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A federal judge disclosed Friday that former presidential candidate John Edwards has a life-threatening heart condition, a court source confirmed to CNN. Edwards had sought a delay in his criminal corruption trial, scheduled to begin this month. Attorneys and the federal judge met in a North Carolina courtroom Friday afternoon for a status hearing regarding the pending trial of Edwards, a former U.S. senator. Edwards appeared at Friday's hearing. His lawyers had made the motion for a delay under seal, but some of its details were publicly revealed by the judge in the open hearing.

John Edwards is the putrefied meat of the American political system — literally, as far as your brain is concerned. Think about Edwards for a moment — the perfect hair, the honey voice, the oleaginous smile. Your lip curled ever so slightly, didn't it? A teensy bit of bile may have risen in your throat. The lip curl is a threat display, the bile is an attempt to purge a toxin. Both were triggered at least partly by your prefrontal cortex and your temporal lobes — and both would have also occurred if you'd smelled a piece of food gone...

Ex-presidential hopeful Edwards wants charges droppedBy Jeremy Pelofsky Reuters – Thu, 25 Aug, 2011 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former presidential hopeful John Edwards plans to ask a judge to dismiss charges over alleged illegal campaign contributions because of problems with the grand jury that indicted him, among other reasons. Edwards, a Democratic who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2004 and 2008, was indicted on six counts of conspiracy, taking illegal contributions and making false statements in a bid to cover up an extramarital affair during the 2008 recent campaign. His lawyers plan to file motions to dismiss by September 6, citing...

(Reuters) - Former presidential candidate John Edwards has replaced the legal team defending him against criminal charges of campaign fund violations. Edwards has hired Chadbourne & Parke partner Abbe Lowell, according to a document filed with the court on Friday. Lowell is a white-collar defense attorney.

John Edwards' mug shot released By: CNN Political Unit (CNN)–Former U.S. Senator John Edwards, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and campaign law violations in early June. His mug shot was obtained by CNN following a Freedom of Information Act request. The plea came after a federal grand jury indicted him on six counts, including conspiracy, issuing false statements and violating campaign contribution laws. A grand jury has been investigating whether money given to support Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter, by benefactors of Edwards should have been considered campaign donations, a contention Edwards' team has disputed. A plea deal between the two-time...

The Washington Post has issued a post-mortem on the career of John Edwards ("American Dream is Irrevocably Undone") and finds tragedy and pathos. "The man born Johnny Reid Edwards had it. Great gobs of potential." He might have been, the Post laments, "a great husband, could have been an enduring statesman ... president." But fate intervened. With his indictment on misuse of campaign funds last week, "America witnessed the latest distasteful episode in ... (the) fall from grace of a political comet." Grace, as any unblinkered observer could detect, is not a word that ever belonged in the same sentence...

Former senator John Edwards is back in the news. As a politician, Edwards’s main theme was “poverty.” He ran on this issue twice in Democratic presidential primaries and as candidate for vice president in 2004. Edwards famously declared there were “two Americas,” one rich and one poor; as a candidate, he spent most of his time exaggerating the chasm between the two. In Edwards’s vision of America, nearly 40 million Americans live in “terrible” conditions, their daily life a “struggle with incredible poverty.” According to Edwards, America’s poor, who number “one in eight of us … do not have enough...

<p>Breaking: Federal Grand Jury Indicts Former Presidential Candidate John Edwards.</p>

Desperate to stay out of jail, bad boy politi­cian JOHN EDWARDS begged his mistress and mother of his love child Rielle Hunter to cover up for him, but she flatly refused, sources say. In a bombshell exclusive hitting newsstands, The ENQUIRER reports a stunning new development in the ongoing Edwards saga, which has resulted in Rielle dumping him in his darkest hour.In a web exclusive preview, we can report that a close source said, “Rielle snapped at him, ‘I can’t help you! My only concern is raising our daughter.’ “John felt as if she’d stabbed him in the back.�That behind-the-scenes...

RALEIGH, N.C. — A federal indictment is looming for former presidential candidate John Edwards, who is still sitting on $2.8 million in his campaign fund from 2008. Whether he could use that money to fight potential criminal charges depends on the Federal Elections Commission, which makes recommendations on a case-by-case basis. ... Edwards will have little recourse to rehabilitate his image and renew his legal career if confronted with charges involving the money used to cover up his extramarital affair. A plea to a felony charge involving campaign finances could strip him of his law license, ending any hope he...

As far as I’m concerned, John Edwards is pond scum. Last I checked, that’s not a crime.

