Lawyers for Edwards’ Mistress and Campaign Aide Tied to Fred Baron

Campaign Law

Lawyers for Edwards’ Mistress and Campaign Aide Tied to Fred Baron

Posted Aug 15, 2008, 04:48 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

Lawyers for John Edwards’ mistress and the man who says he is the father of her child both have ties to the Dallas trial lawyer who was chairman of the presidential candidate’s campaign finance committee.

The committee chairman, Dallas trial lawyer Fred Baron, has said he paid to relocate Rielle Hunter and the campaign aide who says he is the father of her child, Andrew Young. Baron has said he also paid Hunter’s rent for several months. He claims he did so because Hunter and Young were being hounded by tabloid reporters and he was later "shocked" to learn of Hunter's affair with Edwards.

But the New York Times has uncovered evidence that two lawyers who issued statements on behalf of Hunter and Young last December had ties to Baron, suggesting “they were part of an orchestrated effort to protect” Edwards. Hunter’s lawyer, Robert Gordon of New York, has worked with Baron on class-action personal injury cases. Young’s lawyer, Pamela Marple of Washington, D.C., represented Gordon and Baron when they were sued by an asbestos manufacturer.

The statement for Hunter denied that Edwards was the father of her child and the statement by Young said he was the father. Baron initially said he didn’t know how Marple and Gordon were selected then later told the Times that he might have played a role.

Meanwhile, the Ocala Star Banner reports that Hunter’s father was an Ocala, Fla., lawyer implicated in a scam to kill horses for insurance money. The first horse killed reportedly belonged to Hunter, who was then known as Lisa Jo Druck.

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