Democrate Former Senator John Edwards' ex-mistress appears at federal courthouse  

Former democrat Senator John Edwards and 2008 presidential hopeful running on a platform of family values ex mistress Rielle Hunter will testify before a grand jury today.


(WATCH VIDEO Rielle Hunter with infant daughter)


Edwards, a former U.S. senator from North Carolina and two-time Democratic presidential candidate, is under investigation to see if campaign funds were illegally paid to Hunter, who served as a videographer on Edwards' 2008 presidential campaign.

"When you bring someone before the grand jury, you want to lock in their testimony. I think this is a pretty significant step in the investigation," said Kieran Shanahan, a former federal prosecutor.

"Some of the questions they'll be asking are how much did you get paid, who did she get that money from and the purposes for any money she received," said Joe Sinsheimer, a Democratic political consultant.

Edwards' political action committee paid Hunter's firm $100,000 for video production in a four-month span in 2006 and then paid an additional $14,086 on April 1, 2007. At the time, the PAC had only $7,932.95 in cash on hand, according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission.

That same day, according to the records, Edwards' presidential campaign paid the PAC $14,034 for what is listed as a "furniture purchase."

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