Edwards trial: Aide's wife breaks down on stand

Cheri Young began to cry when asked why she went along with the cover-up of Edwards' affair.

The wife of an ex-aide to John Edwards broke down on the witness stand Monday as she recounted how the candidate asked the couple to hide an affair he was having and justified using wealthy donors' money to do it.

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Testifying at Edwards' campaign corruption trial, Cheri Young said she huddled around a phone in her Chapel Hill home during December 2007 with her husband, Andrew Young, and Edwards' pregnant mistress, Rielle Hunter.

On the call, Edwards emphasized the need to preserve his campaign and keep the affair from his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth, Cheri Young said. It was a couple weeks before the 2008 Iowa caucuses, and two suspicious tabloid reporters had already tracked Hunter from a doctor's appointment to the Youngs' home.

Edwards made the plan sound "as if it was for the good of the country," Cheri Young said.

Asked by a prosecutor why she went along with it, Young put her hands together, pressed them to her chin and bowed her head as if in prayer. As she began to weep, U.S. District Court Judge Catherine C. Eagles dismissed the jury to give her time to compose herself.

About 25 feet away, Edwards sat back in his chair and put two fingers to his pursed lips. As Young dabbed her tears with a tissue, the former U.S. Senator glanced at his watch.

Once the jury returned, Young answered the question.

"I felt like everything had been dumped in my lap," she said. "Everybody was on board but me. ... I didn't want the campaign to explode and for it to be my fault. I ultimately decided to live with a lie."

During the call, Edwards suggested that it would only be a one-day story if Andrew Young took responsibility for the baby.

"'Nobody cares about two staffers having an affair,'" Young recalled Edwards saying.

Hunter had earlier been paid as a videographer by one of the organizations linked with Edwards, who is accused of deliberately using money from two wealthy donors to hide Hunter as he sought the White House.

Edwards has pleaded not guilty to six counts related to campaign-finance violations. He faces up to 30 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines if convicted on all counts.

At issue are payments from a wealthy Texas lawyer, Fred Baron, who served as Edwards' campaign-finance chairman and an elderly heiress, Rachel "Bunny" Mellon. Andrew Young, who testified last week under an immunity agreement, has acknowledged that he kept about $1 million in payments from the two campaign supporters.

Earlier in her testimony, Cheri Young said she had doubts about taking the "Bunny money" and using it to cover up the affair. She said Edwards hatched the plan to have her deposit the money into an account controlled by her and her husband. Concerned about violating the federal $2,300 limit on individual campaign contributions, Young said she reluctantly agreed after insisting on hearing Edwards himself say the scheme was legal.

"I heard Mr. John Edwards tell me on the phone that he checked with the campaign lawyers and that this was legal," she said.

Cheri Young took the witness stand late Friday after a full week of testimony by her husband, a former fundraiser and close aide to Edwards.

Though Andrew Young testified last week that the couple spent much of the money provided by the donors to build his family's $1.5 million home, the couple also supported the pregnant mistress out of their checking account, paying for her medical care, a BMW, a $2,700-a-month rental house and a monthly allowance of thousands of dollars in cash.

Cheri Young said she agreed to handle the money because if the public found out about Edwards' affair with Hunter, the campaign and her husband's job were in danger.

"I cannot tell you how disgusted I was. Why me? This was my husband's fight," she said. "Now I had to fix it."

After reporters for the National Enquirer tracked Hunter down in December 2007 and the Youngs agreed for Andrew to issue a public statement accepting paternity, they embarked with the pregnant mistress on a cross-country odyssey of private jets and luxury retreats, all paid for by Baron.

Eventually they settled into a $20,000-a-month rental mansion Baron paid for in Santa Barbara, Calif. Cheri Young said Hunter chose the location because that was where her "healer and spiritual advisor" lived.

Cheri Young said Hunter also had her write checks totaling thousands of dollars to the New Age healer, Bob McGovern, whom the mistress said she wanted to be with her when she gave birth.

There was also tension between the Youngs' family and Hunter.

"We were not allowed to touch the baby," Cheri Young testified. "My kids were not allowed anywhere they might breathe on the baby."

Edwards had also stopped returning the Andrew's calls, prompting the Youngs to fly to Texas to meet Baron at his home. They met with Baron and his wife, Lisa Blue.

Cheri Young said she told Baron she wanted to go home, but he told them they could never return to North Carolina or live close to the politician. Baron's wife, a lawyer and psychologist, had recently visited the Edwardses and she advised them to steer clear of Elizabeth, who was angry with the Youngs over their role in her husband's affair.

