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Subscribe to RSSLawyers for John Edwards opened the defense Monday with a scathing attack on Edwards' former aide Andrew Young, who managed the affair cover-up. NBC's Lisa Myers reports.
ANALYSIS
GREENSBORO, N.C. — The list of John Edwards' gambles is legendary. It grew longer on Monday.
The dice roll came early in Alison Van Laningham's opening statement on behalf of the once-acclaimed lawyer and 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee:
We are not here to debate whether a large amount of money flowed from Mrs. Mellon or Mr. Baron. We now know that it did. We are here to follow the path of that money, to follow the path, and the evidence will show that it ended up in the pockets of Andrew and Cheri Young and in the wood and in the stone and in the walls and in the roof of their $1.5 million house in Chapel Hill.
 Hampton Dellinger, a litigation partner with Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson of Charlotte and Chapel Hill, N.C., is former deputy attorney general of North Carolina and has taught election law at Duke University Law School. In 2008, he sought the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor of North Carolina. |
(Those reference are to Fred Baron and Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, money from whom was used for the travel and living expenses of Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter and of political aide Andrew Young and his family in 2007 and 2008, while Edwards was seeking the Democratic nomination for president.)
And with that allegation — essentially that Young, not John Edwards, sought hundreds of thousands of dollars from Edwards' wealthy political supporters and then kept it for himself — United States v. Johnny Reid Edwards was transformed into Edwards v. Andrew Aldridge Young.
A common mistake in opening statements is for lawyers to overpromise. After underdelivering during the evidence phase of the case, the attorneys then get nailed by opposing counsel during closing arguments. In months of pretrial hearings and thousands of pages in written briefings, Team Edwards gave little indication that the attempted takedown of Young would take a Tracy Kidder-esque turn.
Hampton Dellinger, an election law expert reporting for msnbc.com, and Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington, go over the details of the John Edwards trial.
In retrospect, Edwards's intention to center his defense on Young's alleged pocket-lining and home-building helps explain his awkward last-minute addition of Van Laningham and her partner, Alan Duncan, to his trial team. The pair represented Rielle Hunter in her civil suit against Young over possession of the Edwards-Hunter sex tape. It's now clear they learned enough to level serious self-dealing allegations against the former aide to Edwards.
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Former Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, has faced public and private challenges throughout his life and career.
If Edwards can back up the allegations against Young, we're looking at a very different case. I have long thought the facts favored the government while the law (at least as applied before his prosecution) was on Edwards' side. If Edwards can successfully recast the facts and replace Young for himself as the principal architect and beneficiary of Mellon's and Baron's beneficence, the gamble in opening may look like a smart bet by trial's end.
A final thought: Given that Edwards thinks he has the goods on Young, I was surprised that Van Laningham's opening continued with the claim that Edwards' interest in keeping his affair quiet was centered on saving his marriage, not his 2008 campaign for president:
We are here to talk about the evidence that will show that John Edwards did not hide his mistress for any campaign purpose. He did it why anybody does it, to keep it from his wife and to keep from humiliating himself and his family.
To my mind — and to borrow a concept from labor and employment law — Edwards' interest in hiding his affair is a classic case of "mixed motive": He was trying to preserve the viability of both his marriage and his campaign.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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Women make the world go round, and they can put a man in a pretty good spin, too.
And men have been known to do the same to women...and both can spin each other if the individuals are somewhat dizzy to begin with.
And as for what makes the world go 'round, when I was a kid I was pretty sure it was honesty, integrity and bravery. Whether you were a man or woman, rich or poor, the rules still applied.
Now I'm pretty sure those aren't the reasons taught--or demonstrated--much today.
Samson and Delhi, David and Bathsheba it has been going on for 4 thousand years, why be surprised.
"Darrall". Just because mommy dominated you ("Darrall" - Really?) does not mean all women are like her.
"If Edwards can back up the allegations against Young, we're looking at a very different case. I have long thought the facts favored the government while the law (at least as applied before his prosecution) was on Edwards' side. If Edwards can successfully recast the facts and replace Young for himself as the principal architect and beneficiary of Mellon's and Baron's beneficence, the gamble in opening may look like a smart bet by trial's end."
Edwards doesn't have to prove ANYTHING. All that is needed is for him to cast a 'reasonable doubt' with the jury.
'Slick Eddie' may make 'Slick Willie' (Clinton) look like an amateur.
