Edwards Knuckles Up for Iowa Caucus

... and he's apparently flirting right back

(NEWSER) - The jury in the John Edwards trial is deliberating for the sixth day, but most of the buzz today is centered on one of four alternate jurors. It's almost too hard to believe:

• ABC News : "... it has been impossible to ignore the dynamic between Edwards and one of the female alternates, an attractive young woman with jet-black hair, who seems to have been flirting with Edwards for days. The juror clearly instigated the exchanges. She smiles at him. He smiles at her. She giggles. He blushes."

Neither he nor Reille Hunter will testify

(NEWSER) - The John Edwards trial will wrap up relatively short on drama: His defense team rested its case today after a little more than two days, opting not to call Edwards himself, daughter Cate, or former mistress Rielle Hunter to the stand, reports CNN . Closing arguments are tomorrow, and jury deliberations should begin on Friday. The AP reads the defense team's move as a "sign of confidence." More»

Defense: prosecution's argument could allow abortions on campaign's dime

(NEWSER) - Bill Clinton wondered about the meaning of "is" when talking to the grand jury vis-a-vis Monica Lewinsky in 1998; now John Edwards' defense team is building its case around the word "the," reports ABC News . The statute at the heart of the case refers to campaign cash designated "for the purpose of influencing any election for federal office." In this case, the word "the" suggests that the money was spent in order to influence the election, say Edwards' lawyers, who argue that Edwards' main intention in hiding Rielle Hunter was to keep knowledge of her existence from his wife. More»

He also pushed to be Obama's VP or attorney general

(NEWSER) - The prosecution rested its case today in the John Edwards trial, with testimony providing a glimpse at just how sky-high his political ambitions were just a few years ago, notes Politico :

• Vice president: As soon as he lost the Iowa caucuses in 2008, he reached out to Barack Obama's camp to trade his endorsement for the VP slot. He didn't contact Hillary Clinton because he thought a presidential victory by her would be a "disaster," said former Edwards adviser Leo Hinderly.
• Supreme Court: If he didn't get the VP slot, he talked about becoming attorney general, with the larger ambition of landing a seat on the Supreme Court.

Prosecution to rest without calling Rielle Hunter

(NEWSER) - Until he finally came clean, John Edwards' dying wife desperately continued to believe his claims that he hadn't fathered a child with mistress Rielle Hunter, a former aide said at his trial yesterday. Jennifer Palmieri testified that she told her close friend Elizabeth Edwards that she believed John was lying, but that Elizabeth "did not want to believe" that was the case, the Washington Post reports. Sobbing openly in court, Palmieri—who cut her ties to Edwards after he lied throughout a 2008 interview —described Elizabeth's tormented last days before she died of breast cancer in 2010. More»