Prosecutors give closing argument in Edwards trial

[karynnj]

11. Once money is given as a gift, can you really say where it goes?

No other husband (or wife) was restricted from using the spouse's money - so this was atypical and a sign of how much the powers in the party and media were against Kerry. No one looked to see if Hillary Clinton could show that her earnings were greater than the amount she lent the campaign. In fact, it exceeded her book sales and her Senate salary. At that point, it was Bill Clinton who made many millions speaking and with his book.

The point I am raising does not mean the $$ have to be used on the campaign. Would you be ok with elected officials getting very large sums of money from people as gifts?

As to Rielle, it looks like the goal was to keep her happy enough that she stayed out of sight. You could call it extortion, a bribe or blackmail - - or it could have been offered by people close to Edwards before she thought to do any of this. At that point, it seems Edwards was also still holding out the future possibility that they could be more than friends.