Feds are looking at Edwards' campaign

[kpete]

Source: Newsweek

Feds are looking at Edwards' campaign
Investigators dig through records to see if donors' money was used to cover up affair with campaign worker.
By Mandy Locke


RALEIGH Federal investigators are sifting through the records of money that helped John Edwards' presidential campaign to determine if any was used to keep quiet his affair with Rielle Hunter.

Edwards, a Democrat and former U.S. senator, acknowledged the investigation to The News & Observer.

“I am confident that no funds from my campaign were used improperly,” Edwards said in a statement.

“However, I know that it is the role of government to ensure that this is true. We have made available to the United States both the people and the information necessary to help them get the issue resolved efficiently and in a timely matter. We appreciate the diligence and professionalism of those involved and look forward to a conclusion.”

Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/597/story/702132.html

[Catch22Dem]

1. What a fall...

I really like Edwards. I was always riveted by his speeches. I had such high hopes for him. Turns out, he's just as average as the rest of us.

[atreides1]

9. Not Average

Just human!!!

[karynnj]

12. actually not - he is above average on intelligence, eloquence, and looks

below average on integrity, morality and principle. I wouldn't say he is "as average as us", because I think, on average, we are better people than he is - and the fact that he had the God given gifts that could have made him a leader makes his lack of character worse. He had many lucky breaks that allowed him, with a fraction of the accomplishments of many of the 9 running in 2008 to be pushed by the media as one of the 3 contenders to be President of the US.

[TerribleLarryDingle]

13. Well put.

[Iowa]

83. Very well put!

[defendandprotect]

2. Nothing like an affair to spur the Feds on . . . while corrupt capitalism destroys America--!!!

[cali]

6. it's not the affair. it's the business about campaign funds being misused.

[No Elephants]

46. Then they should investigate McCain-Palin. IMO, it's a "get the Democrats" thang.

[democrat2thecore]

95. No, it's about blatant payoffs with public money to keep personal things private. Period.

If there are issues in the Republican campaigns - investigate them too. But John Edwards deserves no pass.

[No Elephants]

121. I never said Edwards deserved a pass. I expressed my opinion of the motives

of those investigating him. That's not the same thing as saying anyone should get a pass.

For example: Maybe the detective who testified in the OJ case was indeed racially biased, as F. Lee Bailey claimed. I can say that and still believe that OJ committed a crime and should be punished for it.

[Thothmes]

135. Why would the Obama Administration

launch a "get the Democrats" thang.

[No Elephants]

142. I think it's Bushbots who still populate the D of J. They may have started this

during the Bush administration or under Obama, but that is not relevant. Whenever it was started, how can anyone tell them to lay off Democrats?

While hiring for certain positions within the D of J can be political, prosecutions (or lack thereof) cannot be politically motivated.

[Triana]

77. defendandprotect and NoElephants - I agree with you both

f*cked up priorities and it's a "get the Democrat" witch hunt.

If he'd been a Repub, they'd not bother. And there are worse crimes being committed and that have been committed on Capitol Hill that are going completely ignored, meanwhile.

[krabigirl]

114. seriously

[asjr]

3. I suppose it is because I am an old crank that

the Feds are digging around in Edwards' files to see if his girlfriend got money, that makes me see red. They could use their time better by digging around in TORTURE files. Edwards has been punished by the whole country as well as his wife and he will continue to be punished. Enough is enough! He left the stage a long time ago.

[cali]

7. the people who are investigating JE are not the people who

are investigating bushco. This investigation is out of the U.S. Attorney's office in NC. and if he broke the law, I don't see why he should be above it.

[asjr]

10. Thanks for the info. Didn't realize it was the state.

[No Elephants]

47. No, it's not the state. The feds are investigating Edwards.

[Downwinder]

11. Isn't Blackwater based in NC?

I am sure the U.S. Attorney's office can find enough to do.

[cali]

14. are you suggesting that JE should get preferential treatment?

[Downwinder]

41. I just don't equate a piece of ass with

no bid contracts, gun running, or murder.

[cali]

55. sorry, it's about potential misuse of campaign funds.

and that's a crime. I don't equate lots of things with murder, doesn't mean they're not crimes.

[Iowa]

88. No, it's not that...

I don't think the objections here are about JE being above the law. It's just that there are many very serious crimes that were ACTUALLY COMMITTED and aren't being pursued (like CIA torture), so it seems out of kilter to devote resources to some crime that may not have been committed at all. I think that's all the others are saying. And they do have a point, right?

But if he, say... used peoples' hard-earned campaign contributions to buy peoples' silence or fix up his mistress, then yeah, that would be a serious breach. And the fact that our government actually runs on corruption and bribery doesn't excuse it. But in view of the disaster of the past eight years and all the things we know, we'd better be seeing 20 big-name republicans being investigated for every Democrat, because that's where the biggest and the most crimes were committed. Unfortunately, that's not what we're seeing.

