ShareThisHILLSBOROUGH, N.C. - Rielle Hunter, the videographer who had an extramarital affair and child with John Edwards, has accused the man who once falsely claimed to be her baby's father of secretly slipping sealed court documents to federal prosecutors.
Hunter is in a legal tussle with Andrew Young, the former Edwards aide who agreed to pretend to be the child's father to protect the presidential candidate.
Hunter, Young and his wife, Cheri -- who all once lived together while hiding from National Enquirer reporters -- are arguing over ownership of a videotape that purportedly shows Edwards and Hunter having sex. Their battle over the tape and other property went into Orange County Superior Court in 2010, when Hunter filed a lawsuit against the Youngs, who now live outside Chapel Hill, N.C.
Attorneys for the Youngs deposed Edwards for nearly six hours in February while he was under oath -- a question-and-answer session from which any videotapes and transcripts were supposed to sealed from public scrutiny.
But in documents filed Thursday in Orange County Superior Court, Hunter's attorneys accuse the Youngs and their lawyers of violating that protective order.
Hunter's attorneys contend that confidential information from the deposition with Edwards was secretly provided to federal investigators without Hunter's "knowledge, input or consent." Her legal team learned of this July 14 during a federal court hearing in Greensboro.
Prosecutors told the judge presiding over a hearing in the criminal case against Edwards the government was "somewhat constrained" in what they could disclose to defense attorneys about how investigators "obtained certain documents," in particular those from the Hunter-Young case.
Hunter's attorneys talked with prosecutors privately after that hearing.
"Through that discussion, it became clear that confidential materials from this civil case -- protected by this Court's protective orders -- had been provided by the Youngs and/or their counsel to lawyers for the government without Ms. Hunter's knowledge input or consent," Alan W. Duncan, an attorney for Hunter, wrote in the document filed Thursday. "It further was evident that although the government had received confidential materials through the Youngs and/or their counsel, the government had not provided the documents to the Edwards defense."
Though federal prosecutors could obtain documents under seal, there have been no hearings on that in state court. If the Youngs or others turned over such documents without a court order, lawyers say, they could be found in contempt.
A hearing on the allegations is set for July 29 in Orange County court.
Efforts to reach the Youngs' attorneys were unsuccessful.
Edwards, 58, is accused of violating campaign finance laws by using contributions from two wealthy supporters to hide his relationship with Hunter and her pregnancy during his unsuccessful bid for president in 2008. Edwards dropped out of the Democratic primary in January 2008.
Edwards has said he did not break the law.
(Contact Anne Blythe at anne.blithe(at)newsobserver.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Must credit The News and Observer of Raleigh, N.C.
