Former Democratic Party presidential hopeful John Edward’s image went from that of being a loyal, steadfast husband running for President while dedicated to his cancer-battling wife to a post boy for for a two-faced, sleazy, philandering husband who cheated on his ailing wife while garnering sympathy from many voters. And is he about to morph into a legal story headline?
It sounds that way:
Two of former presidential hopeful John Edwards’ top aides testified Thursday to a federal grand jury looking into payments from the North Carolina Democrat’s campaign to his one-time mistress.
Jonathan Prince, who was Edwards’ deputy campaign manager during his unsuccessful 2008 presidential run, and then-spokesman Jennifer Palmieri were called before the grand jury, two sources familiar with the case said.
This comes amid the Justice Department’s investigation into money that went from Edwards’ campaign and from his supporters to Rielle Hunter, who was a videographer with the campaign.
The grand jury has been meeting at the federal courthouse in Raleigh, North Carolina, since last year.
Prince spent four hours in the Raleigh, North Carolina, courthouse on Thursday, reported CNN affiliate WTVD, while Palmieri was inside for about an hour. Both refused comment to reporters as they left the courtroom.
Edwards began his affair with Hunter in 2006, fathering a daughter — Frances Quinn — with her. Yet the former senator denied paternity for more than a year before admitting in January 2010 that he was the father. A week later, Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, announced they were separating.
In October, Edwards’ attorney Wade Smith said that a “sizable” number of subpoenas had been issued in the case.
Some will not be able to resist saying: It couldn’t happen to a nicer more deserving guy.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.