John Edwards' daughter leaves courtroom crying

[oberliner]

Excerpt:

She testified that Elizabeth Edwards had known about her husband's affair with Rielle Hunter before The National Enquirer made it public in October 2007. Hers was the most stirring testimony of the day at Edwards' trial on corruption charges, as prosecutors worked to build a timeline of the affair and efforts to cover it up.

Shortly before Reynolds began her account of what happened that day at the Raleigh airport, Edwards turned to his daughter Cate, who has been seated in the front row for much of her father's trial.

"I don't know what's coming," Edwards was heard saying. "Do you want to leave?"

She responded to him in a whisper, grabbed her purse and walked out, wiping away tears. Edwards was heard saying, "Cate, Cate" as she left. She returned to court about a half hour later, after a brief recess.

http://news.yahoo.com/john-edwards-daughter-leaves-courtroom-crying-192617246.html

Feel really sorry for her.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. That has to be so hard for her to endure.

I feel sorry for her too.

What a mess.

[calimary]

2. I can't imagine what it's like to be in her shoes at this moment.

What could be more horrible to have to endure, hearing all this about your own dad. Having already endured the rigors of a presidential campaign, JUST ANYWAY, without all the other messy stuff the Edwards family had to deal with. The mom suffering from cancer in a long and exhausting battle, and then finally killed by it - imagine what a toll THAT took on her kids, no matter their age. And then this.

Amazed the poise she's shown up til now. That's a crushing load to have to carry on your still-young shoulders.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. You have said it way better than I could...Thank you. n/t

[loyalsister]

15. It started even earlier for her when her brother was killed in an accident

What Edwards has put his family through is completely indefensible. I haven't followed the trial and can't evaluate his guilt or innocence there. But, in terms of the damage he has done to his family if there were a hell, I would hope there would be a special spot reserved.

This man disrespected thousands if not millions of people who supported him politically and betrayed his wife and children. I would have no sympathy if they totally discarded him.

[JDPriestly]

30. Edwards was not to blame for his son's death or his wife's cancer -- or the loss.

of the grueling battle for a decent administration in D.C. in 2008.

It's a lot of trouble and disappointment to ask a man to bear all alone. And Elizabeth Edwards was ill.

How much strength would it have taken to reject what may have appeared to him to be an opportunity for escape from the pressure?

I hope that those who judge Edwards harshly never have to face the problems he was facing.

[Hermes Daughter]

34. Your remark...

... is as humane and kind as it is intelligent. Rare.

[loyalsister]

35. There is no justification for adding to their pain

He is entirely responsible for inflicting pain on top of what they had experienced that was beyond anyone's control.
I'm sure he was experiencing his own pain. But, he is not a naive person. There's no way in the world that he didn't know press was on him 24\7 because he was on the campaign trail.

He disregarded the fact that his family would be hurt, not only personally but publicly, in the likely event of being discovered. No need to escape, self-pity, or loneliness can justify that imo.

[DLevine]

47. Agreed.

Edwards had the love and support of his wife and children. He threw all that away. Instead of the family being able to pull together during difficult times, he ripped them apart. No sympathy from me.

[cali]

56. Sorry, I think that's granting him too much grace.

and I say that as someone who's been through at least as much as he has.

[Empowerer]

75. Thank you

Your post shows a compassion and reason that are all too rare in discussions about this very sad situation - and evidences the kind of empathy that Democrats love to claim sets us apart from Republicans, yet is nowhere to be found when actually dealing with people we don't like (which is exactly when it should be displayed since that's the only time it really matters).

You are exactly right. John Edwards made some terrible mistakes, but his failings were human. And we are all on the outside looking in, judging him and Elizabeth and their marriage without any real idea of what was actually going on in their world.

[SoCalDem]

51. Yes, it's always the kids who get swept up in stuff like this

This is why I always cringe a little when I see people running for office when they have young kids. It always gets ugly, and I can never understand how people can put their families through this....especially when they have skeletons that they KNOW will be trotted out for all to see..

Every parent withholds "some things" from their kids, and even though eventually they always find out, it's usually when they are old enough to process it.

In Cate's case, she also knows down deep that SHE will be the one that will be responsible for raising those two younger siblings, if and when Daddy goes to jail. I'm sure she loves them, but it's a lot to dump onto a new marriage.

