit against him for contributing to the break-up of her marriage to John Edwards.

As information about Young's book "The Politician" started leaking out, Young says Elizabeth Edwards sent an e-mail with several demands.

Young says Mrs. Edwards threatened to sue him, but offered an out.

"She would drop these claims if I paid $250,000 to the Wade Edwards Foundation and if I handed over all e-mails, voicemails, so on and so forth and destroyed all of them and put them under seal and never mentioned them in public ever again and if I did she wouldn't file it and gave a couple of hours to respond," Young said.

Young did not comply with the demands.

He does not believe Mrs. Edwards has a strong "alienation of affection" claim against him. It is a legal tactic normally used by a married person against the man or woman with whom the spouse had an affair.

Young and his wife admit to concealing the affair between John Edwards and Rielle Hunter.

Young says John Edwards begged him to go along with the lie, because he said Elizabeth Edwards was losing her battle with breast cancer.

"I did this because I wanted to save Elizabeth, I wanted her to die in peace, with grace and I did this because her husband was pleading with me to do it," Young said. "I don't see how you could say I took the love out of their marriage, if the love was out of their marriage it wasn't because of me and if anything there's no malicious intent because I was trying to help them, stupidly yes, but trying to help them."

ABC11 tried contacting Elizabeth Edwards for comment, but she has not return calls.

Young also has another legal battle on his hands.

Next Tuesday, he will be back in court in Hillsborough in the case Hunter brought against Young to get a sex tape and other materials she left behind in a house they shared together.

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