Yep, can't live with them, can't live without them
I dunno Jodie, they can be replaced with alcohol rather nicely!
Leroy, alcohol and a couple of videos?
And ya can't shoot them. :D
Can't live with men can live without them!!!
...but it's worth a try.
Like my dear old daddy used to say about women. If they didn't F--- there would be a bounty on them.
I bet you and your daddy weren't too popular with the ladies with that hillbilly attitude! YUK!
Or in the words of Norm Peterson: "Can't live with them; pass the beer nuts!"
And when a conniving women( Rielle Hunter) , with a plan to catch a wealthy millionaire running for the presidency, (john Edwards, that is perhaps one of the most egotistical narcissist on the planet) tells him what he wants to hear ..... What do you think is gonna happen? lol
The women will break him every time! ...
Poor John! .... couldn't have happened to a more deserving guy ....
leroy brown "I dunno Jodie, they can be replaced with alcohol rather nicely!"
MOSinEUR "Leroy, alcohol and a couple of videos?"
Please stop - You're making me laugh too much, but might I add "It's far cheaper too".
And we shall all go down together.....This sh!t is funny as hell.
Message to all you committed Democrats: Show me one Democratic president or even a presidential candidate that wasn't a complete scum bag or moron. Jimmy Carter... no. Clinton... NO... Obama? No. Edwards? Heck no. Al Bore, no.
You need to become better judges of character folks.
Well I'll bite and I am a republican.
Jimmy Carter- appears to have been a good father and husband. A recent book about presidents underscores what has been so obvious for decades, and that is Jimmy is a most difficult person and frankly disliked by most including all the remaining presidents. Still, even though I find him loathsome, I loved his books, almost like they were written by another Jimmy, and much of his work after being president was for the good.
Clinton - appears to have been a good father except for the embarrassment issue with his lady friends. He was not a good husband, but a good son it would seem. I would bet he was a good friend to some as well. He is well liked because he outgoing and reaches out to his enemies. I find him fascinating, but would never trust him. I would love to talk with him, but his fling with Monica was unforgivable.
John Edwards - is a loathsome creature. His dying wife couldn't find anything nice to say about him. Awful. The worst of the worst.
Al Gore - I believe the original Al before his breakdown was a decent guy. The guy that appeared after his meltdown is unrecognizable. Icky......
Obama - appears to be a good father and husband. When his mother was dying, he didn't go to her. Why? IMO, he was not a good son, but then she wasn't much of a mother it seems. We won't even talk about his father. Obama is a loner. He has a huge ego and I would bet isn't fond of most people. It is funny how many think they could have a beer with him and he would be interesting. I would bet he is incredibly boring and not the warm funny guy many think he is. Much like Jimmy, that has a mean streak a mile long, Obama lets others do his dirty work. Judge a person by the people they hang with. His handlers are mean spirited and frankly lacking commonsense. The biggest problem with Obama is that he is brittle and cannot take any sort of criticism that would allow him to grow. But then that takes humility.
Before you get too pumped up Terry you need only to site George the LOW expectations Bush, Ronald who really was NOT that bright (BEFORE Alzheimer's) Reagan and Nixon the corrupt. Before you judge the speck in someone else's eye, judge the log in your own. .. who said that? JC I believe!
How about this cast of immorality:
Mark Sanford, Newt Gingrich, John Ensign, Henry Hyde, Rudy Giuliani, Strom Thurmond, Bob Packwood, John McCain, Larry Craig, Dan Burton, and Foley.
Personally, I don't care what they do in their personal lives. It's non of my business. I just want them to perform the duties they were elected to office to perform.
Geez, Terry-have you been committed yet? Ever watch the news??
so who do you back, the moral giant Gingrich? McCain? Larry Craig? Sanford, Ensign, Foley?
at least all the democratic nominees and former presidents are practically Gods when compared to the republicans. the current presumpative nominee cant keep on the same side of an issue for more than 15 minutes, practically kills the family dog whenever he goes on vacation because he is to cheap and uncaring to protect the family dog. i could spend hours going over the bad points of the others running on the repub side this election cycle.
Sounds like you need to be a better judge of character also because there are plenty of Republicans that can should be on your list of "scumbags or morons".
Democrat politicians are the bottom of the barrell. Their morals and ethics s uck, big time.