I have always thought that the marriage was not all that great, and having those two little ones and then two brutal campaigns could not have made it better. Wade's death probably brought them together and might have made them want to re-create a new family...to hold it all together. The cancer combined with two very small kids, may have made it impossible for him to leave her without ruining any political possibilities for him, so maybe he thought he could just have affairs, and then play the grieving (and eligible) Dad.

It's a mess no matter how you look at it, and Cate is bearing the brunt of it. shame on him..

[hlthe2b]

8. I had to choke back a tear or two... So sad for her...

[babylonsister]

3. That's really sad; I haven't been paying attention, but did she even have to be there? nt

[cynatnite]

6. She's there to support her dad. n/t

[AtomicKitten]

4. Good lord that's some collateral damage.

Cate is the LAST person who should have to shoulder this gut-wrenching ordeal.

[Mass]

9. At least she is an adult. I feel even more sorry for her younger siblings.

They cannot miss this trial as it is everywhere, on the TV, on the Internet, in the papers, ...

[seabeyond]

7. ya. so, when we decide it is just consenting adults, maybe we ought to consider all the loved ones

being hurt.

i really have little patience for this.

[TBMASE]

10. Perhaps the scumbag should have put some thought into that before he made some of his decisions

that led to what she had to go through today.

[seabeyond]

11. as a parent, even if i did stupid, i would not compound it having daughter in courtroom

to give ME, the PARENT, support allowing her to experience this. i dont care how much she would want. i dont care how much i may need. there is no way in hell AS A PARENT i would allow a child, even an adult child, to be sittin in that courtroom.

inevitably, always, he fails.... IMO

[TBMASE]

14. Exactly

But, it doesn't look like he thinks about other people

[laundry_queen]

16. I agree with everything you said.

He's a giant narcissist.

[seabeyond]

19. and it doesnt even touch on the fact that this older daughter will bring it into her marriage

regardless of if she wants it or not, but it effect older daughters in a different way than younger kids. her hubby can be a perfectly good hubby, nad it will be something she struggles with and a part of his marriage even unwarranted.

[Luminous Animal]

26. My dad cheated on my mother and his cheating has nothing to do with my marriage. Why?

Because my husband is not my dad.

[Luminous Animal]

22. Haha!!! Wait until your sons are adults and see how much power you have allowing anything...

Of course, I did raise my daughter to question and challenge authority. Even my authority. At age 22, she is wicked smart and sometimes I AM wrong. She loves and respects me enough to have those discussions and challenge me. Ultimately, I guided her to adulthood which included giving her the fortitude to make and stand by her own decisions and I am comfortable with those decisions even if they are contrary to my own desires. Elizabeth Edwards appeared to be a strong individual. It looks like she raised one, as well.

[seabeyond]

24. right. nt

[seabeyond]

68. i have been thinking about your post

i often say, and tell boys regularly. they are making the choices. it is their pat on the back when they do right, cause i am certainly not gonna own when they do wrong.

i dont know edwards, or his daughter, or his wife. "John Edwards Attacks Mistress: Calls Rielle Hunter ‘A Crazy Slut’" it doesnt seem as if the man takes ownership for his choices. i dont admire that. from my perception, having made a stupid choice, i would then do what needed to be done to rectify. this does not seem like it jives with that.

we dont know that young woman insists on being there or pressured to be there. leaving the courtroom to cry, makes me feel that maybe it wasnt healthy adn the right thing for her. was she pressured? we dont know. i feel edwards can easily be labeled a narcissist. his needs first. that is my feel.

it doesnt make it right.

[HiPointDem]

44. you have no power to prevent her from being there once she's an adult.

[seabeyond]

72. wanna bet. nt

[JDPriestly]

31. He did not decide to lose his son. He did not decide to lose the 2008 election, possibly

to fraud and illegal election practices. He did not decide that Elizabeth Edwards should get cancer.

Is it any wonder that he chose to seek comfort from someone who pretended to be understanding and offered what appeared to be joy and fun?

I think we should be careful about judging him.

He was under a lot of pressure.

Some DUers like to argue that he was insincere when he spoke of Two Americas. I don't think he was. I think he saw what was happening in the economic life of our country and that he wanted to at least make our economy a campaign issue. Now we have the Occupy movement which is taking the message of Two Americas -- that of the 1% versus that of the 99% to the streets.

