Probe of John Edwards’ campaign spending

Ben Smith of The Politico has the post, with links to Carolina papers, about the feds' investigation to determine whether any campaign cash from Edwards '08 was paid to the woman with whom Edwards has admitted to having an affair. 

I linked last week to a New York Post story which had exerpts from Elizabeth Edwards' new book.  Time now has more excerpts.  Elizabeth Edwards will be a guest on Oprah's show later this week.

For those of you looking at/trying to recall the timeline: 

• John Edwards was in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday, December 28, 2006 to announce he was running for president.  Here's the lengthy blog post I wrote about the event.

• According to Elizabeth Edwards, her husband told her of his "indiscretion" on Saturday, December 30, 2006.

• On March 22, 2007, John and Elizabeth Edwards announced in a news conference that her cancer had returned. 

• On March 25, 2007, the couple appeared on "60 Minutes" in an interview with Katie Couric.  Below is part of the transcript that is relevant to today's debate regarding what Elizabeth Edwards knew and when she knew it.  This "60 Minutes" interview aired about three months after Elizabeth Edwards, in her new book, says she told her husband not to run for president. (I have not read her book — titled Resilience – to see if Elizabeth Edwards asked her husband to quit the race in late March after her cancer diagnosis was made public.)

Katie Couric:
Your decision to stay in this race has been analyzed, and quite frankly judged by a lot of people. And some say, what you're doing is courageous, others say it's callous. Some say, "Isn't it wonderful they care for something greater than themselves?" And others say, "It's a case of insatiable ambition." You say?

John Edwards:
I say all of those judgments and questions are entirely legitimate. I mean, you offer yourself up for service to the country as the President of the United States, you deserve to be evaluated. I am perfectly open to that evaluation. I think that I know, when I'm running for president, I'm running for president because I want to serve this country, and because I want all people in America to have the same kind of chances that I've had.

I've come from nothing to now have everything. And I think everybody in this country, no matter who their family is, or what the color of their skin, ought to get that chance.

But, throughout this process, people will be able to see very clearly into what we do, what we say, how we behave, and they can evaluate for themselves whether they think I'm, in fact, doing this for the right reason.

We know the truth. We know the truth, but I think it's a fair judgment for Americans to make

Elizabeth Edwards:
Cancer took a lot away from us a few years ago. It took a year of my life and a lot of John's. I didn't want it to take this away not just from me but from those people who depend on our having the kind of president he would be.

Katie Couric:
Here you're staring at possible death…

Elizabeth Edwards:
Aren't we all though.

Katie Couric:
And you're thinking, "I don't want to deprive the country of having my husband lead us."

Elizabeth Edwards:
That would be my legacy wouldn't it, Katie. That I'd… that I'd… that I'd… that I'd taken out this fine man from the possibility of giving a great service. I mean, I don't want that to be my legacy..