[Deja Q]

18. Agreed.

:thumbsup:

[KoKo]

24. US Republican Attorney who is also going after Mike Easley, though.

It seems a bit of a witch hunt for Democrats with him. The articles in the N&O often cherry pick or exaggerate.

I'm neither an Easley nor Edwards fan, btw.

[struggle4progress]

29. Yep, Bushbot George Holding, involved in the high profile Bush era prosecutions of Dems down here:

... From a prominent banking family in Smithfield, Holding became the top employee for U.S. Attorney Frank Whitney in 2002. In that role, he hired staff and worked on high-profile corruption cases involving former House Speaker Jim Black, former Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps and former U.S. Rep. Frank Ballance ... http://projects.newsobserver.com/profiles/george_holding


Phipps plea a sham, family claims
Prosecutors used threats, sisters say
Joseph Neff and Kristin Collins - Staff Writers
Published: Fri, Dec. 19, 2003 12:30AM
Modified Sun, Oct. 23, 2005 05:09PM

Meg Scott Phipps walked into federal court in November, swore on a Bible to tell the truth and pleaded guilty to five counts of extortion, fraud and conspiracy.

Behind the scenes, her family says the guilty plea was a sham and prosecutors forced Phipps, the former agriculture commissioner, to admit crimes she didn't commit.

In e-mail messages to friends, family and state employees, two of Phipps' sisters say federal prosecutors threatened to prosecute Phipps' husband and father, former Gov. Bob Scott, and to force her to sell the family farm. The e-mail messages, recently obtained by The News & Observer, say the witnesses who testified against Phipps at her October trial were also pressured to lie.
Meg Scott Phipps confers with her attorneys during her state trial. Phipps says she has not been able to tell her story.

And Phipps, who declined to testify in her own defense, wrote to friends in a holiday letter that she has not been allowed to tell her side of the story ... http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/politicians/phipps/story/247474.html

[Doctor_J]

80. Holder should purge the DoJ of EVERY Repuke appointee tomorrow

any of them who didn't get fired are corrupt partisans who have no business getting tax money to practice their version of the law. Then as soon as their replacements are in office, all of the Repukes should be investigated and imprisoned - in real prison.

[Thothmes]

136. Didnt we raise hell on this

forum, because Bush tried to purge the DoJ. Two wrongs do not make it right.

[Doctor_J]

139. Yes, but Clinton's judges weren't criminally corrupt hacks

I would like to see everyone involved in the Siegelman case in federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison.

[No Elephants]

49. No one should be above the law, but there should be priorities.

[MrsBrady]

110. agreed n/t

[karynnj]

15. They should be doing both

Every campaign is audited after it ends - if there is reason to suspect malfeasance, it should be investigated. If this were about money illegally spent by Romney or Guillini - this would be cheered.

I hope Edwards simply used his own money, but funneled it through his friends so Elizabeth wouldn't see it.

[No Elephants]

48. It's a good bet all the campaigns were guilty of irregularities to one degree or another, whether

in the collecting of money or in the spending of it, or both. Some were caught right away and supposedly gave back money or gave it to charity. Then, of course, there's Palin's buying her entire family a new wardrobe, Edwards' $300 haircut, etc. And that's just what we already know about.

[karynnj]

57. I agree that no matter what the intent, all campaigns will end up with some minor violations

There is however a HUGE difference between those where following the law was a goal and those trying to skirt it. Those simply lead to returning the money or paying fines. I do think someone should look to see if the Palin wardrobe really was auctioned off - if it wasn't, they should have to pay a fine. Edwards did pay back the haircut when he got flack on it. It, though, could have been a valid campaign expense. The reason it was so high is the man had to come to Edwards. The fact is that appearance matters and the campaign may have though a hair cut by a random stylist could have been risky.

Paying huge sums to a mistress is far beyond the typical irregularities.

[No Elephants]

87. Very hard to tell what someone's goal was. Everyone is going to try to claim

inadvertence rather than lawbreaking and try to make amends short of criminal penalties.

For instance, I don't think the contributions to Hillary from the Chinese were mistakes, but that is what her campaign claimed after it gave back the money.

I agree that Edwards could have justified the haircut, but that is not what he chose. He chose to say that he had intended to pay it out of his own money, but there was an error on the part of the person who made the payment from his campaign fund when the barber's bill showed up there. Do I believe that? No. I think he or someone speaking for him told the barber to bill his campaign.

I think with so many millions floating around, people try to get away with a lot, then, like Edwards and Palina, try to undo it when they're caught. That does not mean their original goal was to be meticulously in line with the law, though.