There are a lot of people who would like to silence the message that Edwards brought. And face it, when he ran in 2008, Edwards was very popular on DU. And for good reason. He was right about the economy. Shame about Rielle Hunter (if that is her real name. I'm not sure it is.) But, considering all the disappointment and burdens he carried, I do not want to judge Edwards that harshly.

[Hermes Daughter]

36. Her real name...

... was Lisa Druck. Druck was from Florida where he father had been indited in a grisley racket electrocuting horses for the insurance money. She spent time in NYC and is known as the model for Jay McInerney's character, Alison Poole, in "Story of My Life." Alison Poole also appeared briefly in Bret Easton Ellis' novels "American Psycho" and "Glamorama." Poole/Druck later married Kip Hunter, son of Patsy Ramsey's prosecutor and lived in Beverly Hills, wrote and, in one instance, pitched a reality show on "how to break up a bad marriage by sleeping with the husband." Poole/Druck/Hunter then went back to NYC and formed a production company with friend, Mimi Hochman. Hochman was an event planner with a website that listed her main client as VC firm Kelso & Co. and its CEO, Frank Nickell. All but one of the principals of Kelso & Co were graduates of UVA, UNC, Duke, Clemson, Wake Forest, and other colleges in Virginia and the Carolinas. Most were lawyers.

Druck was drinking with friends at the Regency Hotel in NY the night Edwards was staying there. When he returned from an event late that night, she was waiting outside for him. As he approached, she walked up to him and said, "You're so hot," or words to that effect.

Edwards was disliked by the legal crowd in NC and Virginia for two reasons. His stand on Tort Reform and the credit he was given for defending Bill Clinton from impeachment. The main opponent of tort reform is the Council for National Policy located in Fairfax, Virginia.

These are the main connections and motives I know of surrounding Edwards take down but I surmise, like you do, that...

...he chose to seek comfort from someone who pretended to be understanding and offered what appeared to be joy and fun?

[JDPriestly]

67. I had forgotten that Edwards defended Clinton.

I guess this is the way Democrats thank him (and Republicans avenge him -- they really wanted to remove Clinton).

Thanks for this.

I had forgotten that Edwards defended Clinton.

Where are the Clintons now. All grateful and showing it, I'm sure.

The Clintons -- a pair of grifters in my opinion.

[Hermes Daughter]

73. Edwards & Clinton

Everyone but you and I seem to have forgotten.

Thanks.

[ellisonz]

46. Did you mean 2004?

He did not decide to lose the 2008 election, possibly to fraud and illegal election practices.

[JDPriestly]

66. Yes. I meant 2004.

And I think that people who are reminded of the difficult things that Edwards went through and then who show so little compassion for him are the real sociopaths.

Edwards' affair was wrong, stupid, etc. But it wasn't criminal.

I've heard of so many worse things such as pandering to bankers on Walls Street who cheat.

Edwards was speaking out against predatory lending way before the others were. The economy was the least of Obama's concerns.

Edwards was a strong candidate. There was massive support for him here on DU, and rightfully so.

Obama has not prosecuted a single of the really big bankers -- of the derivatives experts who caused the economic crisis.

We don't know what Edwards would have done. But I have observed as have others that when a couple loses a child, they have to be very lucky and work very hard to maintain their relationship. It is extremely difficult.

I wish Edwards had not done what he did, but look at Newt Gingrich. He did precisely the same thing, and has spent far more than he took in during his recent campaign. But there aren't any criminal actions against him. Maybe they just haven't looked hard enough.

Edwards made a stupid, tragically stupid mistake, but his worst mistake was running against Barack Obama as a Democrat. Had he run on the Republican ticket, he would be sitting rich and pretty and enjoying a prime time slot on Fox.

[eridani]

48. That's the one thing I still respect him for--wanting to fight the Ohio vote fraud in 2004

Most of the other stuff he's done since then, not so much.

[cali]

58. actually what makes me angriest about this grifter is that I don't

believe for one nanosecond that he was EVER sincere about poverty. and there is a mass of evidence against him on that score.

Oh, and I always knew he never really gave a shit about poverty and posted all the reasons he was a piece of shit phony here in 2007-
including Fortress, his ridiculous house and the clearcutting he did and his avid support for Yucca Mountain.

I'm poor. I don't like fuckwads who use those of us in poverty for political gain.

I judge him harshly. He deserves the hell he's in. He put himself there.

