RALEIGH, N.C. — Dealing with a pregnant mistress and a suspicious wife, John Edwards and a close aide agreed by the middle of 2007 to solicit funds from a wealthy widow who had promised to “do whatever it takes” to make him president, according to the former confidant’s new book.
Bunny Mellon, the widow of banking heir Paul Mellon, began sending checks “for many hundreds of thousands of dollars” hidden in boxes of chocolates, according to “The Politician,” by former Edwards aide Andrew Young. The tell-all account describes how Young took the money and used it to keep mistress Rielle Hunter happy, hiding her from the media and a cancer-stricken Elizabeth Edwards.
Young contends that the former vice presidential nominee later said he didn’t know anything about the cash even though the two discussed the matter and the cash began arriving soon after Edwards made a call to Mellon.
“The Politician” is due in bookstores Saturday. An advance copy was given to The Associated Press by St. Martin’s Press. The book has received a lot of attention because of its racy details about the affair, the Edwardses’ crumbling marriage and the candidate’s efforts to keep the paternity of his child with the mistress hidden.
