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Multiple sources now confirm The ENQUIRER's report that a federal grand jury is investigating possible misuse of presidential campaign funds by John Edwards to pay off his mistress. U.S. Attorney George Holding revealed yesterday he "was not going to confirm or deny any investigation" regarding Edwards that was first reported by the ENQUIRER earlier this week. A Federal grand jury did convene on Wednesday in Raleigh, North Carolina, according to multiple local reports. Grand jury proceedings are kept secret. Attorneys are liable for criminal prosecution if they discuss such investigations in public or to the press. Prominent Raleigh defense attorney...

Here is a picture of Frances Quinn Hunter, whose last name should be Edwards, according to sources. It’s from her first birthday, on Feb. 27, just one week ago. With her is her mother, Rielle Hunter, the filmmaker and ex-lover of former Sen. John Edwards. Edwards has admitted the affair, but denied that the baby is his. There is no father’s name on Frances Quinn’s birth certificate.

If you thought John Edwards was permanently gone from the political scene, you would be wrong. Unbelievably, Edwards is now tentatively taking steps to re-enter polics as you can read in this McClatchy report by Barbara Barrett which appeared in the Miami Herald. The idea of Edwards returning to politics might seem like an incredibly laughable notion to most of us but not to a certain Brown University professor of political science who takes it completely seriously as we shall see. Please stifle your laughter as you read about the grand return of John Edwards: PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Former U.S....

Former Senator John Edwards will speak in Salomon 101 next Tuesday after cancelling a separate lecture here last fall. Edwards was scheduled to give the Gov. Frank Licht '38 Lecture last fall at Brown. But after he admitted in August to having an extramarital affair with a campaign staffer, Edwards cancelled all speaking engagements until the November elections, saying in a statement that he did not want to distract from the presidential campaign. Professor of Political Science Marion Orr, who oversees the Licht Lecture series as director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy, said there was "mutual agreement" with...

Story at link.

The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively that John Edwards' cancer-stricken wife Elizabeth threw out her cheating husband after he admitted his extramarital affair on national TV!   Now those close to brave Elizabeth are pushing her to reveal the secret split in her new book Resilience: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life's Adversities, say sources. "The new book is Elizabeth's opportunity to admit that she did what any other wife and mother in America would have done - she did not accept her husband's philandering, and she tossed him out," said a close source. "Friends have told Elizabeth...

John Edwards Affair/Scandal: Rielle Hunter Back in New Jersey It's the East Coast for Frances Quinn The National Enquirer's reporting that Rielle Hunter has left her fancy digs in Santa Barbara for something a little more plebian: New Jersey The Enquirer had previously broke the story about how Hunter, John Edwards' mistress, and love child/daughter, Frances Quinn, were receiving hush money payments of $15,000 a month from Fred Baron--who was Edwards' campaign finance chairman. When Baron suddenly passed away from a lethal cancer on October 30, the $15K payments to the Hunters stopped. After her $15,000 monthly payments stopped with...

John Edwards surfaces in S.F. -- alongside Karl Rove! OMG! Forget Sarah Palin's comeback in Miami, how 'bout that news that John Edwards, two-time former Democratic presidential candidate, surfaced Thursday in San Francisco ... on stage alongside ''the architect'' himself, Karl Rove. Bad economy and all, apparently the Commercial Financial Association had the big bucks to bring in GOP strategist Rove and Edwards to debate at its annual convention at the Marriott Hotel.We don't have the price tag on this event, but Rove's reported speaking fee is $40,000, and -- we reported last year -- Edwards reaped $55,000 for a...

"But if she wants to run for president she's gonna have to get somebody to move to Anchorage, Alaska and help her take her game to another level," he said smiling. "Let's be clear about this ... it's really cold there most of the year."

