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The Charlotte Observer reports that Raleigh-based U.S. Attorney George Holding is looking into whether any of former Sen. John Edwards’ campaign cash was used as hush money to keep his affair with Rielle Hunter out of public view.
In a statement to the paper, Edwards says: “I am confident that no funds from my campaign were used improperly. 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.”
Not all of the money at Edwards’ disposal, however, were "funds from (his) campaign."
A number of nonprofits, with less stringent transparency rules, were in the mix as well, including the Alliance for a New America and the Center for Promise and Opportunity. A political action committee aligned with Edwards paid Hunter for her work as a videographer.
Edwards’ long-suffering wife Elizabeth, meanwhile, hits the book circuit this week with her new tome, "Resilience: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life’s Adversities."
In the book, Mrs. Edwards’ reaction to the 2006 news of her husband’s affair, as reported by the New York Daily News, was: "I cried and screamed, I went to the bathroom and threw up."
– jpt