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards appears ready to gamble on a high-stakes confrontation in federal court in a case that will pit his ravaged reputation and self-admittedly abominable behavior against a government case Edwards’ camp sees as relying on unreliable witnesses and hazy law. Two sources familiar with the case confirmed to POLITICO Tuesday that the U.S. Attorney in Raleigh has signaled that he is on the brink of indicting Edwards on felony campaign finance charges linked to his cover-up of the affair that destroyed his marriage and his political career. Justice Department officials declined to comment on the...

Federal prosecutors have completed a wide-ranging investigation into John Edwards' political dealings and could indict the two-time presidential candidate within days, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

The United States Department of Justice has green-lighted the prosecution of former presidential candidate John Edwards for alleged violations of campaign laws while he tried to cover up an extra-marital affair, ABC News has learned. A source close to the case said Edwards is aware that the government intends to seek an indictment and that the former senator from North Carolina is now considering his limited options. He could accept a plea bargain with prosecutors or face a potentially costly trial. Edwards has been the focus of a lengthy federal investigation focusing on hundreds of thousands of dollars allegedly provided...

Raleigh, N.C. — The investigation into former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards' affair and campaign finances is coming to a conclusion. Sources told WRAL News on Tuesday that a major development would occur in the next two weeks. It could be an indictment or perhaps a plea deal. Sources said it's unlikely that prosecutors would walk away from the case. The investigation appears to have zeroed in on money from a 100-year-old campaign supporter and attempts to hide Edwards' affair with a campaign staffer. Former Edwards aide Andrew Young wrote in his tell-all book, "The Politician," that heiress Rachel "Bunny"...

Considering the source, we do have to take this news with a gigantic grain of salt, but the National Enquirer (via the Daily Mail) is reporting that scandal-maker John Edwards is really down and out. Sadly, it's not really so hard to believe though. I mean, he'd have to be completely dead inside not to be depressed about the state of his life right now -- even if he did create a good number of his woes. I really want to be mad at the guy. To say he deserves everything he gets. But I just can't. And I hope...

A newspaper claims former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards would reportedly kill himself before he is forced to go to jail. Edwards is under investigation for improperly using campaign funds to cover up an affair he had with a woman in which a child was conceived while he was still married to the late Elizabeth Edwards. A grand jury has been meeting near Raleigh, and recently, a key witness in the case was re-interviewed. According to The Daily Mail, the National Enquirer has written that Edwards told a friend, 'I won't go to jail. I'd kill myself first!' The statement...

Reports: John Edwards engaged to Rielle Hunter By: Jennifer Epstein January 6, 2011 06:18 PM EST Former presidential candidate John Edwards is engaged to longtime mistress Rielle Hunter, according to a report. The Jan. 17 issue of the National Enquirers says that the ex-North Carolina senator asked the mother of his lovechild to marry him only three weeks after burying his wife, Elizabeth, who died from cancer. The couple is said to be tying the knot some time this summer. A copy of Elizabeth Edwards’ last will and testament made public on Wednesday left all her possessions to their three...

Elizabeth Edwards left everything to her children and made not a single mention of her philandering husband John in the will she signed just days before her death. Edwards lost her six-year battle with breast cancer on Dec. 7 and, in a last will and testament dated Dec. 1, made clear that her three children - and, by omission, not John Edwards - were to be the beneficiaries of her estate. The former vice presidential candidate and North Carolina senator’s name appears nowhere in the will. “All of my furniture, furnishings, household goods, jewelry, china, silverware and personal effects and...

Elizabeth Edwards cut her louse of a spouse out of her will - less than a week before she died. The wronged wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards, who died last month after a courageous battle with breast cancer, left everything in her sole possession to their three children. "All of my furniture, furnishings, household goods, jewelry, china, silverware and personal effects and any automobiles owned by me at the time of my death I give and bequeath to my children," the will says. Edwards' eldest daughter Cate, a lawyer, was named as the executor of the will, according...

Before she died, Elizabeth Edwards carefully crafted a devastating 3-pronged plan of revenge to punish John Edwards for betraying her with Rielle Hunter, and then lying about it for months before finally telling her the truth. See How to Get a Cheater to Tell You the Truth about His Affair If the details in the National Enquirer are to be believed, Elizabeth used her parting statements to John on her deathbed, the arrangements for her funeral, and the amendments to her will to ensure that John Edwards will pay for cheating on her for the rest of his life. A...

