Politician John Edwards

On Thursday, May 31, 2012, former presidential candidate John Edwards was found not guilty on one charge of campaign finance fraud.  The jurors were unable to come to a decision on the other five charges against him regarding whether he had used money from two wealthy donors to hide his pregnant mistress from potential voters during his presidential run, or whether the money was used to hide his mistress from his wife, Elizabeth, who was dying from cancer.

John Edward's affair with Rielle Hunter began in 2006 when the two of them met in a hotel bar and spent the night together.  She then was hired as a filmmaker for his campaign, with a $250,000 contract, despite the fact that she had no professional experience as a filmmaker.  By the summer of 2007, Hunter became pregnant.  John Edwards then pressured his aide, Andrew Young, to pretend that he was the father of Ms. Hunter's baby.  Andrew Young and his wife arranged for a $2,700 a month rental home for  Ms. Hunter and later she stayed in a donor's vacation mansion in Aspen, Colorado, and at various luxury resorts.  In December, 2007, Andrew Young issued a statement saying that the baby was his.

By the time of the trial,  it was clear from the evidence and his own admissions that John Edwards had an affair with Rielle Hunter, fathered a child by her, and lied on national television about being the father of that daughter. John Edwards said after his trial, "While I do not believe I did anything illegal, or ever thought I was doing anything illegal, I did an awful, awful lot that was wrong and there is no one else responsible for my sins."

Whether or not lying about using money from donors to hide a pregnant mistress is wrong, there is no question that John Edwards went to great deal of trouble to keep his secret.  His defense attorneys told the jury that it not illegal to lie about an affair, or to keep a mistress secret from a wife.  John Edwards was on trial for filing a false campaign finance report.  In fact, the attorneys pointed out to the jury that Mr. Edwards should not be convicted for being a liar, even if he knew about the money that was being used to help Ms. Hunter.  His attorneys said the money was a gift, not a campaign contribution, and could be used as he saw fit.

Among the other interesting developments that came out during the trial was the fact that John Edwards had put pressure on his aide, Andrew Young, to pretend to be the father of Rielle Hunter's child.  As a result, much of the money that was funneled from donors to take care of Rielle Hunter and her child was also used by Andrew Young and his wife to build a home for themselves.

John Edwards did not admit that the baby was his until January 2010, almost two years after the baby was born and Mr. Edwards was no longer running for president.  His wife died in late 2010.

After the trial, when John Edwards was asked if he loved Reille Hunter and planned to marry her, Edwards did not answer.  He just turned away.  However, on an ABC interview broadcast in June, 2012, Reille Hunter explained her affair by saying how much in love they both had been.  Perhaps he had been lying to her, too.

Sources for this article were ABC News reports and an Associated Press article dated May 31, 2012, entitled "John Edwards acquitted on 1 count, mistrial on others."

Photo on John Edwards on campaign trail in 2007 courtesy of wikipedia.com/commons