"'Mrs. Edwards is not well," Young recounted Blue as saying. "'I'm a doctor and she is not mentally healthy. There is a very good chance she would be a harm to you and your family.'"

Blue is expected to testify later in the trial. Baron died of cancer in October 2008.

After a mid-afternoon break, a lawyer for Cheri Young told the judge she was suffering from a migraine. The judge dismissed the jury early, telling them Young was expected to retake the stand Tuesday.

After Young completes her testimony, the next witness called by prosecutors could be Josh Brumberger, a young aide who was with Edwards on the night in 2006 when Hunter walked up to the candidate in the bar of a New York hotel and introduced herself. Brumberger was later pushed aside by Edwards after he tried to dissuade his boss from continuing with the affair.

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Nancy Wilson and Geoff Bywater: Married!


Heart singer Nancy Wilson and Geoff Bywater got married last weekend.

The 58-year-old Wilson confirmed the news on her Twitter and Facebook.

"Love was in the air ... at the El Paseo gourmet restaurant owned by longtime friend Sammy Hagar," the couple, pictured below, wrote. "Love rules!"

Nancy Wilson and Geoff Bywater

The "What About Love" rocker confirmed her engagement in March via Facebook, writing: "There have been some questions about a certain ring on my left hand and yes - it's an engagement ring. There's a new love in my life!"

"My fiance Geoff Bywater is a senior exec at Fox who handles music for Glee among many other shows. We are deeply in love, the same age, and both devoted parents. There is so much happiness we share together, and our blended families too."

This was Wilson's second trip down the aisle: she was married to Almost Famous director Cameron Crowe, 54, from 1986-2010. They have two sons.

Congrats to the happy newlyweds!

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Nokia could sell luxury Vertu brand to VC firm for $265 million

Nokia could sell luxury Vertu brand to VC firm for $265 million

As much as it'd be interesting to see Windows Phone running on a $21,000 gold-plated cigar lighter, that's probably never going to happen. According to the UK's Financial Times, Nokia has been trying to hive off its luxury Vertu brand for months already, and has finally found a suitor with the right cash / sense ratio. Although still far from a done deal, we're told that venture capitalist firm Permira is willing to contribute up to $265 million to Nokia's needy coffers -- which might sound like a lot, but is mere costume jewelry to a manufacturer that just lost $1.7 billion.

Nokia could sell luxury Vertu brand to VC firm for $265 million originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 03:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Reuters, The Verge  |  sourceFinancial Times (registration required)  | Email this | Comments

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Fanatec's Clubsport pedals V2 bring improved brake and clutch feel to the virtual speedway (video)

Fanatec's Clubsport pedals V2 bring improved brake and clutch feel to the virtual speedway (video)

Around these parts, we're generally suckers for all things related to racing simulators. As such, we're excited to learn that Fanatec has unveiled its next generation of the Clubsport pedals that we reviewed over a year ago. Dubbed as the Clubsport pedals V2, the company refers to the peripheral as an "evolutionary" update to original, offering a trio of improvements. The clutch has been retooled to have a "regressive feel" that's said to be similar to a real automobile, while the brake is now of the hydraulic variety, featuring user replaceable synthetic oil -- naturally, it still has an adjustable spring and load cell pressure sensor for the utmost customizability. The final touch is merely some visual spice in the way of black anodization. Notably, there won't be any tuning kit available initially, and V1 owners might be disappointed to know that the company has opted not to offer an upgrade kit, citing costs and potentially complicated installation. Fanatec is aiming to have the Clubsport pedals V2 out by June, bundled alongside its Clubsport wheel, with pricing set at $250 for the US (€250 in the UK). Pre-orders won't begin until May, so in the meantime, shift over to the source link below and the video past the break for all the details.

Continue reading Fanatec's Clubsport pedals V2 bring improved brake and clutch feel to the virtual speedway (video)

Fanatec's Clubsport pedals V2 bring improved brake and clutch feel to the virtual speedway (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceThe 911 Wheel Club  | Email this | Comments


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The Open Source CEO: Jim Whitehurst

JimWhitehurst-01If you read the Red Hat website, you'll find pages describing their attitude toward open source, collaboration, and more. It reads pretty much like every other marketing spiel from every company online today. There's something different about Red Hat, though: they actually believe this stuff. Not only do they believe it, they live it every day. I spoke to Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst recently about the open source culture at Red Hat and he told me it is a journey, not a destination. According to Whitehurst, the tenets of open source permeate all aspects of the culture at Red Hat.

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