[karynnj]

93. I agree on all counts

But I think that Edwards, Palin and the Clintons were among those who cared less than others in following the rules. I think both Kerry and Obama set tones that led to cleaner fund raising.

[No Elephants]

106. That is pure supposition and opinion, though, and I disagree.

When you're dealing in many millions, it's really easy for both the candidates and staff to charge things that are questionable, using broad categories. And so-called mistakes came to light from all those campaigns, even without investigations. As far as Bill Clinton, I see no reason to assume his general character was so far above Edwards.

We'll never know for certain, though, unless someone investigates all of them as carefully as Edwards is being investigated and that is not going to happen. Meanwhile, you'll have your opinion that Edwards was "more bad" than the rest and I'll have mine--that human nature is human nature.

[karynnj]

111. I lumped the Clintons and Palin with Edwards

as among those who really seemed to have a history of questionable practices. (It is clear that the 1996 campaign's fund raising was extremely questionable.)

The two I suggested had fewer problems were Kerry and Obama. The fact is that other than some pretty technical problems as to whether costs spent before the convention were valid to pay with primary money, there were not even allegations of Kerry doing anything wrong in raising money. The same goes for Obama - where there were no major charges, just allegations that some internet received contributions might be invalid - though the appropriate information given to the campaign looked valid. I am not saying that there was not one questionable charge or contribution - neither of these men could monitor everything and run for President - but the lack of any major scandal or accusation makes it clear they set a higher tone. If the RW had anything to destroy Kerry with, it would have been used long ago.)

[No Elephants]

112. You are obviously a fan of Kerry's, as am I. But an opinion is still an opinion, not a fact.

P.S. even if it's my opinion, too.

[karynnj]

125. I am a Kerry supporter -

and on this issue I believe his sincerity when he spoke of the problems of how campaigns are financed when he introduced a campaign finance bill with Wellstone. I am not naive enough to believe that everyone in that campaign had his values.

My only proof is that even under the intense scrutiny he was under, there were no major campaign finance scandals. Edwards had a 2004 primary problem that came out later where trial lawyers in firms were reimbursed by Edwards fund raising partners for their maximum contributions. There were many scandals associated with 1996 and there were at least two with HRC's primary campaign. This is opinion, but it is also proof by deduction - to the extent that I hypothesized that if there were major patterns of dishonesty something would have surfaced. That didn't happen.

[muryan]

128. You do realize this entirely separate

The FEC investigating John Edwards has no bearing on the FBI or DOJ's ability to investigate torture. Its completely unrelated

[SkyDaddy7]

4. YIKES!

...What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.

I am not saying Edwards did anything illegal to cover up his affair...But he did lie and once you start lying you must keep lying. We will see?

[deaniac21]

137. It probably starts in law school....

[onehandle]

5. Anything to distract them from prosecuting Bush administration members.

Because war crimes are to be ignored.

[karynnj]

16. Not related at all

There are millions of potential crimes investigated every day. The people working on this in NC have nothing to do with Bush war crimes. If it were Guillini who did this would you want them not to investigate.

[No Elephants]

50. And how do we know Guiliani never misspent? And what do you mean "did this?" He's innocent until

proven guilty. The fact that he is being investigated does not mean he's guilty. it just means the Bushbots in the Ag's office did not get fired.

[karynnj]

52. I'm not saying either that JRE did or RG didn't - just that if there was

reason to question it, it should be investigated. Of course not everything alleged ends up having been true. I hope JRE spent only his own money.

[democrat2thecore]

96. Agreed. Just because others might have done something wrong doesn't give Edwards a pass. -nt

[No Elephants]

113. Of course not, but that is not what I was saying.

[IndianaGreen]

23. This is a simple case of political corruption, caused by John Edwards

No relationship to the other matter.

[No Elephants]

51. They've barely begun investigating. Way too soon to adjudge him guilty. So far

we know only that he is guilty of an affair. Whether he is also guilty of political corruption or not is a very long way from adjudication.

[EFerrari]

54. You bet! Look at this shiney thing over here!

:puke:

[Lorien]

62. Agreed; the media will take this more seriously and give it more air time

than anything to do with torture and lying us into a war. Sex sells above all, and rules only apply to Democrats.

[tomm2thumbs]

8. ever since I saw his interview on Nightline about the affair, I have no more trust for Edwards

He appeared to be a cornered politician spouting whatever he felt was needed to get him out of hot water, instead of finally coming clean. It is too bad, but better to know this kind of thing now than have him as V.P. and find out halfway through the first term. What a sorry affair that he appeared to be just another 'lie to your face' kinda politician.

My advice? When caught, give up. Period. We are not 8 year olds with our hands in a cookie jar, we are adults and should show dignity and maturity when confronted with our failings. Just my 2 cents.