Yeah and Republicans are all Saints sent from above..... to sell us out.
Get a clue both parties are the same and most politicians are the same. They only care for those that can put and keep them in power. Guess who that is? Hint: its not you or me
In reality, they're ALL lawyers or businessmen who have graduated from misrepresentation or flat-out lying to make themselves wealthy, to misrepresenting and lying to get themselves up the political ladder to the top position: POTUS.
Either way, either party, they do not have the welfare of the common man in their priority list.
Yeah, because no Republican has ever cheated on his wife. Let's see: Newt, the serial adulterer; Cain, probably a serial adulterer. I'm a Republican but anyone, Democrat or Republican, can fall into adultery and this kind of behavior. Don't throw stones at the democrats when republicans are just as guilty. It speaks to their character and for the most part, politicians don't have good character. I say that to BOTH sides of the aisle.
Show me a single politician (either side) with integrity and honesty. There are none to be had, we are lost as a country let alone as a world leader. There are no Statesmen anymore.
I totally agree with Narait. They're all a bunch of used car salesman. Lying sacks of $hit. This country's going to hell in a hand basket and we're letting it..
You are correct. If the country is going to hell in a hand basket it is because we elect the people running it. If more people actually paid attention to what the positions of their candidates are (not just their slogans,) if more people actually voted instead of letting other people make the decision for them, if we stopped imposing religious purity tests, if there was the political will to amend the Constitution to void the Citizens United decision and allow legal limitation of campaign finance, if we seriously looked at consecutive term limitations, then maybe we could find someone better than we have had to settle for in the past several decades in all branches of government.
Not all vote the same. As Josef Stalin said, It doesn't matter who you vote for, its WHO counts the votes. I think Spain is counting votes for the USA this year. I know who will win the vote and it won't be the same as the occupier of the white house.
Anita, religion has everything to do with a presidential candidate, most religions teach morality and not to lie and to care for those who are less fortunate. Aperson who cheats on his wife will also cheat the American people and if hr lies to his wife then there is no way I woud trust him as President. All of these people (clinton,mccain,gingrich, sanford) are despicable people. But edwards is the worst of the worst, to do this with his wife being sick as she was makes him lower than the lowest, and by the way that hunter woman had better make sure she stays with edwards because other than having a two minute romp with her she is a good for nothing person. I pity their child because it will have to grow up with this and it will surely be thrown in his face at some point even tho the poor child is innocent. I refuse to capitalize their names.
I was watching hardball last night and Chris matthews showed a clip where he told Andrew Young how slimy and duplicitious he was for outing Edwards. Really, you can't swing a dead cat in the Edwards group without hitting a slime ball. Needless to say, the humor and stupidity of that clip, and Mr. Matthews idiotic position was not lost on me. Edwards really takes the cake for sliminess because he tried to hide his affair for POLITICAL reasons, his wife had cancer at the time, he impregnated his mistress, and he used campaign money to have a good ole time. Can you imagine if he became our vice president. The Secret Service would have nothing on him and, in fact, could take lessons from him. What a mess.
Honest, up-front, dependable people don't go into politics. If they do, they don't get far.
You can't be a politician without learning to compromise your values -- so you can get 50% of what you wanted and 50% things you are totally against and hate -- rather than keep your integrity and get 0% of what you wanted.
You also need to be adept at winning elections. People like promises. They like inaccurate sound bites. They like to have their preconceptions pandered to. They don't like people who say things like "shared burden" and "difficult decision" and "shades of gray" and "the things you want are too expensive and I'm not going to do them" no matter HOW honest and accurate these things might be.
I can remember when
And all I can say is I feel sorry for my children and especially my grandchildren. Todays politicans are deliberately leading them down a path of destruction and the end of the US of A .....
lying and stealing are now subsidized by the govt. harvard lawyers and wall street bankers giving testimony in congress. watch the dvd "inside job". God have Mercy on our grandchildren. they will pay the bill.
MSpielman - you don't have to compromise your values just because you compromise on your position or how to achieve what you value. That's the problem we have now - people think that if what they want is achieved in a way different from what they envision or is only partly achieved at any given time then they are being immoral. That is a complete win-lose position and in the end achieves nothing at all.
If honest people can't win elections it is because we, the voters, aren't taking the election seriously.
