Who knows? LE has given the public precious little info about Edmunds. Didn't he supposedly attend a prayer vigil or some function in connection with the Smarts? Maybe he knew that "trusted member of the community" no one likes to admit exists.
I'm sure you meant to say "trusted person in the neighborhood".
Are you going for a daily distortion record? It's not like you haven't been told this before - about twenty times. Why do you need to lie? Can't you defend your case without lying?