[Odin2005]

61. Edwards is a sociopath. his whole poverty shtick was an act.

I fell for it in 2004, I supported him after the MSM forced Dean out.

[snooper2]

63. Oh jesus h. christ on a pogo stick

Poor widdle John,

[Raine]

12. It must really be painful to hear how your mother was betrayed by your father. nt

[JDPriestly]

32. It may be even more painful to hear people chatter about how shocking his conduct

was and how painful it must be to you.

I hate to tell you this, but the percentage of men (and women) who have affairs during their marriages is very high -- 28% of married men and 18% of married women admit to having them. I think that is high, especially in this day and age when a lot of couples don't marry until they are quite mature and have been living together for awhile.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17951664/ns/health-sexual_health/t/many-cheat-thrill-more-stay-true-love/#.T6ILM1K2ySo

To be honest, I agree with those who think the numbers are actually higher and that a lot of people do not admit to having or having had affairs when in fact they do or did.

I assure you. Edwards' affair while a very, very bad idea is not an aberration.

[Raine]

39. I have had first hand experience with it, it's bad enough when

private but obviously more painful when it's made public for all the world. That's what happens though when you're a public figure whether a politician or a celebrity.

[Nye Bevan]

49. What percentage of men cheat on their cancer-stricken wives,

don't use protection, father a child with their mistress, lie about it, and cheat an old lady out of millions of dollars in a futile attempt to cover it up?

[JDPriestly]

69. Lots of men cheat when they are under stress. That's precisely when they do it.

There are lots of reasons for that. If you think about it and live a little you will understand.

Grief can crush a relationship. It's just the way it is.

It may be more difficult to express and explore your grief with the person you love most and with whom you most share the grief than with someone who is not so important to you.

And grief can definitely hurt a couple's physical relationship. Sorry to get so personal, but a lot of DUers don't seem to understand what grief does.

It's interesting how people identify Elizabeth Edwards as the victim here. I see both of them as victimized in this situation.

Edwards defended Clinton in the Senate impeachment trial. Where is Clinton (also an adulterer) now that Edwards could use a little emotional and visual support? Shame on Bill Clinton for his silence.

[Nye Bevan]

71. OK, I used to think Newt Gingrich was a piece of shit for serving his wife with divorce papers

while she was in the hospital with cancer, but now I see that his behavior is entirely understandable and excusable. Thanks.

[Odin2005]

13. Edwards = self-centered POS.

[BootinUp]

20. and that was obvious

way before any of this came out imho.

[Beacool]

17. None of this had to have happened.

Just thinking what Edwards put his dying wife and children through makes me want to personally kick his ass. Why are some people so selfish? His stupid indiscretion with some nutty woman destroyed his marriage and caused much pain to his children, particularly Cate who was the oldest. Elizabeth didn't deserve to have to spend the last year on earth contending with the pain of a collapsing marriage.

[HiPointDem]

37. Didn't realize he was in court because he had an affair.

[Beacool]

59. Nope, he's in court because he's accused

of using money that was designated for his campaign to cover-up said affair.

[Nedsdag]

18. The sad part is watching how the ordeals have aged Cate.

I saw a picture of her and her father walking into the courtroom and she looked 10 years older than she actually is.

How sad.

[Nye Bevan]

21. He really is a shit. Doing that to his wife,

now putting his kids through this. He could have plea-bargained and spared his daughter this ordeal.

[JDPriestly]

33. Edwards is not putting his kids through this. The prosecutor is putting Edwards'

kids through this. And why should he plea-bargain if he feels he did nothing wrong and is innocent?

A plea-bargain could be worse for his family than this trial.

[Marrah_G]

23. I feel really badly for the kids

[polichick]

25. Poor Cate - first her brother, then her mother and now this...

She's been very strong through it all.

[vaberella]

27. Her brother? n/t

[JI7]

29. the brother that died

[jillan]

28. Having lived thru adultery - the one thing the cheaters never think about are their kids.

The children - regardless of their age - are the ones that did not do anything but have to endure this horrendous pain.
And in the case of the Edward's children, it had to hurt even worse because their mother was fighting for her life.

[LiberalAndProud]

38. "prosecutors worked to build a timeline of the affair"

This aroma is familiar ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starr_Report ...

I am not speaking to Edward's culpability here, but there is a familiar, somewhat titillating quality that has little to do with justice and everything to do with making each scandalous detail as public as possible. Would you care for a cigar?