Jerry - religion should have nothing to do with elections. Morals and values exist among people whether they are religious or not. The Presidential oath in the Constitution does not include the closing phrase "so help me god." I am waiting for the day someone takes the oath of office using the Constitutional oath with their hand on the Constitution - not the Bible.
"John Edwards did not hide his mistress for any campaign purpose. He did it why anybody does it, to keep it from his wife and to keep from humiliating himself and his family." This is only unethical, but not illegal, right? Where did we hear this before? Perhaps when the Clinton mess was going on? Now I feel all better.
There are some fairly simple forensic accounting questions here. To whom where Baron's and Mellon's checks made out? To whose accounts were they deposited? Who had the power to authorize the use of those funds? Who signed the outgoing checks? Who were their payees? Were the contributions reported to the Federal Election Commission or not? On whose authority? Did Baron and Mellon (or Edwards) pay gift tax on these contributions?
One would hope that SOMEONE (defense or prosecution or both) have asked these questions and will be offering testimony as to their answers. Those answers will clarify whether a crime was committed.
If they were smart, the checks were made out to her. Of course, I'm sure the IRS is going to be interested in auditing her tax returns if that's the case. Seems the "gifts" went well beyond the $10,000 reporting threshold. If they were funneled through Young (unlikely with his campaign ties), he's in for a world of hurt after this trial.
No matter how the trial turns out, for Edwards, "The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones." --From Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
He had been my favored candidate until it was found that he did have a Mistress even while his wife was ill with cancer. He should have always been there for her.
It's been said but I'll say it again: Edwards did something that was unethical and damned foolish, but he did NOT break any laws. Other politicians, including many republicans, have also had affairs. Edwards' stupidity put him out of the game. He lost his family, and his reputation is so damaged that he's virtually unemployable. But he brought that on himself -- I'm certainly not defending him for that. However, now he is undergoing a highly political mudslinging campaign the whole purpose of which is to generally tarnish the democrats and damage their fundraising capabilities. Why do you think this whole process was manipulated so that it came to a head in the middle of a presidential election year??? This happened FIVE (5) years ago!!! This is a highly abusive and unnecessary waste of our tax dollars. Yes, YOU are paying for this multi-million $$$$ dollar mudslinging charade -- nothing more than political gamesmanship.
john, it seems to me you are on a liberal campaign rant instead of the topic. He's not on trial for cheating on his wife. He is accused of using campaign donations for the keep of his mistress. I can't think of any other cheating politicians have been accused of this.
Agree with your comment on how is it that the wheels of justice are so slow that the timing of this trial is very suspicious. BUT, why do I feel that "pink slime" used in hamburger looks good compared to Edward's tall tales and his selection of lawyers?
Another sociopath lawyer. They're all the same.
Edwards would have been a better President than Obama, much more integrety.
Edwards is just your typical government representative working for you.
If you'll notice...with Democrats it's sex and with Republicans it's power. Anyway, John Edwards will come out on top in this catfight...he has the better hair. Personally, if I were him I'd be humiliated that I lost everything because of Reile. Angelina, Sophia...maybe...
bagdadjoe1347766: "If you'll notice...with Democrats it's sex and with Republicans it's power." SHOULD read: "...with Democrats AND Republicans, it's sex AND power." They go hand-in-hand. Power is an incredible aphrodisiac, and it has brought down many a politician with a promising political career. Examples: Ensign, Weiner, Clinton, Foley, Sanford, Edwards, many ex-Governors, mayors, etc. - not to mention those who SHOULD have been brought down (Vitter, to name one). Power corrupts (think Blagojevich), and sex embarrasses (think Clinton and Ensign). Power and sex know no party affiliation.
OK, so the choices this time are going to be Obama and Romney? Everyone who's tired of picking from the best of the worst, raise your hands. That's what I thought...
I like my youngest son's idea: Finish college here, and move to Australia.... To quote his favorite line from MASH: "If I don't like the way a movie is going, I'll get up in the middle of it and walk out".