He's baaaaack! Or at least, he's trying to come back. I am referring to John Edwards who is trying to re-enter the public sphere now that the election is safely over. The problem is that even many Democrats can't stand him. The DUmmies had a poll as you can see in this THREAD titled, "Pass The Final Verdict -- John Edwards Is....." And the final verdict by the DUmmies is that 68% of them think Edwards is "A Louse Who Cheated On His Cancer-Recovering Wife And Should Be Shunned" and 32% think he "A Good Man Who Made An...

John Edwards. Remember him? He was the guy whom the Los Angeles Times for an excruciatingly painful period of time found it impossible to write about in the midst of his breaking scandal last summer. In fact, Times bloggers were forbidden to write about the scandal by Times editor Tony Pierce who came up with this excuse for the moratorium: Because the only source has been the National Enquirer we have decided not to cover the rumors or salacious speculations. So I am asking you all not to blog about this topic until further notified. Another excuse not to cover...

IS it over between John Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth? "The wedding band is missing," the Washington Post reported yesterday after covering a speech the cancer-stricken mother of two gave in DC on Monday night. Edwards, the former North Carolina senator who ran for president twice, finally acknowledged three months ago that he had an affair with campaign videographer Rielle Hunter. He denies he's the father of Hunter's baby girl, although he has been spotted visiting mother and child. A source said Edwards is no longer living with Elizabeth and that the couple have separated. But reps for Elizabeth Edwards...

John Edwards Was Right I never thought I would say this, but John Edwards was right. The former presidential candidate became well known for a campaign stump speech in which he posited that there were “two Americas” one rich and one poor. The standard class warfare based shibboleth is not surprising coming as it does from a populist democrat. What else was he supposed to say? The surprising thing is that John Edwards was right. No, he wasn’t right that we have become a country of the haves and have-nots. Class warfare has not suddenly become the transcendent philosophy of...

Possibility of McCain victory Alarms Middle East Last update: 6:58 p.m. EDT Oct. 28, 2008 DOHA, Qatar, Oct 28, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- A unique Middle East debating forum has conclusively warned America that a victory by John McCain in the US Presidential election would seriously undermine already damaged relations with the Middle East. In the largest voting margin yet recorded in the Doha Debates, now in their fifth year, an audience of more than 350 people voted 87%-13% against a motion suggesting that the Middle East would be better off with McCain as President. Hafez al-Mirazi, the former...

A prominent political donor for the Democratic party has apparently gotten his hands on an experimental drug to fight cancer over the objections of the drugmaker. The drug, Tysabri, which is manufactured by Biogen Idec Inc., is approved only for use in patients with multiple sclerosis or Crohn's disease. Biogen refused to give permission for it to be used in a single-patient investigation on the ailing donor, Fred Baron, in spite of pleas from many high-profile figures like former President Bill Clinton and cyclist Lance Armstrong. Nonetheless, Baron received the drug at the Mayo Clinic, which apparently managed to work...

A number of readers have taken me to task over my contention ...that most poor people are impoverished by choice. To be clear, I don't mean that one day a person gets up and decides to live in poverty. I believe a person winds up poor because he or she chooses not to succeed. Truth is, staying above the poverty line is relatively simple. Basically, all that's required is to finish high school, wait until at least age 20 to get married and not have a child out of wedlock. Now how hard is that? Not very, which is why...

<p>Threatening legal action will not be enough to stop a national gossip magazine from featuring its exclusive on Sarah Palin’s alleged extramarital affair.</p> <p>According to The NATIONAL ENQUIRER, three members of the man’s family, including one by sworn affidavit, have claimed that Palin engaged in an affair with husband Todd’s former business partner, Brad Hanson.</p>

When DBKP first reported on August 25 that the Edwards campaign had quietly refunded almost $4 million in campaign contributions to big donors and bundlers–leaving little campaign contributors, or shallow pocket voters, out in the cold–the response by some was: “so what” or “no big deal”. Others pointed out that, by law, once a candidate drops out of a Presidential primary election the campaign has to refund all contributions earmarked for the General election. So we decided to dig a “little deeper” and find out more about the role ’shallow pocket’ voters played in the Edwards campaign. We also looked...

