An outraged Elizabeth Edwards railed at one of her husband's most loyal donors, incensed that he had befriended and were providing for her husband's mistress, despite assurances that John Edwards had ended his affair with Rielle Hunter, a former campaign staffer testified today.
Elizabeth Edwards was unaware when she confronted Fred Baron and wife Lisa Blue in an Iowa, hotel in October 2007, that not only had Edwards not ended the affair but that his mistress was pregnant, said Jennifer Palmieri.
Palmieri, who now works for the Obama White House, was the communications director for Edwards' presidential campaign, but she was also a close friend of Elizabeth Edwards.
She recounted the tense meeting during Edwards' trial for allegedly illegally using campaign donations to hide his mistress.
"I believe John called me and asked me to come to (his) room because Elizabeth was very upset," Palmieri testified.
Elizabeth was "very upset" because she learned Baron and wife Lisa Blue were in touch with Hunter, even paying for a shopping spree in Los Angeles.
"All of this was news to Elizabeth," Palmieri said. "In her mind she and John had spoken about" the affair and she thought it was over.
"She didn't understand … why Fred and Lisa would be in contact with Rielle," Palmieri said, adding that Elizabeth believed their patronage would make it look like Edwards was continuing his affair.
John Edwards Trial: Witness on Secret Funds
Watch Video John Edwards Trial: Focus Shifts to Rielle Hunter
Watch Video "It makes John look more and more guilty," Palmieri recalled Elizabeth saying. Baron and Blue explained their relationship with Hunter as a means to keep her under control and from talking to the media.
"You have to keep your friends close and your enemies closer," Palmieri recalled Blue telling Elizabeth, adding that Blue called Hunter a "loose cannon."
As Elizabeth yelled, John remained quiet seeming "more a spectator than a participant." She added, referring to John Edwards reticence, "I found it a little unnerving."
Elizabeth Edwards died of cancer in December 2010.
Hunter remains the focus of much of the testimony heard in the two weeks since the trial began, though it remains unknown whether she will take the stand herself.
The prosecution is near the end of its case, raising questions by observers: have they succeeded in tying Edwards' mistress cover up to campaign funds, and will Hunterbe called as a witness
The court expects to find out by the end of today whether prosecutors will call Hunter to the stand. The prosecution has said it intends to wrap up its case by Thursday.
"There is one person who seems to be at the center of all of this, these spinning planets, and that's Rielle Hunter," Steve Friedland, professor of law at Elon University, told ABC News.
But there is a risk in calling Hunter.
"She can tie it together for them. Of course, what's come out, she may be unreliable and who knows what she might say on the witness stand," Friedland said.
And there are risks of not calling her.
"If they don't call her, she will probably be called by the defense. So, in all likelihood, they will have to call her given that she is the glue here. The jury may figure, why are they not calling her?" Friedland said.
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