John Edwards Affair: How the Enquirer Beat Edwards in His Biggest Trial

Court of Public Opinion:
How the National Enquirer beat John Edwards in the biggest trial of his life





NE vs. JE


Clinton resurrectionist and spin doctor, Lanny Davis, wrote a book on resurrecting Bill Clinton, subtitled "Tell it early, Tell it all, Tell it yourself".

That Davis subtitle is an effective blueprint for dealing with public scandal.

John Edwards could've used that book two weeks ago, as his fifteen-minute confession to ABC's Bob Woodruff was debunked almost before it even aired, and may go down in history as the benchmark for insincere attempts at avoiding consequences of one's actions.

"What a strange and insincere admission," mused some.

"The timeline's doesn't match known events," said others.

Still others claimed Edwards had injected Botox into his face to prevent him from telegraphing true emotion that could be analyzed by experts.

[Background information: access over 100 DBKP stories on the John Edwards-Rielle Hunter affair, scandal and cover-up: John Edwards Love Child Scandal Library.]

John Edwards had been beaten by an opponent that had read his playbook and had analyzed every game he ever played. Not only had the Enquirer set the trap to collect evidence on Edwards, they laid the groundwork for Edwards to paint himself into a corner from which his political career and public image could never escape intact.

Edwards constructed an elaborate cover up, based on classic Prisoner's Dilemma game theoryif everyone kept their mouth shut and denied the facts until the end of time, nothing could be proven, and minimum penalties would accrue.

But there were too many players for Edwards to control, and in the end his website-scrubbing team of political cleanup hitters vastly underestimated both the sheer volume of evidence connecting Edwards to Rielle Hunter, and the sheer flakiness of his girlfriend and her network of yoga-loving, Hollywood wannabes.

But, there were two masterstrokes on the part of the National Enquirer: the first being the strategic underrepresentation of collected evidence; and the second being the blurred presentation of the "spy photo" of "former presidential contender holding his infant daughter, Frances Quinn Hunter, at the Beverly Hilton hotel".

The Enquirer resurrected its Edwards Lovechild story on July 21 with eight-month-old stock photography and vague references of confirming sources. Edwards probably knew he'd left some evidence behind. Had he wiped all his fingerprints clean from the inside of the basement restroom door of the Beverly Hills Hilton? He left the restroom under guard with his coat covering his head… was there a telltale watch, freckle or scar? Had Enquirer photographers managed to take his picture in the brief moment before he'd run to the restroom?

Edwards needed more information before he made his next move and he curtailed public appearances, and refused comment other than to decry the "lies told by tabloid trash", a move cited widely by his supporters as a denial.

Then the other shoe fell.




The Enquirer ran the blurry "spy photo" of John Edwards holding the baby. Was it real? Was it fake?

Many Scandal followers cried "fake" in unison at a photo with the potential to be anyone from Bronson Pinchot to Janet Reno cradling, what was not necessarily, a human baby.

But John Edwards' heart had stopped.

He knew the photo was one of him holding the baby at the same hotel--only it had been taken five months earlier. Most likely it had been snapped on March 20, 2008, when Edwards had filmed a late night television appearance for The Tonight Show in California.

Edwards was exposed--or was he?

Was this the best evidence the Enquirer had to offer? Apparently, their July 21 pictures had been useless and this photo… Well, this photo could be anything that John claimed it was.

Maybe this fight wasn't over.

An image professional I consulted was able to quickly approximate the "John Edwards love child" effect using Adobe Photoshop and a three step combination (1. Smart Blur, 2. Pixellate Mosaic, and 3. Sharpen/Unsharpen mask) turning a crystal clear and good photo into a inconclusive 'spy photo'. Watching him repeat the effect in seconds on three separate photos immediately convinced me that the Enquirer was playing possum.

But Edwards' inner circle had either given him bad analysis of the March 20 photos, or he chose to ignore it, relying on his courtroom instincts. Anyone who's ever set up a video camera system can tell you how hard it is to capture a license plate, and Edwards apparently concluded that the Enquirer's photos of him holding Frances Quinn were either poorly lit or somehow corrupted.

And so Edwards laid out his confessional strategy based on the assumption that he had a leak that was not Rielle Hunter, but the Enquirer probably had nothing other than a blurry picture.

The "Confession"



There were three important parts to the confession.

1. The affair was over before he announced his run for the 2008 presidency;

2. His wife, Elizabeth, was at peace with the turn of events and had full knowledge of the event during his 2008 campaign; and,

3. He'd admit he had a 'liason' with that woman, but he wouldn't admit a sexual relationship, paternity, or anything that could possibly bite him in the buttocks later in court.

