Edwards Grand Jury Delayed

WRAL reports:

A federal grand jury in Raleigh expected to hear the case against former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards won't meet until next week, sources tell WRAL News.

The former U.S. senator faces a possible criminal indictment if the grand jury decides enough evidence exists that he violated campaign finance laws.

When Edwards met last week with the aging donor who contributed money that was allegedly used to cover up Edwards' affair with a campaign staffer, those familiar with the case questioned the timing.

Former Edwards aide Andrew Young wrote in his tell-all book, "The Politician," that heiress Rachel "Bunny" Mellon gave Edwards a total of $700,000 as a gift. The so-called "Bunny money" helped fund the cover-up the candidate's affair with video producer Rielle Hunter, who was pregnant with the his child during the 2008 presidential campaign.

Federal agents have interviewed Mellon at least twice during the course of the investigation, sources told WRAL News. Her attorney acknowledged that Edwards visited Mellon's Virginia estate last week but told the Associated Press that they did not discuss the case.

Young told WRAL News in a 2010 interview that Edwards' campaign finance chairman, wealthy Texas lawyer Fred Baron, also financed flights and paid rent on a California home for Hunter and Young's family during the period when Young pretended to be the father of Hunter's baby.