Edwards donor says he told Obama camp about affair

[hack89]

Source: AP

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — A onetime donor to John Edwards testified Tuesday that he warned the campaign of President Barack Obama in 2008 to look closely at rumors about the former North Carolina senator's infidelity before it considered offering him any position in the administration.

Chapel Hill developer Tim Toben said from the witness stand at Edwards' campaign finance corruption trial that he was astonished when Edwards told him he still had lofty political aspirations over dinner in June of 2008. By then, Edwards' presidential bid had unraveled and affair rumors were surfacing.

Further, Toben found it unsavory that Edwards still aspired to such positions of power. "I thought he betrayed the trust of the people he spoke for," Toben said, referring to the poverty-stricken Americans whom Edwards sought to represent through philanthropic foundations.

After the dinner, Toben said he called the director of Obama's campaign in the state and told him that he believed the tabloid reports about Edwards' affair were true. Toben advised that the eventual president should look closely at the rumors before offering Edwards any spot in the administration.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h1zq_1O6r2sMtNZS08r0C-9ra9Pg?docId=ac0a269c3f024232a6f2931176f23294

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The hits keep coming.

[Arugula Latte]

1. Whew.

Thank goodness the guy spoke up.

At the time I remember hoping Obama would make Edwards the Veep.

[Dawgs]

2. Maybe, but I'm not sure they would have tried someone that was chosen four years earlier. n/t

[karynnj]

18. I never thought that likely

It was pretty common knowledge that Edwards was pretty uncooperative in 2004. In a NYT article in 2006, Edwards even prided himself on not giving up his principles - and explained he refused to use Kerry's slogan of "help is on the way" preferring his own "hope is on the way". Ignoring that Kerry's slogan actually makes more sense - because "hope" always can come before something is there - so hope is on the way is very wishy washy - "hope" is good, but only when it is present! - this is NOT standing up for principles. It is being a primma donna and not accepting that he was in a supporting position.

Kerry was very good about not ever saying anything negative about Edwards, there is no way that he would not have given Obama an honest assessment if asked - and it is very hard to believe if Obama ever seriously considered Edwards that he wouldn't ask.

In addition, a couple of areas where Obama could use support was in foreign policy - not an Edwards' strength and in having someone with a lot of experience. Edwards had less time in elected office than Obama.

[groundloop]

3. That headline almost makes it sound like the President is somehow complicit

Until I read the story it sounded like the story was going to claim that the President somehow had egg on his face because of this mess. At any rate, yes, it's good that Edwards didn't get any position at all in the administration.

[JDPriestly]

4. Don't count anything out.

Mellon's lawyer's testimony is more relevant to the legal issues:

Forger testified today that Mellon gave Edwards $725,000 during the his presidential campaign out of an abiding sense of loyalty and friendship and not as a political contribution.

"In later years she had few close friends," Forger said of his longtime client. "Her husband had died, and her daughter was ill. She took a liking to John Edwards as she had done with others. She liked him as an individual, as a person, not because he was a candidate."

Mellon gave Edwards all that money because "she felt very strongly for John Edwards," adding, "she wasn't interested in becoming secretary of state."

That testimony contradicts the prosecution's narrative that Mellon gave Edwards the money as a political contribution, which he used in part to hide his mistress and their love child.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/john-edwards-chip-shot-heiress-give-50-million/story?id=16296169&page=2#.T6lmplJG3Kc

The issue is whether Edwards misused political contributions, not whether he is a bad guy or had an affair or what he said about his friend Bunny Mellon.

[seabeyond]

6. are you STILL shifting the blame. what a fuckin hoot.... nt

[JDPriestly]

7. Read the article.

Edwards is accused of having used campaign donations from Bunny Mellon to support Rielle Hunter.

Bunny Mellon's lawyer said that Bunny Mellon did not intend her gifts to Edwards to be used for his campaign.

That is the only evidence that is relevant to the criminal case against Edwards.

I'm not trying to shift blame. The prosecution is trying to convict Edwards for being a bad guy and cheating on his wife. Sorry, but those are not criminal offenses to my knowledge.

Bunny Mellon's lawyers' testimony is what you call "on point." It speaks to the issue that the jury is supposed to decide. That is why it is more important than the bad gossip aired at the trial.

If I run you over with my car, the fact that you were driving a stolen car when I ran you over is not relevant to whether my running you over was negligent or intentional.

A lot of irrelevant stuff is being introduced at this trial. It is being introduced for its sensational value. Bad karma for the prosecutor.

[seabeyond]

8. i dont care. i dont care he fuck on his wife. i care he knew it was there, would come out and ran

for president. that is a piece of shit man. i care that even knowing it was going ot come out he had such an ego, he was willing to bring scandal to the dem pres to be on the cabinet. i do care that his ego being stroked took precedent over all things in his life.

[JDPriestly]

9. I have explained this many times.

I campaigned for Edwards. He was not spending a lot on his campaign. I suspect the real point of his campaign was not to become president, but to raise the issues about poverty -- about Two Americas.

Too bad that so many people are so concerned about condemning his private life. As I pointed out, had the French judged Sarkozy and Hollande by the standard being applied to Edwards, who knows who would now be president of France.

I think we should be a little less concerned about our leaders' sex lives and a little more concerned about their solutions for our problems.

We should scrutinize the presidential candidate's relationships with Wall Street and the health care and energy industries at least as carefully as we examine their personal lives.

I don't think we do that. We knew going in that Obama was getting a lot if not the greatest part of his campaign funding from Wall Street. We should have paid more attention to that than to Edwards' sex life. We didn't, so we are where we are.

