John Edwards admits he's under investigation.

[Occam Bandage]

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. A range of other fundraising organizations — including two nonprofits and a poverty center at his alma mater — have come under scrutiny.

Chief among them was the PAC that paid Rielle Hunter's company for several months in 2006 for Web videos that documented Edwards' travels and advocacy in the months leading up to his 2008 presidential campaign. 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."

Willfully converting money from a political action committee for personal use is a federal crime.

The furniture money was one of just five contributions to the political action committee between April 1 to June 30, 2007. The other four were on June 30, the last day of the reporting period, including a $3,000 contribution from the wife of Edwards' finance chairman, Fred Baron.

Baron, Edwards' national finance chairman and a wealthy Dallas-based trial attorney, said last year that he quietly began sending money to Hunter to resettle in California.

More at link.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i2U8VKE_8nwXqaNK23AkxVqnSPsQD97V0QCO0

I'd be interested in knowing exactly how much money was funneled from unknowing donors to his mistress.

[d_b]

1. and all this could have been avoided

with some great internet pr0n

[Occam Bandage]

2. Or with a mistress who didn't demand quite so much.

You really ought to sign a long-term contract beforehand. Otherwise, they'll just keep raising their rates.

[d_b]

4. and for this?

Wtf Johnny?

[Bucky]

8. I'd tap it

A charming woman can make a man feel like a king. We're weak. Blow in my ear and I'll follow you anywhere. Throw me a little attention and I'll betray my family, my church, my country. I mean "him" not "me". Oh shit I shouldn't haven't posted this...

[d_b]

13. I'd hit it

with a shovel.

[MADem]

19. That's violent--how about with a day old fish, or something? NT

[johnfunk]

17. Ewwwwww -- Jeebus, John, you should've been able to do better than that!

Ewwwwww!

[d_b]

25. that's the thing

you know he could have.

I don't endorse adultery, but if you're gonna go all out...

[cali]

3. the "furniture" money doesn't look good

[Occam Bandage]

6. I'm surprised he'd be that ballsy about it,

and not spread both payments out over several installments of varying sizes across a period of time. Might as well have listed the payment as "mistress upkeep."

[cali]

7. yeah, that's puzzling.

arrogance, I guess. thinking he could get away with anything.

[Hannah Bell]

30. does he do his own books? no? that opens several interesting doors.

[Occam Bandage]

38. Yes, I'm sure someone else decided to give Rielle $14000 of campaign cash. nt

Just as a gift! Did JRE hire Overzealous Staffer from the Republicans?

[Hannah Bell]

41. does he do his own books? & if it's not on books somewhere, what's the proof it happened?

no, i don't think je does his own books. that doesn't mean je didn't give the woman money, it means someone didn't cover for him very well.

[Occam Bandage]

42. What do you mean, "if it's not on books somewhere?"

This is all on his campaign and his PAC's financial records. That's what they're investigating. This isn't just hearsay.

Of course he doesn't do his campaign's bookkeeping. No candidate does, to my knowledge. I don't see what that has to do with anything, other than that it leaves open the absurdly slim chance that someone was funneling money to his mistress without his knowledge.

[Hannah Bell]

43. my point exactly. it *is* on the books. & je doesn't do his own books,

i'm fairly sure.

[MADem]

21. That's one helluva cradle!!! nt

[msongs]

5. looks like he might win something from the election after all nt

[Hekate]

9. Aw, crap. And to think I originally thought Obama should wait till next time...

... because it was John Edwards' turn this time. How stupid can you get?

Every day that goes by I am glad for every reason that Barack Obama won the primaries and won the general election.

Hekate

[Bucky]

10. Has any presidential candidate ever fallen so far so fast?

At least Gary Bauer got away with the "cookie on the campaign trail." It's like he's being punished for breaking 10% in the polls.

[NYCGirl]

11. Do you mean Gary Hart? Gary Bauer is the GOP fundie guy.

Who, BTW, is a friend of Al Franken's (crazy, huh?)

[JI7]

12. there was something about Gary Bauer having an affair during 2000 also

the Bush campaign was going to reveal or spread something on it. remember that Bauer endorsed McCain ? this was one reason why.

while Gary Hart had the affair issues, i don't think he was ever any questions of illegal things like using campaign money to silence his mistress.

[NYCGirl]

15. Oh, I didn't remember that. Interesting. NT

[johnfunk]

20. There was much whispering about Bauer's campaign trail tootsie back in '00

... or perhaps 'oo baby!

[McCamy Taylor]

16. Gary Hart.

And yet, this election cycle people took as dogma his proclamation that Democrats do not criticize other Democrats in the primary. Which goes to show that adultery scandals do not amount to shit in the long run. If your wife sticks with you, they do not have to slow you down for even a second. Just look at Bill Clinton and Flowers, which the Bush team used in 1992.

That is why they are trying to turn this into a money scandal.

[tritsofme]

14. What a phony piece of garbage

He continues prove right every bad thing I've ever said about him.

[MADem]

18. What screwed him over, aside from his own cheating heart, was his uncovered

dick. He didn't follow the No Glove/No Love rule. The only reason he stayed tied up to that woman is because he knocked her up. That kid (who looks so much like Daddy it's a bit freaky) will probably feel like shit once she realizes that Daddy denied her all that time. And I can't imagine how Elizabeth's children will relate to their new half-sister, if they ever do.

Pure arrogance on his part.

He probably replaced the money that was taken, after he confessed the whole mess to his wife. "Oh, it was a bookkeeping error, I told (fill in name of hapless staffer willing to say "Duh, I fucked up!") to take it out of Account X, but they MISTAKENLY took it out of the Campaign Account. It was UNINTENTIONAL....I put the money back the minute I realized the error!"