[harmonicon]

44. I thought so long before that

This guy is a snake-oil salesman. I have no idea how many posts I had deleted on here for saying that the guy was a lying, two-faced, charlatan who shouldn't be trusted. Oh well. Being right doesn't pay the bills.

Poor schmucks who donated to his campaign are out of luck though - no money will be going back to them.

[No Elephants]

53. I agree on the affair, but we don't know yet that he is guilty of anything but an affair. BTW,I

think he ran for VP before he had the affair.

[patrice]

17. Sadness.

I liked where he was headed with the Economic Justice issues. I think Populism is good for us and I hoped he would help us with the South.

I know the nature of the political process, so I should not be surprised, but I am sadend. I sincerely hope that President Obama, a product of the same system, is indeed something Different. However, I don't expect anything New until we have Campaign Finance Reform and Paper Ballots counted in public.

[obliviously]

92. paper ballots a must

You have got the right idea. We have to have hard copy proof when it comes to elections or it will become a battle between hackers on both sides to corrupt elections and we the people will be out of the proccess.

[UTUSN]

19. Geographically, he and Blago can't be actual cellmates, but... n/t

[No Elephants]

56. Please see Post # 51. He may end up being judged guilty in a court of law eventually, but we are

still a long way from that.

[UTUSN]

140. WhatEVER the legal details, it's a sad SAD crap state of affiars, and HE's responsible!1 n/t

[Odin2005]

20. I'm more and more convinced that his populism was a cynical BSing act.

Smooth-talker with self-control issues...

[cali]

22. I always believed that

based on his record, his first run, his hedge fund activities, etc.

[tammywammy]

26. Yes, me too

He always came off sleezy.

[IndianaGreen]

25. I thought Edwards was honest and captivating when he spoke of the two Americas

And he may well still be truthful about that. Men tend to lie about their peccadillos, while remaining honest in other aspects of their lives and profession.

[cali]

30. sure, people that go work for a really sleazy hedge fund

who invest heavily in it, who vote for the crap JE voted for when he was in the Senate, who build a 30,000 sq ft energy hog of a house, are completely believable when it comes to issues of poverty. he's lied his butt off about a lot more than his stupid affair.

I can't believe the suckers around here. couldn 't believe it before the news of the affair came out, can't believe it even more now.

[IndianaGreen]

31. I told you what I thought

We will see if Edwards is charged with election laws violation, and if he is, we will find out in open court the extent of his deception.

[cali]

32. and I told you why I don't understand that kind of thinking

Edwards' record and history do not speak well for him.

[democrat2thecore]

97. I agree, Cali. He must hold the record for votes he "regretted" HA! -nt

[Alexander]

130. He apologized for pretty much his entire Senate career.

I can't count the number of times he said "I made a mistake" before he admitted to cheating on his cancer stricken wife.

[krabigirl]

115. why? because he had an affair? I don't see how those dots are connected.

[undergroundnomore]

21. When I read Elizabeth's first book

I just cried when she talked about the period of time after her son's death. She used to go to his grave and read the books he would have been reading if he was still in school. She had such a difficult time dealing with an event that no parent should ever have to deal with.

I don't know why, because she never really came out and said it, but I kind of got the impression that she and her husband were dealing with this tragedy in two different ways and it was tearing them apart.

When the word came out about this affair I felt so sad for Elizabeth. She has a terminal form of cancer, she's lost her son, and now her husband, the man who swore to love her no matter what fathered a child with some twit because the girl said he was HOT? Come on now.

One thing I really admire about Obama is that he really seems to love and cherish his wife Michelle and his children.

[CountAllVotes]

27. I agree w/you

and your comment about Pres. Obama.

Edwards = a HUGE disappointment with a narcissistic complex it seems. :puke:

I regret donating $10 to his campaign of lies. :(

:hi: btw and Welcome to the DU!! :hi:

[tomm2thumbs]

28. very sad indeed

and double the welcome here - enjoyed your insights

[cornermouse]

33. Santayana

“Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim.”
—Life of Reason, Reason in Common Sense, Scribner's, 1905, p. 13"

[cali]

36. lol.

I don't think you have a clue about what fanaticism is, but feel free to misuse poor old George to your heart's content.

[cornermouse]

37. Attempts to ridicule ain't gonna work, cali.

[cali]

39. I'm simply expressing my amusement

at your repeatedly posting that quote.

[cornermouse]

42. No.

I'm making a point and you're ridiculing. Pretty simple when you think about it.

[waiting for hope]

84. Man - what is your obsession with the matter?

Don't you have enough going on in your little life than to repeatedly post the same shit over and over? And I see the square footage on Edwards house has increased too ... really, go volunteer at a food bank or something.

[jwirr]

34. Oh, goody - the world is going to hell and we are looking to see if

a losing candidate used his money for his girl friend. While I do not think he should get by with this IF he did I for one would rather we looked into something more relevant to our survival.

