John Edwards

John Edwards' daughter, Cate Edwards, is expected to testify Tuesday in the former U.S. senator and presidential candidate's ongoing corruption trial.

Cate Edwards would be the first family member to do so.

The indicted politician's daughter, 30, broke down in tears and had to leave the courtroom earlier this month amid revelations of Edwards' misdeeds.

Her mother, Elizabeth, passed away in December 2010.

The defense began laying out its case Monday, shifting the focus from Edwards' affair with Rielle Hunter to the specifics of campaign finance law.

Judge Catherine Eagles threw out most of the proposed testimony from former Federal Election Commission Chairman Scott Thomas after prosecutors objected, arguing his opinions and past FEC rulings are irrelevant to the case.

Eagles sent the jury home as Thomas previewed his testimony, saying the use of nearly $1 million to cover up Edwards' affair with Hunter wasn't illegal.

Thomas said in his opinion, "This is a clear-cut case that the payments were not campaign contributions," and thus, did not have to be reported as such.

Former presidential hopeful John Edwards was more "a spectator than a participant" at a 2007 meeting in which his now-deceased wife, Elizabeth, railed at two political donors because they had maintained ties to his mistress, Rielle Hunter.

Jennifer Palmieri, a former aide to Edwards who is now the White House deputy director of communications under Barack Obama, said Elizabeth Edwards was angry at Fred Baron and his wife Lisa for taking Hunter on a shopping spree.

"Rielle Hunter was a loose cannon and Fred and Lisa thought it was important to keep the relationship going," Palmieri said, in describing the 2007 meeting at a hotel in Davenport, Iowa, at which she was present.

"Elizabeth just wanted Rielle out of their lives entirely," she said.

John Edwards, 58, is accused of violating federal election laws by soliciting more than $900,000 in illegal campaign contributions, mainly from Baron and heiress Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, as he pursued the presidency in 2008.

The federal government contends that he sought money to conceal the affair, knowing revelations that he was cheating on his cancer-stricken wife and had fathered Hunter's child would destroy his campaign.

John Edwards has never spoken publicly about his feelings for Rielle Hunter, but thanks to his federal corruption trial, plenty of other people are.

His former speechwriter, Wendy Button, testified Tuesday. She said Edwards admitted he loved Hunter, though the relationship was "complicated."

Edwards spoke about Hunter when answering mock questions as he practiced what he would say when admitting he fathered Rielle's love child.

"Do you love Rielle?" Button testified she asked Edwards.

With Button playing the role of a reporter, the two-time presidential hopeful said, "Yes, it's complicated." This was July 2009, according to Button.

"Do you still see her?" Button also asked. "'Yes, she's the mother of my child,'" Button says John replied. "Is the affair still going on?" she asked.

"You're not entitled to all the details," Edwards answered.

Those questions are ones Edwards, 58, could be asked again if he takes the stand at his trial. The former U.S. Senator is charged with covering up the affair and love child with the help of illegal campaign contributions from wealthy donors.

John Edwards denied his affair with Rielle Hunter to the American public but would not do so in a sworn affidavit, while his mistress wanted to claim she was abducted by aliens, according to the latest dispatches from his trial.

Mark Kornblau, who worked as John Edwards' spokesman and issued a strong denial that succeeded in keeping the Enquirer's story about Edwards' pregnant girlfriend from being picked up by the mainstream media, testified this week.

Kornblau said the story "would be a terrible outcome for Mrs. Edwards. I believed it to be untrue. Thirdly, it would be damaging to the campaign."

In an attempt to convince the Enquirer to not run the story, Kornblau had an affidavit drawn up in which Edwards denied the affair and denied paternity of Hunter's child.

But Edwards refused to sign it, he said.

In a later conversation with Kornblau, Edwards hinted that Hunter's pregnancy may have been the result of a fling with his aide, Andrew Young.

Edwards is charged with violating campaign finance laws by using more than $1 million from wealthy donors to hide his pregnant girlfriend.

He could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

Edwards' former "body man" John Davis told the court he was surprised when Hunter came to his hotel room to tell him that she and Edwards were "very much in love," and that the presidential candidate pulled him aside to say Hunter was "crazy."

Cate Edwards, the daughter of John Edwards, had to leave his trial on federal campaign violation charges yesterday after some upsetting revelations.

She walked out of the courtroom, crying, as a witness started to describe an argument between her parents after a tabloid reported her dad's affair.

The former U.S. Senator faces charges of illegally using campaign contributions to cover up his affair with Rielle Hunter while running for president.

Former Edwards aide Christina Reynolds testified about the day in 2007 when John and Elizabeth Edwards learned of the National Enquirer's report.

They were at the airport, and "Elizabeth was very upset... She was very vocal," Reynolds said. "She stormed off and collapsed into a ball in the parking lot."

After aides helped Elizabeth Edwards get back to her feet and led her to a nearby restroom, "She seemed a little calmer," said Reynolds, "then stormed out of the bathroom and tried to engage Mr. Edwards."

