John Edwards (Reuters)
SHADY: Rielle Hunter, mother of John Edwards’ love child, Frances Quinn, could remind jurors of how much he hurt his dying wife. (
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GREENSBORO, NC — Finally, John Edwards may get his mistress to keep quiet.
The disgraced ex-senator would be foolish to call baby mama Rielle Hunter to testify in his defense — which begins today — because she’ll likely do way more harm than good for his case, legal experts said.
“I think it is likely she will not be called,” said Steven Friedland, an Elon University law professor who was a former federal prosecutor.
“She would likely be a mixed bag for the defense. It will muddy the waters.”
Hunter only reinforces negative thoughts about Edwards, who was cheating on wife, Elizabeth, as she was dying of cancer.
“The last thing the defense wants to do is give the prosecutor and the jury the chance to revisit the affair and the pain that it caused Mrs. Edwards,” said former federal prosecutor Kieran Shanahan.
During the trial, jurors heard how a devastated Elizabeth Edwards stripped off her top in an attempt to get her philandering husband to notice her — and she told a friend on her deathbed that she was scared of dying without having a man to love her.
Hunter’s testimony would be worthwhile only if she possessed some silver-bullet piece of evidence that would help Edwards, Shanahan said.
“The only reason they would call her is if there is something that is so important to the defense that only she can testify to. We just don’t have any reason to believe [she has that],” he said.
Prosecutors rested their case on Thursday without calling Hunter, who was granted immunity in exchange for possibly testifying.
The government says that two wealthy Edwards donors — heiress Rachel “Bunny” Mellon and Fred Baron — gave more than $1 million to hide Hunter and keep her quiet by providing a lavish lifestyle while Edwards campaigned for president in 2008.
The feds say those donations should have been counted as campaign cash — Edwards’ lawyers say they were gifts.
Another question is if Edwards will take the ultimate gamble and testify in his own defense.
“It’s risky because the government will have a chance to cross examine and bring up all of his inconsistencies and lies,” Shanahan said.
Still, Shanahan suspects that Edwards will take the stand — because he is the only person who can testify about what he knew about the cover-up during his 2008 campaign.
“If he doesn’t take the stand then I think it’s going to be hard for the defense to put on evidence what he knew about the expenditures and why he didn’t believe they were violating the law,” he said.
If he does testify, the jury will compare his testimony to a 2008 “Nightline” interview in which he denied the paternity of his love child, Frances Quinn.
The video was shown at the close of the prosecution’s case on Thursday.
Edwards was charged with six felony counts and could face 30 years in federal prison if convicted.