The rest is history.

One of the least-sincere and least-believable confessions in public memory, newsmen everywhere retrieving Rielle Hunter photos that busted the timeline, plus a widespread public revulsion at the realization that, not only had Elizabeth Edwards' illness been exploited for political gain, she had been a willing co-conspirator in the cover-up.


John Edwards has a final chance at redemption, but time is of the essence.

Edwards has to come forth immediately, tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

He must then immediately enter a legitimate private rehabilitation center for either drug abuse or sexual addiction (doesn't matter which). Over time, he can gradually resume public life, maybe even starting a foundation to help deadbeat dads make amends.

Eventually Elizabeth and Rielle can even learn to be family. Would Jack and Emma love to have a little sister?

Let the healing begin.

Again.

by dossier
images: dbkp file; unbossed; National Enquirer

Lee Rohn: Cocaine, Controversy and Dropping the F-Bomb

There’s Something About Lee




Richard Nixon once said that if it hadn’t been for her, there wouldn’t have been a Watergate.

He wasn’t referring to the ubiquitous Deep Throat; he meant Martha Mitchell. The “Mouth of the South” wife of then-Attorney General John Mitchell who went down in flames for his role in the Watergate saga.

Martha Mitchell was a tragic figure whose infamous, midnight phone calls to reporters became the talk of Washington. Back then, she was widely derided as delusional and a lush; she provided the comic relief in an otherwise tawdry tale.

Yet poor, befuddled Martha had the last laugh when many of her allegations were subsequently proved true. Martha had long been known for her scissor like tongue, and this poem was written in her high school yearbook. Who could have guessed how prescient it would prove to be:

“I love its gentle warble,
I love its gentle flow,
I love to wind my tongue up
And I love to let it go.”

[Background information: access over 100 DBKP stories on the John Edwards-Rielle Hunter affair, scandal and cover-up: John Edwards Love Child Scandal Library.]

In the bizarre story of John Edwards and Rielle Hunter and its peripheral players, trial attorney Lee Rohn of St. Croix may turn out to be the Martha Mitchell in this curious tale. The National Enquirer reported (and Rohn vehemently denied) that Hunter initially stayed at Rohn’s oceanfront manse.

The selection of Hunter's hideaway is an odd choice, considering that Rohn is currently on trial--after many appeals and delays--for felony possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

In March of 2003, airport drug scanners found marijuana in her tennis shoe. When apprised of this discovery, officials testified that Rohn asked them to “look the other way”. She finally admitted that the drug was for her boyfriend’s sick father (the Good Samaritan defense?).


Still, it’s curious that Rohn would pop up in this story. Or maybe not, given her connection to Edwards (more about that later).

Rohn and controversy seem to go hand in hand. Back in 1982, in Austin, Texas, Rohn was arrested for cocaine possession, but a grand jury declined to indict due to “insufficient evidence”. Litigious by nature and not merely by profession, records show that while representing a client in a slip and fall case against Wal-Mart, the opposing counsel asked the court to sanction Rohn for using the F-bomb and other unseemly, injudicious conduct.


Now housed and practicing in St. Croix, Rohn’s critics have alleged “a wide spectrum of professional conduct violations” such as “judge shopping”. Rohn has sued one company (Innovative Communications Corp. and its subsidiaries, which include the local newspaper) over 25 times. In turn, Rohn has become a gadfly in the judicial ointment, going so far as to accuse one district judge, Thomas Moore, of “inappropriate behavior on the bench.” Rohn and Moore have a long history; in 1999, Moore sanctioned Rohn for her use of profanity and improper behavior toward other attorneys and expert witnesses. (Guess he won’t be inviting her to his next birthday gala).

So, how in the heck did Rielle Hunter supposedly come to stay at Lee Rohn’s pad?

Apparently Lee Rohn is a “very good friend” and colleague of--you don’t say?--John Edwards.

Poverty Champ Edwards & Corruption Fighter Spitzer

Talk about six degrees of separation. In the summer of 2006, Lee Rohn received an award from the American Association for Justice (Rohn is also a former and present Board of Governor). The keynote speaker for the event was John Edwards.

In a double play for the ages, then-New York Attorney General--and now disgraced Ex-Governor--Eliot Spitzer received the Community Champion Award “for his leadership fight against those who commit consumer fraud, as well as his battle against corruption on behalf of all the citizens of the United States.”

I bet that must have made for some interesting…small talk?

by CB
images: lawyers.com; AP; dbkp file