It promised to be enthralling, a joint appearance of the philandering John Edwards and his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth, as part of the Salem State College Series. A mob of national media was expected to attend, eager to grill Edwards in a pre-speech press conference regarding his recent admission of marital infidelity. Until yesterday, when the couple canceled their Tuesday, Sept. 23, appearance. No reason for the cancellation was given, Salem State spokeswoman Karen Cady said. "They both canceled. We contracted for both of them, and they both canceled." Political consultant Michael Goldman of Marblehead, a supporter of Edwards, had planned...

I think she's complicit," said Brad Crone, a Raleigh-based Democratic consultant. "Obviously, she knew. While she's the victim, she clearly didn't stand in the way of the cover-up." RALEIGH, N.C. — Two weeks after a devastating revelation sent her husband into political exile, Elizabeth Edwards isn't getting the steady sympathy usually afforded to a woman scorned. Instead, she's faced criticism from dedicated Democrats who think she was too willing to keep the affair a secret to help John Edwards' political ambitions, as well as her own. Excerpt. For more of this lengthy article go to Fox News at: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,410901,00.html

Lethargy over John Edwards Scandal and Cover-up Returns to MSMIn the John Edwards Scandal, CBS News' Bob Schieffer serves as the poster child for the ADHD Mainstream Media. After a spike in coverage--largely composed of stories about why the MSM didn't allow their customers news of the John Edwards affair, scandal and cover-up before John Edwards gave the Dinosaur Press his okay--the MSM has 'moved on' to more pleasant topics, leaving the scandal's reporting and investigation to the National Enquirer and the blogosphere. Bob Schieffer, of CBS, might well one day become a case study in Journalism 101's "Death of...

John Edwards, the Democrats’ 2004 vice presidential nominee who unsuccessfully sought the top spot on the party’s ticket this year, is like the man who never was among party leaders gathered in Denver. Edwards, the one-term North Carolina senator whose 2008 candidacy ended in January, admitted in early August, after a lot of tabloid disclosures, that he had been carrying on an extramarital affair with a campaign aide even as his wife, Elizabeth, was battling cancer. He also admitted that he had repeatedly lied about it. It still isn’t clear if he fathered an out of wedlock child during the...

DENVER - Texas Rep. Chet Edwards, who was on the four-person short list of potential Barack Obama running mates, said Sunday the front-page scandal involving former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards hurt his chances of getting on the ticket. “I would have to think that a bumper sticker that said 'Obama/The Other Edwards' might have been a bit difficult,” Edwards said Sunday after visiting a Veterans Administration hospital upon arrival in Denver for the Democratic National Convention. Chet Edwards (not related to the former North Carolina senator) said he was notified Aug. 10 that he was on Obama's short list...

ExclusiveJohn Edwards calling former staffers asking for forgiveness By THOMAS M. DeFRANK DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF Updated Tuesday, August 26th 2008, 12:07 AM   DENVER - John Edwards is burning up the phone lines, begging former aides and backers to forgive him for lying about his affair - but hearing their rage instead.As Democrats kick off their convention Monday, the onetime presidential contender is a man without a party - or a political future - trying to rebuild bridges through dozens of remorseful phone calls.It's proving a hard sell with onetime true believers. CLICK TO SEE A PHOTO...

DENVER - John Edwards is burning up the phone lines, begging former aides and backers to forgive him for lying about his affair - but hearing their rage instead. As Democrats kick off their convention Monday, the onetime presidential contender is a man without a party - or a political future - trying to rebuild bridges through dozens of remorseful phone calls. It's proving a hard sell with onetime true believers.