[No Elephants]

58. Amen. Even if he did use campaign funds to pay her off, is the amount as much as

the investigation will cost? Better to investigate Halliburton and Blackwater. They made millions and billions in Iraq, and I have a sneaky feeling they shared some of that with some politicians in less than an aboveboard way.

[krabigirl]

120. seriously...and then everyone can feel holy and self-righteous, while their skeletons (ro)

are safely hidden....

[Mithreal]

35. Kick him when he was up, kick when he is down, nice.

Edwards should be 100% perfect, nothing less will do.

Sounds like we have a few asshole puritans on this site kicking him around.

McCain was an asshole adulterer by the way who called his wife a cunt. The country expects Republicans to be scum but Dems have to be spotless and without sin. And those people who slander Edwards by manipulating partial truths are as bad as wingnut scum with their mudslinging.

Forgive the man, he didn't sin against you anyway, and focus on what is important. Oh nevermind, I have been told that is an evil meme. Kick away.

[cali]

38. ridiculous.

I never could stand johny hedge fund. I knew he was a corporatist phony long before his stupid little affair. He was a war cheering asshole. he went to work for a very sleazy hedge fund and invested big bucks in it. hey, he made money off of NO victims and rank mortgages.

and why should he be above the law?

I can't believe there are still people here so blind and fucking stupid that they still believe he ever gave a shit about anyone but himself.

[Mithreal]

103. I am completely unsurprised. nt

[brentspeak]

40. I can understand those who supported him for being pi$$ed off with him

I supported him, and he pi$$ed me off with his behavior. Some of his closest supporters might not even speak to him again.

But the people who didn't like Edwards anyway are just rubbing it in. With a few exceptions, those people are the Clinton and Obama corporate Democrat types. They hated that Edwards was making pocketbook issues and K-Street control over the government a prime-time issue, even if it was for just a short time.

[cali]

43. bzzzt. I hated that JE was a coporatist creep who lied his ass off

and used poverty issues for his own gain. people who care about poverty do not vote for shitty bankruptcy bills and they sure as fuck don't go to work for big bucks for hedge funds and lie about it.

[Alexander]

45. Glad someone here gets it.

John Edwards' "Two Americas" populist rhetoric was all an act.

There certainly are "Two Americas", and smoove Johnny made it clear which one he lived in - and it's not the same one the rest of us live in.

[No Elephants]

59. Edwards was never my candidate. However, he lived in both Americas, just as I have, just not at the

same time. Someone who grew up dirt poor has had a different life experience than someone whose granddaddy was Prescott Bush and whose Daddy was President Bush. And a very different life experience from even Kerry.

Now, that is a separate issue from whether Edwards would ever have really been an advocate for the poor. RFK grew up filthy rich, not dirt poor, yet he managed to have a heart for migrant workers. So, in the end, it doesn't always matter which America you live in. It matters how human you are.

But, Edwards has definitely lived in both Americas. Not many Presidential candidates have.

[cali]

60. Edwards was never poor. Never.

he had a working class background. His parents owned their own home. They had solid jobs.

[No Elephants]

107. Both my parents worked. And through deprivation, they did put aside enough to

"buy" a heavily mortgaged home. Or at least make a down payment on one. But I still grew up poor.

Forget sewing my dresses, my mom sewed my overalls from surplus army khaki. (I did not own jeans until my early teens.) She even sewed my slips. We did not have central heat and, get this, the only "bathtub" in my home was in the kitchen, where it did duty as our laundromat, too (washboard style). No that's po'.

Now, that changed after I was 7, though my family never did become wealthy. And thank heaven, I eventually made a very good living as an adult. But, I knew better than to criticize battered women for not "just" checking themselves and their kids into a hotel to get away from the batterer as an economically privileged female classmate once did. (All A's in a top grad school after a very successful stint as a paralegal, so, no, she wasn't just stupid.)

BTW, both my parents worked in the garment industry and my dad was the foreman of his "shop," too (although his shop was a small one). Both my parents would get laid off periodically, too--sometimes at the same time-- so our two income family--very low income family-- was sometimes a one income family or a no income family. Yet my parents worked every minute they could get work and my dad worked all the overtime he could get his hands on.

Except for running for the Presidency knowing full well that Rielle might slap all Democrats--and the nation--in the face, I have no brief for Edwards, either pro or con. However, he has told stories of his childhood poverty with his parents in the audience. I took him at his word because I recognized the kind of thing he was saying.

Maybe I was naive about that. However, unless someone has his parents' financial records for his first 18 years, there is really no way for people to state as a fact that he was never poor, nor for me to state the reverse as a fact.

[waiting for hope]

86. I think this house can tell a story -

?v=0

As for the reply that he was never "poor" ...

