The criminal trial of John Edwards enters its second week this morning with the wife of the prosecution's star witness expected to explain why she allowed her husband to claim paternity for the child Edwards fathered with his mistress.
Cheri Young, 38, a diminutive part-time pediatric nurse, and the wife of former Edwards aide Andrew Young, is expected to re-count the details of her role in the months long cover up of Edwards' affair with Rielle Hunter during his failed bid for the presidency in 2007-08.
During her testimony today and during later cross examination she will likely be grilled about why about $1 million of the alleged hush money ended up in her family's pockets and helped bankroll the construction of their luxurious North Carolina home.
She will be asked why she agreed to take Hunter into her home, and why she and their three children eventually joined her husband on a cross-country odyssey with Hunter to escape the media.
Perhaps most controversial will be her explanation of why she allowed her husband to claim paternity of Hunter's baby with Edwards,
Mrs. Young was called to the stand late Friday, testifying for less than 30 minutes, recalling how her husband was so devoted to John and Elizabeth Edwards that he was willing to do "anything and everything" for the Edwards family. It caused strain in the Youngs' marriage, she said, because the things he did for the Edwards family, he rarely did for his own.
Edwards is accused of using campaign donations to hide his mistress. If convicted, Edwards could be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison.
In bitterly contested testimony last week, Andrew Young said he was told that hiding Rielle Hunter was the most important job in the campaign, even after Edwards dropped out of the presidential race because he was angling for a top job, possibly vice president or attorney general.
Edwards' defense team laced into Young claiming that he used the scandal to enrich himself. They also claimed that Edwards used the money to hide Hunter from his wife, not from the government or the public.
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