DENVER - John Edwards is burning up the phone lines, begging former aides and backers to forgive him for lying about his affair - but hearing their rage instead. As Democrats kick off their convention Monday, the onetime presidential contender is a man without a party - or a political future - trying to rebuild bridges through dozens of remorseful phone calls. It's proving a hard sell with onetime true believers. Many are bitter and disillusioned after swallowing his lies about his affair with a campaign staffer and vouching for his credibility with friends and journalists. Some ignore his plaintive...

The Edwards '08 Campaign for President has quietly refunded almost $4 million to individual contributors, a number of them, bundlers and big backers. This should be news to Warren Buffet who recently mused that Edwards' supporters should get together and file a class action suit. It seems another "class" has already had their contributions refunded--and it's not the "grassroots" little guys. We had no idea the campaign was handing out refunds until we happened to come across the information while perusing the site OpenSecrets.org and the data supplied to the Federal Election Commission by the Edwards' campaign. We were baffled,...

In yet another example of why more and more people are turning to the Web for their news, the DBKP blog has just uncovered information that the John Edwards campaign has been refunding campaign contributions even before billionaire Warren Buffett suggested that Edwards could be hit with a class action lawsuit. And can you guess which of the two of Edwards' Americas got the majority of the refunds? DBKP explains: The Edwards ‘08 Campaign for President has quietly refunded almost $4 million to individual contributors, a number of them, bundlers and big backers. This should be news to Warren Buffet who...

* The John Edwards' campaign has already refunded $3,831,398 to contributors--many who contributed the maximum of $2300. * 2,247 donors have already received money back from the John Edwards--many who are trial attorneys and political "bundlers"--and most received it back on March 24. * Refunds to small donors under $100 have accounted for only 1/5th of one percent, so far, according to Open Secrets.com. * The Edwards campaign still has $4,791,200 cash on hand, according to its July 31, 2008 filing. For any readers who gave money to the John Edwards' campaign and are now upset that perhaps that...

One-time Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards promised his mistress they would reunited once his cancer-stricken wife died, the National Enquirer reported. The Enquirer - which first broke word of the Edwards scandal - also reported that mistress Rielle Hunter refuses to make Edwards take a paternity test because she fears it will jeopardize their future. Edwards, who admitted the affair earlier this month after repeated denials, remains in contact with Hunter even now, according to the Enquirer. The North Carolina politician called her after his Aug. 8 confession on national television, reportedly telling her: "We'll be together when Elizabeth is...

PARKLAND, Wash. -- A man dressed in woman’s underwear and exposing himself drove up to a Parkland espresso stand three times before one of the baristas threw a cup of boiling water at him, said the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office. Jamae Feddock, a bikini clad barista at Java Girls, said she first thought the man dressed in women’s underwear and exposing himself was a sick joke, until the man came back several times. The first time he came to the window Feddock said he was wearing a white bra and white panties and touching himself inappropriately. Then he came back...

John Edwards assured his mistress that they'd be together after his cancer-stricken wife died, according to a new bombshell report. Just before the former presidential contender confessed his adultery to ABC News on Aug. 8, he secretly flew Rielle Hunter and her 6-month-old child, Frances Quinn, from California to the US Virgin Islands, according to the National Enquirer, which first exposed their affair. And after the interview, in which he denied loving Hunter or fathering the baby, he called her to say, "We'll be together when Elizabeth is gone," the tabloid reported.

As NewsBusters editor Matthew Sheffield recently wrote, the John Edwards scandal demonstrates why the public is moving to the web for news. A big reason for the public relying more and more on the web for news is that the blogosphere is willing to do the investigative footwork that the mainstream media often neglects. A perfect illustration of this are the revelations made today by the DBKP blog about the suspicious aircraft leasing arrangements made by John Edwards' moneyman, Fred Baron:

Questions for John Edwards and Fred Baron When Next Either Surfaces to Confront the PressA "Thank You" to our Network of Readers, Comment-writers and Tipsters! ...including all at Free Republic John Edwards and Fred Baron have had a close relationship over the last ten years. Both Edwards and Baron are successful trial attorneys and both shared the dream of seeing John Edwards elected President. Both may, at some point, want to share some information on campaign travel billings. A DBKP reader, known only as "Phil Ander", did some independent research into the Edwards' campaign's use of Baron's private jet and...