Bill Clinton is pretty content nowadays. He's rich, his initiative is soaring, the White House needs him. This is happiness. But never underestimate his love for acting on ancient grudges, as he did with sex pariah John Edwards in 2008. In a lengthy profile of Clinton and how his life is perfect now, Politico slips in this nugget about how Clinton, via his longtime personal aide Doug Band, reacted to John Edwards' sad plea for support following the outing of his affair with Rielle Hunter in 2008: In 2008, John Edwards called, seeking a statement of support from Clinton...

Poof! And then he was gone. John Edwards, the former presidential contender and Democratic poster child, has vanished from the national scene in a self-imposed exile after embarrassing revelations about his affair with Rielle Hunter. The former senator rarely strays far from his North Carolina home, spending his time visiting his kids and meeting with legal advisers. Very few who previously worked with Edwards have spoken to him. According to local law enforcement officials, Edwards used to stop by local bars, sip on white wine and flirt with single women. Those visits have stopped over the past six weeks. According...

Former Democratic Sen. John Edwards is facing “imminent” indictment relating to his use of campaign funds to cover up an extramarital affair during his 2008 presidential run, according to The National Enquirer. A grand jury has been investigating the North Carolinian's use of the funds since April, and the Enquirer quotes a friend of Edwards saying that, although the former candidate does not believe he did anything wrong, he is “terrified” that he will be made an example of in this case. And in a soap opera twist, Elizabeth Edwards may in fact testify against her estranged husband, The Hill...

For a man whose first—and only—winning election campaign was waged against an inarticulate septuagenarian hog farmer, John Edwards made quite a splash when he arrived in Washington in 1999 as the new junior senator from North Carolina. Lauch Faircloth (the hog farmer in question) had been anything but a formidable opponent, and Mr. Edwards did seem like a fast-talking opportunist, the quintessential trial-lawyer-turned-politician. But the members of the liberal establishment swooned—pundits and politicians alike. They found themselves charmed by his enthusiasm, his good looks, his populist appeal. Here, they said, was a younger Bill Clinton without the baggage, a potential...

John and Elizabeth Edwards Legally Separated In Tell-All-Book, Ex-Edwards Aide Says Couple Discussed How Cancer Would Help in the Polls By JAMES HILL, NADINE SHUBAILAT and LAUREN SHER Jan. 27, 2010 With John Edwards' electrifying U.S. Senate win in 1998, it was his wife Elizabeth Edwards who captivated the nation. A strong, smart, resilient woman, she became one of her husband's greatest political strengths. "He was young and good looking and charming [and] his wife did not fit Hollywood's central casting of what a political wife should look like. She was a little bit heavy-set. She was an attorney in...

Disgraced former presidential contender John Edwards and his wife have reportedly legally separated after he admitted he is the father of a baby girl whose mom he repeatedly bedded during his 2008 White House run. After spending Christmas together with their three kids, Edwards and his wife quietly parted ways. Edwards divides his time between a place the family calls "the barn" and the couple's beach house about 160 miles away from Chapel Hill, NC, People magazine reports in its current issue out today. Edwards' wife, meanwhile, lives in the couple's Chapel Hill home where she's been licking her wounds.

If Washington Wire readers are interested in reading Andrew Young’s forthcoming tell-all on his decade behind the scenes with John Edwards, the story heats up on page 154 when Young begins to recount how the 2008 presidential hopeful and former Democratic Party vice presidential nominee was taken down by an extramarital affair and a brazen attempt to hide his daughter’s paternity. snip Young describes his alleged discovery of a compromising videotape of Edwards and a naked, pregnant lover, identified by Young as Hunter. “It was like watching a traffic pileup occur in slow motion — it was repelling but also...

No, it's not a storyline on "Guiding Light" (RIP) -- but rather the latest chapter in the John Edwards mistress scandal. The guy who once claimed he was the father of the child born to Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter, is now claiming Edwards is the real daddy (duh!) and that Edwards once promised Hunter he would marry her after his wife died (she's sick with cancer) -- this according to a book proposal obtained by the NY Times. Andrew Young, Edwards' former aide, claims Edwards told Hunter it would be a rooftop wedding and the Dave Matthews Band would make...

NYDN: Former presidential candidate John Edwards is out of luck if he hoped that the extramarital affairs of Gov. Mark Sanford and Sen. John Ensign would take people's minds off his own cheating scandal.

The man who once claimed to be the father of Rielle Hunter's baby, Andrew Young, is shopping an explosive tell-all which will rock John Edwards' cover-up, confirming previous ENQUIRER investigations, according to reports.