[Muttocracy]

105. I think everyone has different definitions of "poor"

I would say my parents grew up poor in Appalachia. One set of grandparents had an outhouse until the 1980s. On the other hand, they had their farmland, which is a type of wealth.

[karynnj]

90. Yes and no

No:

He was not so poor as a kid as to feel deprived and after college and law school - in his adult life, he was from the first middle class, but with the expecatation of being upper middle class or wealthy. There is a huge difference between the "real" status of two newly minted lawyers making the amount they did and a middle aged couple making that amount.

I grew up as one of nine kids with a father who was a milk man. After college working for the research arm of large company, my peers and I lived a life that was upper middle class - frequenting nice restaurants, having season tickets for a local theatre group etc. I would never say that I was poor as a child. I wasn't my needs were all met and I had no less the others in my lower middle class to middle class community. Judging from the fact that Edwards' dad was the foreman of the textile mill - I would guess his circumstances were no different. Coming out of law school and marrying a fellow lawyer, he was better off than I was at.

Yes:

What was different than a Kerry (or even more a Bush or RFK jr) was that he didn't have the connections. Kerry's family was wealthier, but not wealthy. But they were so connected to everyone that he traveled in circles where he dated Jackie Kennedy's step sister and was clearly welcomed by that family. Kerry, in his years as Senator before marrying Teresa, was among the poorest Senators and had difficulty affording housing in both DC and Boston. So, in his adult life he likely more often had to chose between things he wanted to buy - all the time being surrounded by much wealthier friends. Edwards, in his 40s (the same period of life) was a multi - millionaire. Kerry, to his credit, always said he had a privileged upbringing - never pointing out that he was poorer than schoolmates and worked in the summers. He did have a privileged upbringing. Edwards did not, but he was upwardly mobile from a middle class start all his adult life and very wealthy at a young age.

As neither were ever really poor in their adult lives - neither personally faced the difficulties of people who were. As to who really saw the problem more and did anything about it - I think Kerry wins easily. He was involved with Youthbuild even before he was in the Senate and I was the one to get the funding for it every year for decades. Even as a prosector, he sought to work with underprivileged kids. He also with Kennedy wrote the precursor bill for S-CHIP. He was the sponsor for about 8 years pushing an affordable housing fund that finally passed last year as part of the big banking bill. Not to mention, he voted against the awful 2001 and 2005 bankruptcy bills. He is not the most progressive Senator, but his record shows a person who does care and works to help.

There is little in Edwards record that is similar and he voted for the bankruptcy bill in 2001 - he can't claim he didn't understand the impact - Elizabeth Edwards' legal specialty was bankruptcy law.

[Withywindle]

94. I really love the summation and insight there, thank you!

Especially the parts about the differences with Kerry.

In hindsight (which is 20/20) it seems like Kerry was always fairly upfront and humble about his degree of privilege. It was exaggerated and used against him in the '04 election, with that truly bizarre and surreal portraying of * as a relative "regular guy" - *, of all people, who really does come from an imperialist dynasty and wouldn't be able to manage a McDonald's on his own without his family's powers. Edwards, meanwhile, backed away from the idea of privilege: exaggerated his childhood privations (being the son of a mill foreman is hella different from being the son of a mill worker, as anyone who's ever lived in a blue-collar town for 10 minutes knows).

I don't begrudge him doing well in life at all, but I think the gut reason I'm so furious at him is for the damage he did the cause he claimed to care about most. How many people who, over time, could have become valuable allies in the fight against poverty, has he alienated? If he were even a third of the way sincere, he could have had a real, lasting effect. He could have worked his way into some kind of respected statesman position that could have done a lot of real good -- see Al Gore for an example of how to snatch victories for an important issue from the jaws of personal defeat. Shit, he could have just rolled up sleeves and helped build some damn Habitat for Humanity houses even when the news networks weren't looking, god forbid. Jimmy Carter has.

But no. It really was all about his ego. And his ego was his Achilles heel. It's a Greek tragedy, and not even one of the really good ones that people will still give a shit about in posterity. Bring out the chorus and drag the bodies offstage, it's over.

[Muttocracy]

61. There were (ar least) "Two John Edwards" as much "Two Americas". nt

[Mithreal]

104. We all have multiple personas and some of us even change. nt

[Mithreal]

102. I can understand outrage to a point and I agree there are a few cranks here. nt

[krabigirl]

122. I supported him, and am not pissed off. I do not effing care if politicians cheat.

None of my damn business. I DO care if politicians take us to illegal wars, oppress the poor and sick, and giove welfare to corporations.

[krabigirl]

117. Yep, Puritans suck. They need to look at citizens of countries like France.

They yawn when it is revealed that a head of state has an affair.

