RALEIGH – If you’re sick and tired of hearing about John Edwards and seeing the now-familiar footage of Rielle Hunter at the federal grand jury, I have some bad news for you: the story isn’t going away just yet.
Instead, as some lawyer friends have told me for weeks and the Raleigh News & Observer speculated over the weekend, Hunter’s arrival last week at the federal building in Raleigh, escorted by federal agents, likely indicates that she is providing substantial assistance to the probe of Edwards’ campaign finances.
That’s the legitimate issue here, by the way. It is an unfortunate fact of life that some spouses stray. Politicians seem more prone to adultery than average, probably because of the common denominator of narcissism. While the health of the relationship between a husband and wife shouldn’t be a matter of public concern, even when one or both of the spouses is a public figure, politicians who cheat tend to pierce the bubble of privacy themselves – by using government buildings or tax-free resources for their trysts, by getting their staff to lie for them (wittingly or unwittingly), or by having affairs with employees of government agencies, interest groups, or their campaign staff.
Having committed one or more of these acts, politicians can’t be taken seriously when they respond to questions or disclosures with assertions of privacy. If you want the latitude to misbehave in private, don’t involve the public sector in any way, shape or form.
In Edwards’ case, the transgression may have been the use of either campaign or nonprofit donations to overpay Hunter for “work,” bribe her to be quiet, or some combination of the two. Federal rules govern donations to federal campaigns. In part, these regulations are designed to protect donors from being misled about the future use of their money. Surely, when donors support candidates of their choice, they have the right to expect the funds to be used to elect or re-elect the candidates – not to support their mistresses.
As for tax-free nonprofits, they are incorporated to carry out charitable or educational functions. It would be improper to allow officers of a nonprofit to use tax-deductible contributions to facilitate or cover up an affair.
For years, John Edwards received copious national attention as a rising star in the Democratic Party. Unfortunately for North Carolina, he became one of our state’s most-famous politicians even before being selected as John Kerry’s running mate in 2004. The Triangle-area media covered Edwards extensively during both of his presidential runs, as it was the first time in modern memory that a North Carolinian made a serious bid for the presidency.
Those who soar high fall hard. Edwards has now become a national laughingstock. Whatever comes of the federal investigation of the Hunter affair will only deepen the disgrace.
It’s one of the oldest stories in the book. But it’s still compelling enough to earn the public’s attention a while longer. Don’t worry – it doesn’t look like we’ll have too much longer to wait.
Hood is president of the John Locke Foundation