Edwards Sex Tape Delivered to Court
Updated at 4:42 p.m. ET
A video cassette purportedly showing two-time presidential candidate John Edwards and his former mistress in a sexual encounter is now in the hands of a North Carolina judge.
Superior Court Judge Abraham Penn Jones took possession of the tape Wednesday, a week after ordering that former Edwards aide Andrew Young hand over the recording.
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Before Wednesday's hearing, the tape was kept in a safe in a sheriff's office, marked "special," The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer reported.
The tape and the way in which it would be delivered to the court had been the subject of legal hearings for several days. The North Carolina Court of Appeals on Tuesday temporarily stopped security rules that a judge wanted during the retrieval of the sex tape.
The appeals court issued a stay in the matter without giving a reason. The court, however, did not halt the initial order that required Young to turn over the tape by Wednesday afternoon.
Jones last week ordered that Young's copies of the tape be turned over so they can be placed under seal. Jones had threatened Young with penalties if he didn't hand them over.
Jones later ordered that a security official from a safety deposit box in Atlanta, a requirement that Young's attorneys protested. They argued to the appeals court that he was coerced to turn over the tape with an "improper threat of imprisonment." They also claimed that requiring an escort was tantamount to an unreasonable search and seizure.
Young, who has about Edwards and his affair, has said that the video depicts Edwards in a sexual encounter with a woman that appears to be his former mistress, Rielle Hunter. She has sued him for invasion of privacy and of what she deemed a private and personal video.
Young has said the tape depicts Edwards in a sexual encounter with a pregnant woman he believes to be Hunter.