[Hermes Daughter]

40. The new game in town

A close friend of mine was part of the team that worked for a year to bring Spitzer down. I know all about it. I imagine the same game-plan was applied to Wiener. And Clinton. Lots of planning. It takes a lot of money, too. The key is to find a weakness and use it. (Wellstone didn't have any. The others did.) And every lawyer in NC knew about Edwards. His ways with women weren't anything new. He was no different that JFK, RFK, MLK, ETC, and so forth.

[HiPointDem]

45. and who did that team represent?

[Hermes Daughter]

53. Like I'm going tell...

... on this board? Right.

[Nye Bevan]

50. They hypnotized Spitzer into paying for a hooker to travel to his hotel?

Poor Eliot.

[Hermes Daughter]

54. Eliot was a frequent user.

They didn't have to hypnotize him. What? People here don't know that. His mistake was prosecuting the oldest profession AND using. Poor Eliot, indeed.

[B Calm]

41. Another nasty republican finger pointing

witch hunt!

[HiPointDem]

42. if it's republican, why do we find so little support from democrats? it's odd.

lots of crocodile tears for the family, but not much support for edwards. like he's the only democratic pol who ever had an affair. right.

i think it's interesting that edwards, spitzer and weiner represented the left of the party & all got discredited by scandal, with little to no support from the party.

clinton, otoh, got lots, & that attack clearly was orchestrated by the right-wing of the republican party.

[Hermes Daughter]

55. I think Clinton's support

came from the fact that his downfall was so openly orchestrated. It was pretty glaring. But remember: many on the left were furious with him.

The others were handled better. The boys seem to have gotten a hang for it over time and their handiwork is more subtle. They prey on the inherent "disloyalty" of the left to their icons. Individualism and all that (whereas the Right can see no wrong in anyone RW, preverts included).

And as to Clinton, he is "Mr Magic" -- an amazing survivor. I don't think they expected him to survive the disgrace and are furious for their failure with him.

Note that the three later reprobates all had known "flaws" that the boys in the backroom could work with. Ergo... they are bad, bad, bad...

McCain dumped his wife while she was in the hospital undergoing chemo. I forget what Newt did. Something similar. Someone should make a laundry list of public Republican perverts. OH-- I forget: we're liberals here. We don't cast stones.

HA! Look at yourselves. Take a good look in the DU mirror.

Is your self-righteous vitriol about Dems ever going to stop?

[Beacool]

60. Edwards' affair was far more distasteful.

I'm not excusing Clinton. I was pretty angry at him at the time. What he did was equally stupid, but Edwards went beyond a garden variety affair. First of all, Hillary was healthy. Clinton only received a certain service from Monica, he didn't sleep with her. Let alone do so without using protection. Bill didn't have a child with her. Bill also didn't enlist other people to assume paternity of his child. Neither did he reach out to large donors to finance the cover-up of his indiscretion.

There are plenty of men who are womanizers, and then there's Edwards. He's in a category of his own.

[Orsino]

65. Is there anything particularly Republican about this one?

Or is this just the usual circus surrounding an attractive celebrity's affairs?

[JI7]

43. i think Elizabeth was in more pain over this stuff than the Cancer

i hope she was finally able to accept and be happy with the good things in her life towards the end.

but we know overall her final years , months were horrible for her. that it should end this way. i wonder if she could have lived longer if she wasn't dealing with the personal crap.

[Botany]

52. John Edwards is a nasty person ...

.... but why is this in court?

[B Calm]

57. Because it's a republican witch hunt!

[Odin2005]

62. because he siphoned campaign money to his lover.

[RZM]

76. As already noted, it's a campaign finance case

He's accused of violating campaign finance laws.

Let's get real here. If the shoe was on the other foot and this were a Republican, DU would be happy about all of this.

I'm neither happy nor sad that Edwards is in court. I trust the system to work here. If he's not guilty, hopefully the jury will find him not guilty. If he is guilty, well then . . . tough.

What I'm wondering is why would a man with such a vast personal fortune use campaign cash for this? Couldn't he have just set up Hunter using his own dough?

[Javaman]

64. what a wake of wreckage Edwards has left. nt

[kskiska]

70. I have to wonder what John Kerry thinks of all this

I don't think he's ever commented. Edwards could have screwed him big time.

[JI7]

74. probably not surprised, Kerry didn't like Edwards before and when he picked him to be vp running

mate.