John Edwards
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GREENSBORO, NC — John Edwards may testify in his own defense as the dramatic final witness in his federal corruption trial, lawyers revealed yesterday.
The defense officially added him to the list of potential witnesses expected to take the stand before they rest by week’s end.
If Edwards does testify, it will likely be a thrilling performance. When he was a private attorney in North Carolina, other lawyers used to pack the room to listen to his theatrical closing arguments.
But his legal background may hurt him, experts said.
Lawyers “are used to being in control and they’re used to explaining things at their own pace in their own way,” said Steven Friedland, a law professor and former prosecutor.
“As a witness, he’s gonna lose that. And it should be a tactical decision by the defense as to whether he’s needed.”
Also expected to testify — perhaps as early as today — is Edwards’ eldest daughter, Cate.
The brilliant Harvard Law grad has served as her father’s secret weapon, sitting behind him and giving legal advice.
Cate’s testimony will help personalize Edwards for the jury — the prosecution has so far painted him as a heartless philanderer — but legal experts say her words likely won’t carry much weight.
“The problem is that she’s a relative and most people expect parents and children to do whatever it is necessary to protect each other,” Friedland said.
Meanwhile, the defense began its case yesterday by calling Edwards’ former campaign finance officer.
Lora Haggard testified that federal regulators never demanded that she disclose the nearly $1 million used to hide Edwards’ mistress, Rielle Hunter.
She said she always thought the donations from billionaire backers Fred Baron and heiress Bunny Mellon were personal handouts and, therefore, didn’t include them in the Federal Election Committee reports.
“I did not believe them to be contributions to the campaign,” Haggard told jurors.
“They were not contributions to the campaign to urge the public to vote for John Edwards.”
She added that FEC auditors never asked her to include the contributions in her final filing, even after Edwards’ indictment was issued in 2011.
“I would have been violating the rule that states no campaign funds can be used for personal use,” Haggard said, adding that the presidential candidate had never viewed the report.
Judge Catherine Eagles also dealt a severe blow to Edwards’ defense yesterday, disallowing former FEC chairman Scott Thomas’ expert testimony on how to interpret campaign-finance law.
With the jury out of the room, Thomas testified that he would not consider Baron and Mellon’s donations to be campaign contributions because the payments were “intensely personal by their very nature.”