While we have little sympathy for Edwards, we think the prosecutors are reaching here. The contributors, Rachel "Bunny" (Bunny?) Mellon and Fred Baron, knew what Edwards needed the money for when they gave it to him: They were specifically not contributing to his presidential campaign. Prosecutors argue that the money was a de facto campaign contribution because, if the story of the affair had come out at the time, it would effectively have been the end of his campaign. Thanks to this illicit money, though, Edwards was able to carry on his triumphant struggle to finish a distant third in the race for the Democratic nomination.
On the one hand, prosecutors are correct in drawing the conclusion that, had the Hunter story broken during the early stages of the campaign, Edwards' presidential aspirations would have ended then and there. After all, no matter how much Southern charm a politician oozes, there is no way he could survive such revelations of sexual impropriety.
On the other hand, this stretches the definition of "campaign contribution" beyond reasonable limits. Indeed, Edwards seems to have gone out of his way to make sure he was not dipping into campaign funds to support Rielle: That's why he went on the downlow to enlist his friends' support.
Again, we do not justify Edwards' misbehavior. How much sympathy can you have for someone whose legal defense is, literally, "I didn't use the money for my campaign; I used it to hide my pregnant mistress from my wife!" But there is, after all, a huge distance between tacky and illegal.
Solipsistography
"Edwards Charged with Election Finance Fraud"
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