Edwards STILL Covering Up Affair and Money * Rille Hunter and Frances Quinn Hunter Pix * Team of Six Edwards Donor Lawyers Assisting * Hunter and Baby Stayed in Virgin Islands with Edwards and Obama Donor, Attorney Lee Rohn* Edwards and Hunter Slept Together the "First Night They Met" [Click all images to enlarge.] More bombshells for John Edwards and associates to deal with: the National Enquirer's latest print issue has published even more damaging information on the John Edwards Scandal. Included on their website, "JOHN EDWARDS BLOCKBUSTER NEW EXPOSE!", is information that will be sure to prompt new questions...

America is disgusted by the behavior of John Edwards — but the jury is still out on his wife................ ----------------------------------------------------------- We seem to be developing two distinct schools of thought: Elizabeth as tragic/heroic victim and Elizabeth as down-in-the-mud-with-her-husband villainess. Bluebeard’s wife versus Lady Macbeth, as it were. Predictably, People has taken the lead on Elizabeth as tragic heroine. In a fairly skimpy article, various friends and relatives are quoted on her anguish and her dedication to her children. She’s being strong in the face of hardship, the argument goes, because she’s that kind of gal.........

The fall of yet another politician in a sex scandal has added a note of Schadenfreude to the political season. Coming so quickly after the fall of former New York Governor Elliot Spitzer, the admission by former Senator John Edwards of an affair during his presidential campaign seemed to catch many observers off-guard. Sexual immorality crosses all partisan lines. Spitzer and Edwards are prominent Democrats, but equally prominent Republicans have been caught in the same web. There is no room for partisan calculation here. One interesting aspect of the Edwards saga is the near-universal assumption that, had Edwards won the...

FLASH! WE OBTAIN EDWARDS LOVE CHILD PICS!!A Scooter's Report exclusive! Through no small expense, we bring you the first up-close photos of John Edward's love child!

SALEM — Salem State College has been bombarded with phone calls ever since former presidential candidate John Edwards announced last Friday that he cheated on his cancer-stricken wife. They are calling Salem State, of course, because John and Elizabeth Edwards are scheduled to speak here Sept. 23. Everyone wants to know if the event has been canceled. It has not. Salem State says it has a contract and is sticking to it. Edwards also apparently is scheduled to hold a press conference. Whether one or both of those events come off, only time will tell. The first phone call to...

Although the mainstream media has finally started to report on the John Edwards scandal now that he has admitted to an affair on ABC's Nightline following several reports by the National Enquirer, they continue to fall way behind in investigative reporting compared to the blogosphere. This is yet another reason why the public is relying more and more on the web for news rather than the MSM as NewsBusters editor, Matthew Sheffield, reported yesterday both here in NewsBusters and at the Washington Times. So what is the MSM excuse for being so far behind the ball in reporting on the...

LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA!!! NOT GOING TO HEAR IT!!! HANDS OVER MY EARS! That is the attitude of the KOmmies to another KOmmie who had the Kewpie Doll moment of posting that the Edwards scandal disaster is NOT going away as you can see in this THREAD titled "The Edwards Disaster Is Not Going Away." In fact, with the way the National Enquirer is releasing the information on this scandal, it threatens to overshadow the Democrat convention. The big money man at the center of the John Edwards scandal, Fred Baron, is also a big fundraiser for Barack Obama. Also this scandal...

