Details from John Edwards indictment
Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) speaks at a campaign rally January 26, 2008 in Columbia, S.C.
/ Eric Thayer/Getty Images"Person A" appears to reference former staffer Andrew Young, who for a time claimed Edward's illegitimate child as his own; "Person B" is Rielle Hunter, a videographer covering the Edwards campaign with whom the candidate had an extramarital affair, and who gave birth to Edwards' child in February 2008; "Person C" would be heiress Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, a major donor to Edwards' campaign; and "Person D" would be Texas lawyer Fred Baron, who served as Edwards' campaign finance chairman.
"The purpose of the conspiracy was to protect and advance Edwards' candidacy for President of the United States by secretly obtaining and using hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from [Mellon] and [Baron], well in excess of the Election Act's limit, to conceal Edwards' extramarital affair with [Hunter] and [Hunter's] pregnancy with his child. Edwards knew that public revelation of the affair and pregnancy would destroy his candidacy by, among other things, undermining Edwards' presentation of himself as a family man and by forcing his campaign to divert personnel and resources away from other campaign activities to response to criticism and media scrutiny regarding the affair and pregnancy."
John Edwards indicted by federal grand jury
Indictment: U.S.A. vs. Johnny Reid Edwards (pdf)
The indictment alleges that Edwards and his co-conspirators, working individually and in concert, solicited and accepted campaign contributions in excees of the $25,000 federal limits on individuals (approximately $725,000 from Mellon and $200,000 from Baron) and used the money to both facilitate and conceal Edwards' affair, paying for Hunter's living and medical expenses, travel and accommodations necessary to hide Hunter from the media and the public.
As such, the John Edwards for President Committee was led to file "false and misleading campaign finance reports" with the FEC, even after Edwards formally withdrew from the presidential race in January 2008.
The indictment quotes a note from Mellon that Young read to Edwards, in or around April 2007, in which she said she was "furious" about media reports over the price Edwards paid for a haircut that she characterized as "attacks."
Cost of Edwards' haircut hits $1,250
"It inspired me - from now on, all haircuts, etc., that are necessary and important for his campaign - please send the bills to me... It is a way to help our friend without government restrictions," Mellon wrote.
The indictment reads that between June 7, 2007 and January 23, 2008, Mellon wrote seven checks in amounts varying from $10,000 to $200,000, which were deposited in an account overseen by Young. The checks listed such items as "chairs," "antique Charleston table" or "book case" in the memo line. The checks totaled $725,000.
In late 2007, when news broke about Edwards' affair and his child with Hunter, Edwards denied the relationship, and the married Young falsely claimed paternity of the child.
According to the indictment, between December 2007 and January 2008 Baron paid for travel and accommodations for Hunter, including chartered airfare from Raleigh, N.C., to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., from Florida to Aspen, Colo., and from Colorado to San Diego and Santa Barbara, Calif. Hotel and house rental payments in California were also made.
The indictment also says in or around December 2007 Baron provided a cash payment of approximately $1,000. The envelope contained a note reading, "Old Chinese saying: use cash, not credit cards!"
The indictment also lists statements made in the media by Edwards claiming he was not involved with Hunter, was not the father of her child, and had not made any payments to or solicited funds for her.
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(Actutally this makes me sick...I hope they throw the book at him!)
Disclosure of campaign contributions - its a controversial requirement, and ulimately the Supreme court had to rule on its constitutionality. It is constitutional because it is supposed to prevent corruption. It shows where a politician is receiving money - so voters can decide on the likelihood of what issues the politician would be responsive too. It is mean to prevent actual corruption, and finally it is a means for ensuring that donation limits are adhered too - for the types of donations where there are limits set.
Wow - that has absolutely nothing to do with the Edwards case. Now the campaign finance laws are meant to expose the infidelity of the candidate? Bizarre, no they were not.
And providing support for Hunter - is not a campaign contribution anyway.
This is really contorting the law into something new - and I'm not particularly happy that AG's are thinking up new legal theories, like some wall street fat cat thinks up new derivatives.
That's not how the law should work. Laws should be clear, specific, and people should be given a chance to follow them.
Edwards wanted to get away with cheating - boo on him, but its not illegal. The guy never set out to do anything illegal. I mean I voted Republican, I'm not an Edwards fan, and I'll comment on the hypocrisy at another time.
Right now, I'm ashamed of the way our government operates - and then they have the incredible gall to claim that this in the public interest. It's not in the public interest to have a government out of control that doesn't respect boundaries or precedent and uses criminal proceedings to silence politicians. What is this, Russia?
Friends of Edwards spent money to cover up the fact that he was having an affair with a bimbo. Does that mean Edwards committed a crime? Is that the same as campaign fraud?
What it comes down to is that if you are running for President, evidently any money spent by anyone that might benefit your image in some way (like hiding an embarrassing affair) is official campaign business, subject to the most stringent reporting rules.
It's a standard that I do not think could not be met by any candidate. And it makes me wonder why it is being so strenuously applied here. John Edwards is an easy target due to his sleazy behavior. The prosecutor could simply have a vendetta against Edwards.