John Edwards
Criminal charges likely today against John Edwards
Filing would represent the culmination of a two-year federal investigation into politician's 2008 affair coverup
FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2010 file photo, former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards is seen in Raleigh, N.C. Edwards and federal prosecutors are arguing over whether the money used to cover up his extramarital affair was a campaign contribution or just a gift from his old friends. An indictment of the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee appears imminent, but people on both sides still hold out hope for a last-minute deal for a guilty plea to a negotiated charge. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)(Credit: AP) Criminal charges were likely to be filed Friday against John Edwards, the culmination of a two-year federal investigation into money used to cover up an extramarital affair during the 2008 presidential election.
Edwards’ attorney Greg Craig was traveling to meet with prosecutors in North Carolina, an indication that the former presidential candidate will likely be charged, either in a grand jury indictment or in a negotiated charge to which he would plead guilty.
A person with knowledge of the investigation said Craig, a Washington lawyer who was President Barack Obama’s first White House counsel, planned to be in his client’s home state Friday, where prosecutors were prepared to file charges. The source insisted on anonymity in order to discuss the private negotiations.
Prosecutors have told Edwards they will charge him Friday but plea negotiations continue, so a grand jury indictment or deal on a negotiated charge are both still possible, the person said.
Federal officials have approved criminal charges, deciding that the hundreds of thousands of dollars two Edwards donors gave to help keep his mistress in hiding were contributions that should have been reported publicly by his campaign fund because they aided his bid for the Democratic White House nomination. Edwards’ lawyers have argued that the funds were gifts from friends intended to keep the affair a secret from his wife, Elizabeth, who died of cancer in December.
A plea to a felony charge involving campaign finances could strip Edwards of his law license and end any hope he could work as an attorney for the poor. And a trial would mean more sordid stories about his campaign affair and the child he fathered during it, further battering his reputation.
Even if he were to win the case, it appears the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee would do so by making a humiliating argument: that money used to keep his mistress and out-of-wedlock child in hiding was intended to shield the affair from his cancer-stricken wife — not to aid his candidacy, which is what prosecutors believe.
“Trial or not, John Edwards is the Charlie Sheen of American politics — great hair and no chance for rehabilitation,” Democratic consultant Jack Quinn said.
Political sex scandals can either be just a career glitch (think Newt Gingrich, who recently announced a run for the presidency) or a career-ender (think Mark Foley, who recently declined a run for mayor of West Palm Beach, Fla.). Many Democrats believe Edwards falls into the latter category, as someone who faces little chance of revitalizing his image even if he emerges victorious from his legal case.
Edwards’ attorneys have denounced the investigation as a waste of resources and contend he did not violate the law.
Edwards has said he hopes that once this case is behind him he can revive his legal career, specializing in helping the victims of poverty he championed on the campaign trail. However, a lawyer in North Carolina who pleads guilty or no contest to a criminal offense faces disciplinary action by the State Bar, ranging from a mild rebuke to a loss of license to practice.
The case against Edwards focused on the private money used to keep Edwards’ mistress in hiding. Andrew Young, a former aide to Edwards, initially claimed paternity of mistress Rielle Hunter’s child and traveled around the country keeping her in seclusion. Young has said he received hundreds of thousands of dollars of support from two wealthy Edwards donors.
Another dent in an Edwards’ revival is moving ahead in civil court, where Young and Hunter are battling over a purported sex tape involving the former candidate. Edwards has been deposed as part of that lawsuit.
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Pickler reported from Washington.
Federal indictment looms for John Edwards
Only a plea deal could spare the two-time presidential candidate a trial for using campaign cash to hide an affair
John Edwards on "Meet the Press." ABC News is reporting that the Justice Department “has green-lighted the prosecution of former presidential candidate John Edwards for alleged violations of campaign laws while he tried to cover up an extra-marital affair.” According to ABC:
Continue Reading CloseA source close to the case said Edwards is aware that the government intends to seek an indictment and that the former senator from North Carolina is now considering his limited options. He could accept a plea bargain with prosecutors or face a potentially costly trial.
Emma Mustich is a Salon contributor. Follow her on Twitter: @emustich. More Emma Mustich.
Awful election book to become awful election film
The most inane gossip of 2008 is set to be dramatized for HBO
Mark Halperin After living through the 2008 election, does anyone really need to see a movie about it? HBO apparently thinks so. The network made news yesterday — masterfully — by leaking the news that Julianne Moore has been cast as Sarah Palin in the upcoming made-for-television adaptation of “Game Change,” the most annoying political book of the post-Bush age. (I am counting even Dick Morris’ latest. It’s that annoying.)
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Alex Pareene writes about politics for Salon and is the author of "The Rude Guide to Mitt." Email him at apareene@salon.com and follow him on Twitter @pareene More Alex Pareene.
Elizabeth Edwards leaves John out of will
She left all her possessions to her three surviving children, makes no mention of her estranged husband
FILE - In this Sept. 22, 2007 file photo, Elizabeth Edwards, then-wife of Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards, holds a round table conference with local teachers at Bow Memorial School in Bow N.H. A family friend on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010 said Edwards died after a battle with cancer. She was 61. (AP Photo/Cheryl Senter, File)(Credit: AP) The will Elizabeth Edwards signed days before her death last month makes no mention of her estranged husband and two-time presidential candidate John Edwards.
The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Thursday that Elizabeth Edwards left all her possessions to her three surviving children.
Her last will and testament names as the executor of her estate her eldest child, lawyer Cate Edwards.
Elizabeth Edwards died Dec. 7, six days after she signed the will filed in Orange County Superior Court in North Carolina.
The Edwardses separated early last year after 32 years of marriage. John Edwards admitted he fathered a child during an affair with a former campaign worker.
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Information from: The News & Observer, http://www.newsobserver.com
Elizabeth Edwards remembered by hack who smeared her
Why ask Mark Halperin to speak about the life of a woman he ruthlessly attacked in his book?
Mark Halperin Chris Matthews led off his show today with a largely respectful discussion of the life and work of Elizabeth Edwards. But his guest was odious hack Mark Halperin, who ruthlessly smeared Edwards in “Game Change,” his inane account of the 2008 elections. Halperin didn’t say anything terrible — he didn’t, in other words, repeat any of the nasty things he wrote about her when she was alive — but his mere presence was an insult to her memory.
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Alex Pareene writes about politics for Salon and is the author of "The Rude Guide to Mitt." Email him at apareene@salon.com and follow him on Twitter @pareene More Alex Pareene.
Elizabeth Edwards: Don’t call it “losing” to cancer
Those with cancer don't "battle" it, and stopping treatment isn't a defeat
Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee hearing on the challenges and opportunities for fighting cancer, Thursday, May 8, 2008 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)(Credit: Associated Press) Update: Elizabeth Edwards died Tuesday afternoon, after this story was posted.
Please don’t call it a battle. And please don’t say she’s losing it. Elizabeth Edwards, 61-year-old author, attorney, estranged wife of John Edwards and one of the most formidably graceful public figures in American politics, is just saying goodbye.
On Monday, Edwards’ family issued a statement that her doctors have determined that further treatment for her cancer would “be unproductive.” A family friend told the Associated Press that Edwards is “gravely ill” and may only have “a couple of months left to live.”
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Mary Elizabeth Williams is a staff writer for Salon and the author of "Gimme Shelter: My Three Years Searching for the American Dream." Follow her on Twitter: @embeedub. More Mary Elizabeth Williams.
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