John Edwards Scandal News TV Movie Parts, Gary Pearce, Snoop's Scoop, 3 Stooges, Fred Baron Blurbs, Mickey Kaus, Kathy G, and Faith "This is NOT my baby!" [photo: DougRoss@Journal "All work and no play make Jack a dull boy."It's going to get serious in the immediate future for all involved in the John Edwards Love Child Scandal: Rielle Hunter, Andrew Young, Fred Baron, and of course, John Edwards himself. So, before it does, we thought we'd present this collection of odd and ends in the John Edwards Scandal. Deceptive NuggetsDeceiver has bits and pieces--but what nuggets they are! That Moneyed...

snip-The revelations of ties among the lawyers emerged through public records and interviews with people close to Mr. Edwards and Ms. Hunter, which suggested that their affair went on longer than Mr. Edwards admitted and that the effort to conceal it by Mr. Edwards’s inner circle was much more extensive than has been reported. The review found that Mr. Edwards’s political action committee went to unusual lengths to make a final $14,000 payment to Ms. Hunter’s film company months after its contract with the committee had ended. The payment was issued while the committee was short on cash and could...

Via Tapper, a palate-cleansing Kinsleyan gaffe from Susan Collins confirming that everyone in America, from the checkout counter to the Senate, is on the same page vis-a-vis Silky. The exchange starts at 2:00. Meanwhile, Radar picks through the latest tidbits from the Enquirer (print edition only) and floats a familiar theory about who their super-secret source might be. Exit quotation: “Of course I love you. Don’t worry, we’ll get through this.”

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: I want to spend a little time here, just a brief moment, on the Breck Girl. This is a story, ladies and gentlemen, not going away. People ask me, "Rush, it's over. What's the big deal? Why stick with Edwards?" This is a multilayered story, and to illustrate this, I am holding in my formerly nicotine-stained fingers (shuffling paper) a printed copy of an article by the illustrious Walter Shapiro writing at Salon.com. Walter Shapiro is a Drive-Byer, and he used to write for USA Today. "After covering John Edwards -- and liking him -- for years,...

Another issue of the National Enquirer, another round of sordid allegations about the extent to which John Edwards is lying about his affair with Rielle Hunter. The four new pieces: • Edwards didn't confess until after a campaign staffer walked in on him and Hunter having an "intimate moment" in hotel room. Word eventually got to Elizabeth Edwards, who then confronted John, who then admitted the whole thing. But this all happened after he'd already declared his candidacy for the presidency. • The whole public tango over the DNA test, with Edwards saying he wants one and Hunter saying she...

DES MOINES — Regan "Draco" Lane-Smith and "Naughty" Nonah Elliston outfitted their six-bedroom rental house with 15 mattresses, bondage crosses and sex swings. They built elaborate sets in their backyard for taking erotic photos. And they promoted the Hardwood Cabin online. Up to 60 guests at a time came to mingle, sunbathe nude by the pool and have sex with fellow swingers and fetishists, Elliston said. Parties were frequent enough that the couple's laundry service was cycling through 50 bedsheets a week. But the couple shut down the sex club last month when they were cited for running a business...

An anguished Elizabeth Edwards decided to stay with her cheating husband because she is dying and worried about their two young children, her closest friend says. "It's just tragic. That's all I can say about it," Hargrave McElroy, Elizabeth's best friend, told the Daily News. In a longer interview with People magazine, McElroy, a North Carolina teacher, said John Edwards didn't confess his adultery with his flaky videographer, Rielle Hunter, until after he officially announced his presidential run in December 2006. Then Elizabeth had a terrible choice to make. "There was anguish - excruciating anguish - for her in dealing...

Elizabeth Edwards authorized a friend to attack John Edwards over his "she was in remission" interview on Nightline. That's the stunning assertion of Sandra Westfall, the "People" magazine writer who authored the article [excerpt here] containing the friend's crticism. Westfall was a guest on tonight's Verdict with Dan Abrams. DAN ABRAMS: Sandra, let me start with you. Is it fair to say that the story that you guys have in this week's magazine is effectively Elizabeth Edwards' side of the story? SANDRA WESTFALL: You know, she authorized her brother and her best friend to speak to me on her behalf....