John Edwards’ mistress, Rielle Hunter, showed up a federal courthouse this morning in Raleigh, N.C. Her reason for being there was not immediately clear.
We do know that Edwards acknowledged he is under federal investigation over huge payments to Hunter’s video production company, though he denies wrongdoing.
Robin Zier, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney, declined to comment on Hunter and why she was at the courthouse, or whether a grand jury was meeting there.
John Edwards admitted last August that he had had an affair with Rielle Hunter, in 2006, when he was running for the Democratic nomination for president.
His big admission came after his affair was first exposed in 2007, at which point he denied it, only to get busted sneaking into a hotel with her in mid-2008.
Rielle’s one-year-old daughter Francis Quinn, born last year, is rumored to be the love child of John Edwards and Hunter, though he has denied such claims.
Rielle Hunter and Frances Quinn Edwards Hunter arrive in court.
Rielle Hunter was hired to make a movie about Edwards as he made a second bid for the Democratic presidential nomination eventually won by Barack Obama.
Edwards is under scrutiny over making $114,000 in payments to Hunter’s company. Using money from a political action committee for personal issues? Illegal.
His former aide Andrew Young, believed to be their go-between, and who claims to be the father of the baby, is rumored to be involved in the investigation.
He may also have a John Edwards sex tape, depending on what you read.
“I am confident that no funds from my campaign were used improperly,” he said in May. “However, I know it is the role of government to ensure this is true.”
“We have made available to the United States the people and the information necessary to help get the issue resolved efficiently and in a timely manner.”