I’m a sort of a democrat most of the time…but also believe in some of the ideas of Republicans……. but I hope Edwards fries!!! How dare he run for president while caring on an affair? What if he was elected? He was deceitful to his own wife – what would he have done to us!! Term limits are needed!! …along with scaled down government pensions and health care for them. Politicians do not work on the behalf of the people any longer. Most of their time (that is supposed to be working for the people) is now dedicated to soliciting “donor monies”. They‘re bought and paid for…. and “OWNED” by corporations and the rich (thanks to the right wing Supreme Court passing “Citizens United”)… and they have to carry out the ideas of these entities because they know they will need more money to continue their political gains in the future. I believe that the presidency has become a “puppet position”. I don’t believe that our past presidents have been in control for a long time now…and it’s getting worse. Money is the root of all evil and the politicians, corporations and the rich have been become even more evil and self serving than ever. The American people have lost control of their government.
I don't think the money trail is going to be the big problem for Edwards in the eye of the jurors. I believe the major hurdle that Mr. Edwards will face is the fact that he cheated on his sick wife. Correct, this is not against the law, but it will be sitting in the minds of jurors. Edwards would have to enter that court room floating on air with a halo around his head before the jurors will see him anything other than a POS. Good luck in prison Mr. Edwards.
Headline of the day. Edwards should have learned long ago not to insert himself into unexpected openings.
All politicians are liars and cheats, they will say and do whatever it takes to get elected. However the ones that have been in office for the the last sixteen years are the worse as far as I am concerned. But I must say obama has lied to people the most. He will go down as the the one would promised Americans the most and did nothing. You can say and blame bush all you want but the democrats controlled all three branches in obamas two years and all screwed it all up on the healthcare thing. There were more important things that needed to be done and he squandered it all away. Instead of being the leader he became the follower by listening to the life long politicians reid and pelosi who took over his presidency to fulfill their agenda. Obama is a liar by trying to portray himself as a Christian while tearing down marriage and approving the homosexual lifestyle as well as promoting murdering innocent babies. The Word I read says these things are a terrible sin and if you are for them then you fight against God.
Jerry -
Is your car up a pole again?
"The Word I read says these things are a terrible sin and if you are for them then you fight against God."
Not everyone reads your words nor believes in them.
You also need to understand the President isn't King and has to deal with congress which is a large bunch of paid for scum bags that have many favors to pay back for those large, and expensive, campaign contributions.
John,John, you just cannot stay out of trouble, can you?
Who is Young ?????????????????
Mr. Lee -
Read this, if you can:
Andrew Young, the former campaign staff member who once claimed paternity of a child that former Senator John Edwards had fathered during an extramarital affair and sought to conceal, is scheduled to be on the stand for a second day on Tuesday as the prosecution’s star witness in Mr. Edwards’s federal corruption trial.
However, he is a tainted witness. Read around and include other sources than this one in your reading.
And given that Young has admitted "contacting" other witnesses in the weeks before the trial, an act that is perilously close to witness tampering, a crime in and of itself, my guess is that this prosecution is going nowhere, regardless of what you think about Edwards' culpability.
Even if the money was "gifts" - there is a cap on how large a gift can be given tax free - did anyone pay taxes on the money? Might Young be immune from facing prosecution for some indiscretions only to find the IRS waiting to talk to him? Were the contributions written off as political donations by the givers?
This case isn't about income or gift taxes. It is about possible mis-use of campaign funds. Some say it was private funds and not election campaign donations. Stay tuned in, folks!
so the stage curtain opens revealing another actor.... a shill to take the blame if edwards got caught. quite crafty really and oh what cobwebs can be spun from it...what monies pocketed. looks like andrews is the fall guy....but maybe not...but maybe. and like a criminal politician edwards covered his azz. or maybe not....or maybe? young is a just in case player.
change you can believe in.
I dunno folks....I'm beginning to think that anybody who actually WANTS public office should probably NOT BE ALLOWED to have it. I think we should treat public office like jury duty...random lottery...you get your notice and then you have to serve. Jobs could be held in the same way as with military service...
It would solve all the negative issues associated with campaigns, corporate buying of politicians, term limits and power hungry personalities, etc.
I don't think there is anything in the US constitution that would prevent this...
Mr. MacRae -
Perhaps elect the candidate with the fewest votes? I'ld like to watch that campaign process!
I think it was Groucho Marx that said "I wouldn't belong to any club that would have me as a member".
Watching Chris Matthews discuss this case almost made me puke...could he be any further in the tank for the left? Let's get serious for a second and if this was something Romney was involved in Matthews would be leading the attack to ensure everyone knew how illegal the situation was.
Go ahead and puke. Its cathartic. (Worked for the Cathars, didn't it?)
He should make anyone want to puke!