[Faygo Kid]

63. For Edwards, investigation is latest stage of saga

Source: Washington Post

His once-prominent political career is buried and the turmoil of his marriage is playing out in public. Now, John Edwards is facing a federal inquiry.

The two-time Democratic presidential candidate acknowledged Sunday that investigators are assessing how he spent his campaign funds - a subject that could carry his extramarital affair from the tabloids to the courtroom. Edwards' political action committee paid more than $100,000 for video production to the firm of the woman with whom Edwards had an affair.

The former North Carolina senator said in a carefully worded statement that he is cooperating.

"I am confident that no funds from my campaign were used improperly," Edwards said in the statement. "However, I know that it is the role of government to ensure that this is true. We have made available to the United States both the people and the information necessary to help them get the issue resolved efficiently and in a timely matter." . . .

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/03/AR2009050300835.html?hpid=artslot

---

Geez, can I get my 50 bucks back that I donated to this guy last December?

[wyldwolf]

64. I see the word "opportunist" tossed around a lot. Edwards, though, is one fine example

[democrat2thecore]

98. Exactly. He would be whatever he needed to be - that day.

His whole "Two Americas" rhetoric flew in the face of his votes as Senator from North Carolina.

[karynnj]

65. Wow, the more detail on this (such as in this article) the worse it looks

I hope the PAC has a receipt for the shipment of that "furniture" to a campaign location.

[Spazito]

75. I agree, the 'furniture' transaction is interesting...

"The committee also paid her firm an additional $14,086.50 on April 1, 2007."

"At the time of the 2007 payment, the PAC only had $7,932.95 in cash on hand, according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission. That day, according to the records, Edwards' presidential campaign paid the PAC $14,034.61 for what is listed as a "furniture purchase."

I sure hope, as you do, they have lock solid documentation around the 'furniture purchase'.

[brentspeak]

66. dupe

[Mike 03]

67. I can't believe how dumb I was for trusting this man. I voted for him in the primary.

Is he a psychopath, like Bernard Madoff, do you think?

[virgogal]

68. As the old Irish would say,"He is full of himself".

[Jackpine Radical]

69. No, I don't think he's a psychopath.

A very flawed human being, but clearly capable of empathy and compassion in a way that true psychopaths can't even fake well.

I supported him too, until he withdrew.

[democrat2thecore]

99. To the contrary, it's their very ABILITY to pretend empathy and compassion that defines a psychopath

John Edwards even had the look in his eyes at certain times that screamed "evil!" at me. I have no doubt he has had serious psychiatric issues for years. I know, diagnosis from afar is pointless, but speculation? I can do that with the best of them!

[CTyankee]

72. Don't feel bad, I fell for him too. I liked his message on the poor and thought his health care

policy was the best of all of the Dem candidates. The only reason I didn't vote for him in our primary is because he backed out of the campaign before CT's Super Tuesday primary. I voted instead for HIllary.

I don't think he is a psychopath any more than any other politician who loses his way. He already admits to being a narcissist and that is obvious. But hey, should we be shocked, shocked that a politician in Washington is a narcissist and an opportunist?

Bring me my smelling salts, I fear a sinking spell coming on...

[Faygo Kid]

76. His message was right. The messenger was wrong.

Should have realized it in 2004 when he did a lousy job as Kerry's VP candidate.

He's not evil. Just irrelevant, and manipulative. And weak. Very, very weak.

He would have been a terrible president, and it hurts me to say that.

[No Elephants]

70. That is by far the worst photo of Edwards I have ever seen. Did WAPO photoshop or is his

skin really that bad? If it is, everything else I've ever seen has been airbrushed.

Do you love how WAPO makes it sound as though the only reason Hillary's candidacy overshadowed Edwards' was that she was running to be the first woman President and the only reason Obama's candidacy overshadowed Edwards was that Obama was running to be the first black President? Well, I guess it worked for President Shirley Chisholm, President Jesse Jackson and President Al Sharpton.

What a rag WAPO is.

And the man who claims to have paid Rielle is dead from cancer. Life's ironies, eh?

[ellenfl]

71. eating our own now, are we?

i am sorely disappointed in john edwards behavior but he IS human and i will not vilify him for this human failure. it is a frailty of men that i understand only too well. y'all might consider a little forgiveness. he hurt himself much more than any of you.

i, too, voted to him in the primaries. i think that he would have made a good president . . . without this character flaw, of course.

ellen fl

[cali]

73. this isn't about the affair for me. that's the least of it. n/t

[marshall]

74. It's never about the affair or the sex

It's about the coverup, or the blackmail, or the special favoritism shown one subordinate over another, or the pressure an underling feels to engage in an affair.

