GREENSBORO, N.C. (MCT) — A former aide to John Edwards testified Tuesday about the lengths the former presidential candidate went to hide his affair with a campaign videographer, including raising money from wealthy benefactors to help support the woman, developing code words to conceal his communication with her and crafting an elaborate payment scheme to route money to her.
In his second day of testimony, Andrew Young said he felt “uneasy” about payment arrangements in which Young’s wife deposited checks under her maiden name before passing the money to Edwards’ mistress, Rielle Hunter.
“We felt the smell was wrong,” Young said. “But in the end, we decided (Edwards) knew more about the law than we did.”
Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina, is accused of accepting more than $900,000 in illegal campaign contributions during his 2008 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Prosecutors say the money was meant to protect Edwards’ image as a family-first candidate; the defense says the money was a personal gift unrelated to Edwards’ political ambitions.
Young, the prosecution’s key witness, is the author of the tell-all book, “The Politician.”