Yeah, sure--the minute you got caught!

Or something like that, anyway....

That book looks interesting: His wife, Elizabeth, who is terminally ill with cancer, will soon be releasing a book talking about the affair. In it, she writes that news of the affair made her vomit. She also describes Hunter as "pathetic."

Here's a (rather cynical) review of the book: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lee-stranahan/the-lies-of-and-to-elizab_b_195342.html

[Mist]

23. Isn't early days to know if the kid resembles JE? Having said that, how disappointing all that was.

[MADem]

24. You tell me. I think it looks like he spit the kid out, myself!

Even the facial expression looks rather .... damning.

[d_b]

26. holy shit

o.0

wow.

[Inspired]

28. Wow, I haven't seen that photo before.

That child looks just like Edwards.

[Occam Bandage]

29. That could be Johnny's little clone. nt

[MADem]

32. All she needs is a lip mole!

It's the eyes, eyebrows...and that intense expression.

If I were betting on a DNA match, I'd bet a bundle.

[Mist]

31. Thanks for posting the pic! nt

[malaise]

33. All he had to do was tell his wife

drop out of the race and move on. Now he's up shit creek without a paddle.
Arrogance and hubris led to his downfall.

And yes, that kid sure looks like John Edwards.

[MADem]

35. Instead, he had Clinton and Obama coming to his house and paying court to him.

They both wanted his endorsement.

He should have just told his supporters to make their own decision, instead of hanging on to the spotlight. Particularly since he KNEW why he was taking a powder (aside from his poor showing). He also didn't have a hope in hell of getting the VP slot, but he was aiming for it. That's pure arrogance. I suspect at least one of those campaigns knew about this mess, too, and verified it beyond the National Enquirer reportage.

It really appalled me when this story came out. I felt so sorry for his wife, who was really used by this guy.

[malaise]

39. Having the affair while she was undergoing chemo was really

bad, but these things happen and I am too old to be shocked about thoughtless affairs. What was appalling was that he was not only prepared to destroy his family, but he was also willing to destroy the entire Democratic party's election chances for his arrogance and sense of self importance.
Fuck him - seriously - the party's better off without him.

[MADem]

40. There's a rumor going 'round that she threw him outta the house for awhile.

It was, supposedly, after he admitted to her that he lied about the kid not being his. I don't know for certain if that's true, but that's what the gossip mills are saying.

This review of the book comes across as sad, though:

She also says she wanted him to drop out of the race and avoid the media scrutiny. “He should not have run,” she writes, although she stood by him while he did.

In March 2007 the couple stood together to announce that her breast cancer had returned and had spread, but that he was continuing his campaign.

Mr. Edwards dropped out in January 2008, due to lack of support, and admitted publicly to the affair in August in an interview with ABC News. The National Enquirer, which originally reported the affair, also maintained that Mr. Edwards was the father of Ms. Hunter’s baby girl. Mr. Edwards denied that he was the father, and his wife’s book does not address the matter.

Despite the turmoil, Mr. and Mrs. Edwards are still together. “While Elizabeth still hasn’t fully come to terms with her man’s roaming, the memoir is laced with a powerful dose of forgiveness,” the Daily News writes. It quotes Mrs. Edwards as concluding: “I lie in bed, circles under my eyes, my sparse hair sticking in too many directions, and he looks at me as if I am the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. It matters.”

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/elizabeth-edwards-details-husbands-affair-in-new-book/



http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article6211259.ece


The National Enquirer has claimed that Edwards recently admitted to his wife that he was Frances’s father in an attempt to stop Hunter telling all.

“Rielle has become extremely edgy and John’s been afraid she might go public before Elizabeth’s book comes out, make new headlines, and trigger a nasty battle between the two women,” a source told the Enquirer.

In the late 1980s, Hunter dated Jay McInerney, author of Bright Lights, Big City. He turned her into an oversexed, hard-partying character in his 1989 novel, Story of My Life.

Edwards, a gifted orator, has attempted to revive his career by lecturing on poverty, but his supporters have made no secret of their feelings of betrayal after they stuffed envelopes, raised money and pounded the doorsteps for him.

It will be interesting to see how Elizabeth Edwards is perceived when she promotes the book on the Oprah Winfrey television show this week. She was viewed by Democrats as a saintly, loving wife until it emerged that she had hidden news of her husband’s affair and continued to promote the myth of a devoted couple.

Her book remains under embargo but the New York Daily News, which obtained a copy, claims it does not address the paternity of Hunter’s child. The publisher describes the book as “short, powerful inspirational”.

[Inspired]

27. A link to Lee Stranahan? Bwahahahahahah!!!

That guy was, and apparently still is, obsessed with Edwards. It's kind of creepy and got him banned from Kos.

[MADem]

34. Did I not use the expression "rather cynical?" What's with the bwahahahahaha?

Are you saying that the facts he provided about the book's contents are lies? My caveat was insufficient? What?

Quite frankly, being "banned from Kos" isn't the end of the world, IMO. I think some of the people over there are a bit, er, tool-ish. Kos the ex-Republican included...!

[Inspired]

36. The bwahahahaha is how I feel about Stranahan and his obsession with Edwards.

It wasn't directed at you. I just thought it was funny seeing his name again associated with Edwards.

[MADem]

37. Well, I don't know the guy. Everyone has a hobby--his is Edwards, I guess.

I wonder if he was one of those guys who donated the max and worked his ass off, only to be disappointed?

[Texasgal]

22. Dammit Edwards!

This is soooo disappointing.