[seabeyond]

10. wht you would like, and what is reality are two different things. doesnt matter a man fuckin on his

wife should be able to be president. reality is.... he would have LOST. and that is what matters to me. and i really dont give a shit about the frenchmans behavior except the rapist frenchman having excuses made for him validating his rapist ways.

[cali]

12. wow. you're not dealing with reality.

It's been clear for many years that John Edwards was using poverty as a hook. I argued strongly against that prick here in 2007 and 2008- and not because of his personal life which hadn't yet blown up. I posted tons of information indicating he was a phony. His "work" on learning about poverty by making big bucks while being employed at a slimy hedge fund is just one example.

JE is a crooked piece of shit con man and it's pathetic that anyone is still clinging to the preposterous myth of JE as fighter of poverty.

He's a real piece of work.

[Tarheel_Dem]

24. I see you've managed to work Obama, negatively, into your narrative while trying to polish the turd

that is John Edwards' lack of ethics on every front imaginable. "Wall St"? Really? Remind us again.....Who's the asshole who worked for the hedge fund? And was apparently cheating an old lady out money to fund his affair and resulting illegitimate child, all while running for the highest office in the land?

I'm sorry, but I think Edwards' supporters should just stop digging. Most of them obviously feel betrayed, and as a result of that, they've decided to hold our current president to some ridiculous high standard that only they can fathom. Ethics matter. His "Two Americas" bullshit consisted of a deathly ill wife in one state, and a sidepiece in another.

[DearAbby]

13. I tend to agree

If the prosecutor needs to paint Edwards as a man of low character. His character isn't on trial here. What is on trial >>>Did Edwards use campaign funds illegally?<<< The Lawyer of Mellon just blew a hole in the Prosecution's case.

[JDPriestly]

16. Thanks, DearAbby.

I believe that a couple of Republican politicians have used government funds to help their lovers and their lovers' family members out or to travel to see some extramarital love. They have not been prosecuted. Looks odd to me. I can't believe the law allows that.

[crunch60]

11. John Edwards wooed and used Mellon because she had money, and would give

him lots of it, not because he liked her. He cheated on Elizabeth when she was extremely ill with breast cancer, not caring what it would do to her if and when she found out about the affair with Hunter. That in my mind, if particularly despicable.
He couldn't control his penis when he was running for the highest office in the country.
Edwards was a power hungry egomaniac, and his lack of character, empathy and compassion, tells me he has many sociopath tendencies.

snip:

In May 2011, just weeks before John Edwards was indicted for allegedly using $725,000 from an elderly heiress to hide his pregnant mistress, Edwards asked Rachel "Bunny" Mellon for an additional $3 million, her librarian testified today.

http://news.yahoo.com/john-edwards-asked-bunny-mellon-3-million-more-180432542.html

[seabeyond]

14. "He couldn't control his penis". he could control. he didnt care. he was more important

than everyone and everything else. like you say, " power hungry egomaniac

[JDPriestly]

17. Edwards received money from Bunny Mellon because she liked him.

That's her decision. Please give a link to the evidence that Edwards wooed and used Bunny Mellon. That is not what the article to which you link says. Edwards is quoted as saying that he could easily and definitely receive money from her.

That was apparently true based on what Bunny Mellon's lawyer is reported as saying.

[crunch60]

19. Spin it whatever way you want, Edwards used a lonely old lady

for his own gain. Mellon was sincere in her feelings towards Edwards, his was not. My opinion. In the end, she knew his real motives.
snip:
John Edwards trial: Rachel “Bunny” Mellon said he used her
“[Mellon] was rather apoplectic at the size of the figure they requested. She was really upset,” Huffman said. “She said, ‘I cannot believe that the senator really wanted me for my money all along.’”

Huffman testified that Edwards later called Mellon to apologize, claiming he didn’t know how much Young had requested. But the aide insisted it was Edwards’ idea, according to Huffman, and told the interior designer, “Just call me throw-me-under-the-bus-Andrew.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0512/75933.html#ixzz1uLXuH6pU

[JDPriestly]

20. Why should we believe what Hoffman says Edwards said any more than we

should believe what Edwards said? That is why certain things shouldn't be tried in courts and certain other ones should.

There is no claim that Edwards committed fraud on Bunny Mellon.

If you know really rich people, their relationships with money and their experiences with friendships are very different than yours and mine. I have know a few such people. The people I knew seemed to expect a certain insincerity in their relationships that you and I would not accept.

Some very rich people take it for granted that a certain number of so-called friends will be taking advantage. That's part of the price of being very, very rich.

[crunch60]

22. Bullshit! And you don't have to tell me about rich peoples friendships, I have know more than

a few. A con is a con, rich or poor. Edward's is a con, and Mellon knew it in the end...

[cali]

21. she was 97 at the time and she did not know that money was going to his mistress

that's called using someone, dear. not rocket science.

[JDPriestly]

23. Her lawyer's testimony says she wanted to give the money to him.

She was 97 and what she did with her money was strictly her business. At least she did not fund right-wing, extremist, fundamentalists. She gave money to someone she liked. It was her money. And now some prosecutor and a lot of DUers are trying to second-guess what she was thinking. Reality does not work that way.

She may have been a fool, but that is not relevant.

[seabeyond]

5. that is what pissed all of us off. a critical time, edwards ego ruled over us. he ran

knowing this was coming out and how it would defeat the dems if he was nominated. and here, he was willing to take down obama adm with scandal for his massive ego.

[JI7]

15. even without the affair i don't think he would have seriously been considered for anything

maybe some ambassador type job to some small country .