John Edwards' marriage is over, The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively. His cancer-stricken wife Elizabeth kicked him out of their bedroom more than two years ago when he confessed to cheating on her, and the two are now living apart, sources say.

The news that federal prosecutors are investigating John Edwards' presidential campaign payments to his mistress brings a sense of satisfaction. The phoniest man in American politics is finally getting the comeuppance he so richly deserves. With his $400 haircuts and investments in predatory lenders, all while saying ending poverty was a "moral issue" and the "cause of my life," Edwards set new standards for hypocrisy as he sought the Democratic nomination. His contrived compassion was a joke among rivals. And that was before we learned he had an affair with a campaign aide. Yet any sense of justice served is...

Asked if she is still in love with her husband, Elizabeth Edwards told Oprah Winfrey “that's a complicated question.” And when Winfrey asked about marriage, Edwards said, “Neither one of us is out the door so I guess it's day by day, but maybe it's month-by-month.” Edwards' appearance on Oprah Thursday marks her most extensive public comments since former Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. John Edwards acknowledged an affair last summer. Winfrey interviewed both Edwards at their sprawling, 28,000-foot Chapel Hill home. Her publicists released a partial transcript Tuesday of what they called “a no-holds-barred conversation, where no topic...

RALEIGH Federal investigators are sifting through the records of money that helped John Edwards' presidential campaign to determine if any was used to keep quiet his affair with Rielle Hunter. Edwards, a Democrat and former U.S. senator, acknowledged the investigation to The News & Observer. “I am confident that no funds from my campaign were used improperly,” Edwards said in a statement. “However, I know that it is the role of government to ensure that this is true. We have made available to the United States both the people and the information necessary to help them get the issue resolved...

In her new memoir, Resilience, John Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, said she was sick to her stomach when her husband confessed his affair with videographer Rielle Hunter. She writes, "I cried and screamed, I went to the bathroom and threw up." Which is probably the same way her husband reacted when the National Enquirer broke the story of his affair and chased him through a parking garage at the Beverly Hilton. Elizabeth, who has an incurable cancer, said Hunter seduced her husband by telling him he was "so hot" and that though John confessed the affair to her in 2006, he...

John Edwards Affair/Scandal: Rielle Hunter Back in New Jersey It's the East Coast for Frances Quinn The National Enquirer's reporting that Rielle Hunter has left her fancy digs in Santa Barbara for something a little more plebian: New Jersey The Enquirer had previously broke the story about how Hunter, John Edwards' mistress, and love child/daughter, Frances Quinn, were receiving hush money payments of $15,000 a month from Fred Baron--who was Edwards' campaign finance chairman. When Baron suddenly passed away from a lethal cancer on October 30, the $15K payments to the Hunters stopped. After her $15,000 monthly payments stopped with...

Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards will make his first public appearance since admitting in August that he had an extramarital affair while pursuing his party’s nomination. The Associated Press reported that Edwards will appear tonight at Indiana University to discuss the 2008 election and participate in a question and answer session. “Edwards will dissect the general election results and forecast how they will affect the state of political discourse, the American economy and the plight of working families,” a release from the university states, “He will also weave stories from his experience running for president into his analysis, describing...

IS it over between John Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth? "The wedding band is missing," the Washington Post reported yesterday after covering a speech the cancer-stricken mother of two gave in DC on Monday night. Edwards, the former North Carolina senator who ran for president twice, finally acknowledged three months ago that he had an affair with campaign videographer Rielle Hunter. He denies he's the father of Hunter's baby girl, although he has been spotted visiting mother and child. A source said Edwards is no longer living with Elizabeth and that the couple have separated. But reps for Elizabeth Edwards...

Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Thursday he will not speak at any public engagements until after the November election, extending an exile that began last month after he admitted to an extramarital affair. "Nothing is more important than electing Barack Obama and Joe Biden," Edwards said in a statement released by his speaking agency. "I don't want my appearance at these events to be a distraction from the important issues of the election, or from the important purpose of these meetings." Edwards had been scheduled to speak next week at Hofstra University in New York. That speech was...

How much did Elizabeth Edwards, John Edwards’ wife, know about his affair with Rielle Hunter and when did she know it? Edwards has said that he told his wife about the affair “at the end of 2006” and that everything ended after that. Indeed, within days of the end of 2006, Web videos produced by Hunter about Edwards disappeared from his campaign Web site and from YouTube. Sources tell me that it was indeed Elizabeth Edwards who had the videos pulled down when she saw them. The theory among Edwards campaign insiders is that she finally put two and two...

