Fox: "Skeletons in Edwards' Closet?"

fox news | jul 17, 2004 | fox news

[beebuster2000]

Just now on Fox, Terry said there may be skeletons in Edwards closet. But she didn't say what. Anyone know what she was talking about?

[ConservativeMan55]

bttt

[mewzilla]

My first question would be: Which closet?

[Lib-Lickers 2]

sniff sniff sniff,,,,,,I'm getting a whiff of Clinton,,

[Sofa King]

I think they're wrong.

John Kerry is more of a zombie than a skeleton.

[sonsofliberty2000]

From RealChange.org:

Sweetheart Real Estate Deal with Saudi Lobbyist

John Edwards is on the Senate Intelligence Committee, whose members have high security clearances, are privy to highly classified data and have been actively investigating links between Saudi Arabia and the 9/11 terrorist attacks (15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis.)

Michael Petruzello is a lobbyist, registered foreign agent and the manager of Qorvis Communications. That firm was hired by Saudi Arabia on November 14, 2001 (just 2 months after 9-11) to counter criticism of the Arab kingdom.

On May 17, 2002, Petruzello offered to buy Edwards' Washington home -- which had been on the market for over a year -- for 3.52 million dollars. (Edwards paid 2.2 million for it in 1999.) The deal later fell through but Edwards still has the $100,000 deposit. He says he hasn't decided whether to keep it, and would only have to report the conflict of interest if he does so. The house eventually sold for $3 million, a full $500,000 less than the Saudi agent offered.

The Edwards claims he had no idea Petruzzello worked for the Saudis, but in the weeks before the offer Petruzzello visited Edwards home state of North Carolina with the Saudis as part of their publicity campaign, and he was widely quoted in Washington and national publications describing his work for the Saudis. His firm even ran pro-Saudi TV ads in 20 large markets including North Carolina (and other states from which Senate Intelligence Committee members came.)

Kent Cooper, the former head of the government's public disclosure office for federal candidates, said " The potential conflict of interest is readily apparent when a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence receives $100,000 in a real or sham business deal with a foreign agent or a person with extensive foreign contracts at teh same time the Senate is investigating possible lapses in national security."

Highly Suspicious Campaign Contributions

John Edwards, who is himself a lawyer, has received tons of campaign money from law firms. Nothing illegal or particularly wrong about that, however you may feel about lawyers.

But many of them show strong signs of being illegal contributions designed to evade limits on the amount of contributions, by having employees and spouses "contribute" money that a wealthy lawyer wanted to give. Other campaigns have used these practices; Bob Dole's national campaign co-chairman was convicted of the practice in 1996.

There are several cases described in "The Hill" (a magazine about Congress) where low-paid paralegals who had never contributed to campaigns before, and weren't registered to vote (or were even Republicans) gave the maximum $2,000 donation to Edwards. So did their spouse and several other people at the law firm where they work. Two had even filed bankruptcy recently.

We can't prove these people were helping their bosses give more than the $2,000 maximum. But, as Bill Allison of the non-partisan Center for Public Integrity said, “It seems on the surface very suspicious. I think it is somewhat questionable that people who have never donated before would suddenly donate $2,000,” he said.

In one case there IS direct evidence that such an employee was illegally contributing for her boss. Michelle Abu-Halmeh, a legal assistant at Turner & Associates in Arkansas, told The Washington Post in April of 2003 that she expected to be reimbursed by her boss for her $2,000 contribution. The Department of Justice has begun a criminal investigation of the case.

---

Patriot Paradox

[Vermonter]

He's got a brother that's wanted for skipping out on a traffic ticket years ago. Lawyers are 'negotiating' with local prosecutors to make it go away

[Jenya]

They probably found out he likes to dress up in his wife's clothes for his Marlon Brando impersonation.

[cripplecreek]

Campaign funding seems pretty suspect.

[mewzilla]

Anyone know if Senators (or Reps) have to undergo backround checks before being allowed access to classified info?

[NormsRevenge]

Botox candidate 8-?

Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards (news - web sites), D-N.C., speaks to the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project at the Hilton Universal City in the Universal City section of Los Angeles on Friday, July 16, 2004. (AP Photo/Chris Polk)

[Vermonter]

Edwards brother
raises DWI hell

BY ADAM LISBERG
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Sen. John Edwards (r.) walks the halls of power in Washington. His younger brother, Wesley Blake Edwards, is in trouble with the law.


Sen. John Edwards' little brother has an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Colorado and has thumbed his nose at more than $800 in fines for driving infractions.

Wesley Blake Edwards, 39, has been a terror on the road for more than two decades. He has been arrested four times for drunken driving, twice been sentenced to a week in jail for DWI and lost his right to drive in four states.

But even after his license was suspended and revoked, he repeatedly got back behind the wheel - only to be stopped by police again.

He is currently a wanted man in Colorado, which issued a warrant for his arrest in 1994 after he skipped a court date on a DWI case.

He also was wanted in Michigan for a time but authorities later canceled their arrest warrant. He still owes Michigan more than $800 in fines for a series of infractions that included running a red light and driving with a suspended license.

By searching state criminal and motor vehicle records, as well as county court files, the Daily News determined that Edwards was ticketed or arrested ateast 14 times between 1983 and 2003 and was involved in at least two accidents.

He has been repeatedly cited for speeding, driving without a license, driving with a suspended or revoked license, driving without insurance and driving without his seat belt. Once, in 1990, he was arrested for drunken driving just a day after a 60-day suspension had expired.

With his long record of breaking the law, Edwards stands in stark contrast to his 51-year-old brother, who last week was picked to be the Democrats' candidate for vice president.

As one of North Carolina's most successful attorneys, John Edwards won a $950,000 settlement for the family of a woman killed by a drunken driver, according to North Carolina Lawyers Weekly.

John Edwards released a statement yesterday implying he did not know about his brother's legal troubles.

A source close to the family said the senator knew vaguely that his brother had some troubles but did not know how serious they were until The News disclosed them.

"I love my brother very much," the senator said in a statement. "I am, of course, troubled by this news. He shouldn't have done what he did, and he knows that and is dealing with it."

The source said Blake Edwards hired a lawyer this year to get his license back. North Carolina records show Edwards asked the state to reissue his license in May but was turned down.

Edwards, a union electrician, lives with his wife and their daughter outside Raleigh, N.C., in a house that his brother bought for them five years ago. He has declined to comment.

With Nicole Bode in Carthage, N.C.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/story/212373p-182902c.html

[NRA1995]

There was a post in here a few days ago about Edwards having a younger brother who has several outstanding DWI warrants/unpaid fines in Colorado; check the previous posts. Evidently Brother John bought his drunk brother a home in North Carolina but DIDN'T pay the fines.....go figure.

[mabelkitty]

I'm thinking babysitter.....

[beebuster2000]

excellent

"developing"

[xJones]

sniff sniff sniff,,,,,,I'm getting a whiff of Clinton,,

Surely not the Dragon Lady? How unlike her that would be. :)

[Eva]

You're right, there has been some questions about donations for legal groups, who asked their employees to donate money that the employers gave them. Evidently the original donations exceeded the federal limits and were returned, only to be redonated in the names of individual employees.

[mewzilla]

I've heard that the staffers do, and the pols don't. If so, gee, wonder why? And maybe it's part of the reason no senator in decades has been elected prez. Sleaze will out.