In the course of her testimony, Ms. Young led the jury through her “journey,” as it was later characterized, to cover up the affair. Mr. Edwards’s defense team has contended that the Youngs benefited financially from an arrangement that funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into their bank account to help silence Ms. Hunter and indulge her plush lifestyle.
But in telling her story, Ms. Young painted a picture of hardship, a family turned upside down for more than a year in the service of Mr. Edwards. After shuttling around the country with Ms. Hunter, moving to California, uprooting their children and enduring Ms. Hunter’s moody temperament, she said, the Youngs were told to get jobs and never move back to North Carolina. By that point, Mr. Edwards had stopped returning their calls.
Ms. Hunter’s baby was born in February 2008, and Ms. Young said the stress of their thrown-together living arrangement became almost unbearable. Ms. Hunter, infuriated that Mr. Edwards did not call enough, kept threatening to go public, Ms. Young said. But Mr. Edwards was now a contender for the vice presidency.
When Ms. Young insisted on returning to North Carolina, a warning was issued by the wife of Fred Baron, the wealthy Texas donor who paid for the private jets and swank hotel rooms for the Youngs and Ms. Hunter:
“Mrs. Edwards is not well,” said the wife, Lisa Blue, according to Ms. Young. “I am a doctor. She is not mentally healthy, and there is a great chance she would be a harm to you or your family.”
Mr. Edwards subsequently called the Youngs, she said, leaving a seemingly carefree message.
“Hey Buddy, how are you?” it began. “Long time no see.”
It had been more than a year since Ms. Young said she first agreed to endorse the checks from another wealthy donor, Rachel Mellon, and deposit them into her own account to pay for Ms. Hunter’s needs. Fearing it was illegal, she did so only after Mr. Edwards reassured her it was not, she said.
The checks are a crucial element in the charge that Mr. Edwards violated federal election laws in accepting them. Government prosecutors contend that about $900,000 received from two donors amounted to illegal campaign donations; Mr. Edwards, who faces 30 years in prison, says the money was a personal gift from friends.
“I heard John Edwards tell me on the phone that he checked with the campaign lawyers and this was not a campaign donation and it was not illegal,” Ms. Young told the court. “ ‘Get the money in!’ He was very short and very angry.” |