SALEM - Less than a month after a sex scandal sent former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards in to political exile, the ex-North Carolina senator and his wife, Elizabeth, have pulled out of a speaking engagement at Salem State College. The couple had been scheduled to appear as part of the college’s popular Speaker Series on Sept. 23 to discuss the upcoming presidential election and Elizabeth Edwards’ battle with cancer.

John Edwards, the Democrats’ 2004 vice presidential nominee who unsuccessfully sought the top spot on the party’s ticket this year, is like the man who never was among party leaders gathered in Denver. Edwards, the one-term North Carolina senator whose 2008 candidacy ended in January, admitted in early August, after a lot of tabloid disclosures, that he had been carrying on an extramarital affair with a campaign aide even as his wife, Elizabeth, was battling cancer. He also admitted that he had repeatedly lied about it. It still isn’t clear if he fathered an out of wedlock child during the...

DENVER - Texas Rep. Chet Edwards, who was on the four-person short list of potential Barack Obama running mates, said Sunday the front-page scandal involving former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards hurt his chances of getting on the ticket. “I would have to think that a bumper sticker that said 'Obama/The Other Edwards' might have been a bit difficult,” Edwards said Sunday after visiting a Veterans Administration hospital upon arrival in Denver for the Democratic National Convention. Chet Edwards (not related to the former North Carolina senator) said he was notified Aug. 10 that he was on Obama's short list...

ExclusiveJohn Edwards calling former staffers asking for forgiveness By THOMAS M. DeFRANK DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF Updated Tuesday, August 26th 2008, 12:07 AM   DENVER - John Edwards is burning up the phone lines, begging former aides and backers to forgive him for lying about his affair - but hearing their rage instead.As Democrats kick off their convention Monday, the onetime presidential contender is a man without a party - or a political future - trying to rebuild bridges through dozens of remorseful phone calls.It's proving a hard sell with onetime true believers. CLICK TO SEE A PHOTO...

DENVER - John Edwards is burning up the phone lines, begging former aides and backers to forgive him for lying about his affair - but hearing their rage instead. As Democrats kick off their convention Monday, the onetime presidential contender is a man without a party - or a political future - trying to rebuild bridges through dozens of remorseful phone calls. It's proving a hard sell with onetime true believers. Many are bitter and disillusioned after swallowing his lies about his affair with a campaign staffer and vouching for his credibility with friends and journalists. Some ignore his plaintive...

One-time Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards promised his mistress they would reunited once his cancer-stricken wife died, the National Enquirer reported. The Enquirer - which first broke word of the Edwards scandal - also reported that mistress Rielle Hunter refuses to make Edwards take a paternity test because she fears it will jeopardize their future. Edwards, who admitted the affair earlier this month after repeated denials, remains in contact with Hunter even now, according to the Enquirer. The North Carolina politician called her after his Aug. 8 confession on national television, reportedly telling her: "We'll be together when Elizabeth is...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: I want to spend a little time here, just a brief moment, on the Breck Girl. This is a story, ladies and gentlemen, not going away. People ask me, "Rush, it's over. What's the big deal? Why stick with Edwards?" This is a multilayered story, and to illustrate this, I am holding in my formerly nicotine-stained fingers (shuffling paper) a printed copy of an article by the illustrious Walter Shapiro writing at Salon.com. Walter Shapiro is a Drive-Byer, and he used to write for USA Today. "After covering John Edwards -- and liking him -- for years,...

Another issue of the National Enquirer, another round of sordid allegations about the extent to which John Edwards is lying about his affair with Rielle Hunter. The four new pieces: • Edwards didn't confess until after a campaign staffer walked in on him and Hunter having an "intimate moment" in hotel room. Word eventually got to Elizabeth Edwards, who then confronted John, who then admitted the whole thing. But this all happened after he'd already declared his candidacy for the presidency. • The whole public tango over the DNA test, with Edwards saying he wants one and Hunter saying she...

An anguished Elizabeth Edwards decided to stay with her cheating husband because she is dying and worried about their two young children, her closest friend says. "It's just tragic. That's all I can say about it," Hargrave McElroy, Elizabeth's best friend, told the Daily News. In a longer interview with People magazine, McElroy, a North Carolina teacher, said John Edwards didn't confess his adultery with his flaky videographer, Rielle Hunter, until after he officially announced his presidential run in December 2006. Then Elizabeth had a terrible choice to make. "There was anguish - excruciating anguish - for her in dealing...