In an emotional outburst, Elizabeth reportedly told her husband, "You don't see me any more," and tore off her shirt and bra on the spot.

John Edwards "didn't have much of a reaction."

When John Edwards first learned Rielle Hunter was pregnant with his child, he reacted with disbelief and harsh words, according to former aide Andrew Young.

"She's a 'crazy slut,'" Young says Edwards told him.

Testifying Tuesday in the second day of Edwards' criminal trial, Young recalled delivering the news to the politician in mid-2007 that Rielle was preggers.

Describing their phone call, Young testified, "He was very concerned. He was very angry ... [Edwards] said, 'There's a one-in-three chance' [the child] was his."

Young, who at one point claimed to be the father of Hunter's love child to protect the Democratic presidential candidate, is the government's star witness.

The former U.S. senator is charged with illegally using campaign contributions to cover up his affair with Rielle Hunter while he sought the presidency.

Hunter, who shares parenting responsibilities with Edwards for their daughter Frances Quinn, is also expected to testify in the six-week bombshell trial.

Former aide Andrew Young, the star witness in the trial of former presidential candidate John Edwards, began his testimony against his former boss Monday.

Edwards is accused of using hundreds of thousands of dollars from 101-year-old Rachel "Bunny" Mellon and Fred Baron to conceal his affair with Rielle Hunter.

Young, testifying as the first witness Monday, said Mellon was an enthusiastic supporter who apologized for not being able to give more than $1 million.

"She said she was close personal friends with Senators John and Bobby Kennedy and felt like Edwards was the best combination of them," Young testified.

Prosecutors say Edwards broke federal law by accepting about $725,000 from Mellon and more than $200,000 from Fred Baron, a now-deceased Texas lawyer.

The money was used to pay for Rielle Hunter's living and medical expenses, travel and accommodations to quash the scandal while he sought the presidency.

Edwards is accused of concealing the money from the public and the Federal Election Commission, which polices political contributions, in the 2008 campaign.

Former presidential candidate U.S. Senator John Edwards goes on trial Monday on charges he used illegal campaign contributions to cover up an affair.

Rielle Hunter became pregnant during his failed bid for the 2008 Democratic nomination and Edwards, with the help of aide Andrew Young, concealed it.

John Edwards is accused of accepting more than $900,000 in campaign funds from two wealthy donors, with the hope of burying the love child scandal.

The politician did this knowing the exposure of his extramarital affair "would destroy his presidential campaign," prosecutors said in a pre-trial brief.

The candidate at the time was a married father of three whose wife, Elizabeth Edwards, had terminal breast cancer. She passed away in December 2010.

Jurors will hear opening statements at the federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C., this morning. Edwards, 58, is accused of conspiring to solicit money.

By receiving more than the $2,300 allowed from any one donor, and failing to report the payments as contributions, prosecutors say he broke the law.

He faces six felony counts, each carrying a sentence of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Edwards insists he broke no laws throughout.

The scandal that derailed John Edwards' career, shattered his image as a devoted family man and led to his indictment is now set to play out in federal court.

The former Democratic presidential candidate is fighting allegations that he violated federal campaign finance laws during his 2008 bid for the White House.

Prosecutors contend he secretly obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars from two wealthy supporters to hide his affair and love child with Rielle Hunter.

John Edwards Trial Begins

Hunter, was a campaign videographer who gave birth to their daughter, Frances Quinn, at a time when Edwards’ wife, Elizabeth, was battling breast cancer.

Elizabeth Edwards passed away in late 2010.

The alleged donors were Fred Baron, a wealthy Texas lawyer who is no longer alive, and Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, a wealthy 101-year-old benefactor.

They supposedly provided more than $900,000 in living expenses for Rielle Hunter, who is not expected to testify at the trial of the ex-U.S. Senator.

The sex tape featuring John Edwards and Rielle Hunter going at it will be destroyed as part of a settlement between Hunter and ex-Edwards aide Andrew Young.

The imminent destruction of sex tapes featuring Edwards and Hunter was mandated as per the agreement between Rielle, Edwards' ex-plaything, and Young.

Orange County, N.C., Superior Court Judge Carl Fox on Thursday signed the settlement agreement between Andrew Young, his wife and Rielle Hunter.

Hunter sued the pair, who ended up with the John Edwards sex tape somehow.

Hunter accused Andrew and Cheri Young of invasion of privacy, and sought to reclaim "materials" she said belong to her, including personal photos and the sex tape.

While the settlement addresses the transfer and destruction of videos, photos and other documents, no money was awarded and the Youngs admit no liability.

The court clerk has the honor of physically destroying the sex tape.

Meanwhile, the Youngs must make a good-faith effort to ensure that the copy of the video that they gave to the U.S. government is likewise destroyed.

The former aide will get back his family videos and pics, though they can't monetize any including Rielle Hunter or her daughter, Edwards' love child.