[No Elephants]

89. The man cheated on his dying wife, then tried to run for President without making disclosure. What

if he had gotten the nomination and that was the October surprise, costing the Party the election?a

Sorry, this is not garden variety cheating. If he had had his way, he would have been the nominee and McCain might well be President--or Palin, if McCain were not up to the strain Obama has been under since the election.

And, while it is too soon to tell, he may have used money raised fom the public around his affair.

I am not out for Edwards' hide. It's moot, now, for everyone except his family and maybe Rielle. But I am not going to compare what he did to your average infidelity, either. Not when he tried to run for President. (And not if he misused contributions.)

[krabigirl]

118. How about your tax dollars that went to fund torture, bank bailouts, and and illegal war?

Oh, but you will cry over your $50. Get over it.

[obliviously]

141. The end

Well this looks like the end of his political career and also the end of any chance at getting national haircare passed.

[childslibrarian]

78. Wow. I feel sorry for

his family.

[jillan]

79. My thoughts exactly.

[krabigirl]

123. Me too, but more sorry for this country.

[MannyGoldstein]

81. His Hedge Fund Specialized In Predatory Lending

'nuff said.

[karynnj]

91. But, but he needed to learn about predatory lending to help the other America

because he clearly had not learned about how bad such things were when he voted for the 2001 bankruptcy bill.

:)

[democrat2thecore]

100. Which, of course, he "regretted" along with dozens and dozens of other votes -nt

[Jim Sagle]

82. Democrats get investigated, Republicans walk. Same as it ever was.

[democrat2thecore]

101. No....it has nothing to do with that. Many R's have gone down in recent years -nt

[krabigirl]

119. Like Newt Gingrich? lol

[The Backlash Cometh]

85. I weep.

What a disappointment.

[kestrel91316]

133. You and me both. Sheesh. What a fall from grace.

[ecstatic]

108. The timing--I wonder if Elizabeth Edward's book sparked the prosecutor's

interest. I had a feeling her book was a horrible idea, not that I give John any sort of pass. He is a phony jerk and everyone had moved on until she brought it back up. She's just caused more problems for their family.

[Adelante]

109. I wouldn't think so

I'm sure this was begun in the Bush era and carried over. The Grand Jury was seated April 1, apparently, but case preparation would have gone on a while. Why EE is putting herself and this book out contemporaneously with a federal investigation is something that boggles my mind. The scandal only grows louder and louder.

[karynnj]

143. Not likely

A couple of weeks ago the fact that a grand jury was looking into it was exposed by the NE and then reported in the the MSM. The story then was the same as now - but, for some reason, it now is getting far more coverage in the MSM. JRE's statement is nearly identical, but it looks like some details on payments are new giving it more substance.

That said, he has not yet been indicted, much less convicted. However, in terms of his reputation, even if everything is legal, if Hunter was paid (beyond for her work) from money people contributed to one of his 527s, he will be tainted. Even beyond that, as the candidate spouting the Trippi rhetoric against money from corporation PACs and lobbyists, he looks like a hypocrite with the big contributions he got for his various non-campaign funds. Think back to how he attacked Obama and Clinton. (Trippi, incidentally now says Ewdards should not have run - I think no Democrat should hire Trippi - his angry rhetoric was bad when Dean used it as his campaign ended and bad when Edwards did.)

[krabigirl]

116. Yawn. The Puritans in this country freak over this.

But torture is fine by, what, even 40% of non-churchgoers?

Someone's personal life has nothing to do with how they can lead. Look at the leaders of many other countries, who have affairs and their citizens collectively yawn.

[deaniac21]

138. Really! He'd be a wonderful President!

[stillcool]

124. sounds like a good old fashioned..

witch-hunt.

The investigation is being conducted by the office of U.S. Attorney George Holding, based in Raleigh, and a federal grand jury could consider evidence. Holding declined to comment on Edwards.

Holding, a Republican, has helped prosecute several prominent Democrats. His office is also investigating a real estate development and car deals involving former Gov. Mike Easley.

[Dreamer Tatum]

126. Payback time nt

[Politicub]

127. Innocent until proven guilty

And I sure do hope he is innocent.

[BlueInPhilly]

129. He cheated on his dying wife...

how could he be trusted with a dying economy? Sorry, he could give as many flowered speeches as he would want, but his actions speak louder than words.

How he could have sought the presidential nomination based on a moral highground when he knew exactly what he had done...

[Alexander]

131. And he continues to lie about that child being his.

Some people here apparently are still fooled by this con man.

[marshall]

132. That child looks like a "mini-me" version of John Edwards

Looking at him ought to be like looking into a mirror--like a reverse Dorian Gray.

[Politicub]

134. This isn't about him cheating

It's about misuse of funds. I'm holding out judgement on his innocence or guilt on this charge until the facts are out. He's human and screwed up - and in the process, he damned his chances in the political sphere. It's too bad, since he could have been a powerful voice.