the person who intentionally and on his own essentially tried to defraud the heiress bunny mellon, take her money and put it in his pocket instead of passing it to do rielle hunter. >> abby lowell pushed the point the first check came more than a month than young was aware that young was aware of the baby. >> at the time andrew young was soliciting money from bunny mellon he didn't know, couldn't know, rielle hunter was pregnant. >> reporter: strikes to the core of this case, who knew what and when and if anything was illegal. jay gray. >>> george zimmerman the man accused of murder in the death of an unarmed florida teenager raised more than $200,000 for his defense fund, his lawyer said donors contributed through a website and plans to inform the judge overseeing the case at a hearing today. zimmerman is now in hiding, due to concerns for his safety. >>> two out of three guns recovered by mexican authorities after a crime there came from the united states. 68,000 weapons over the past five years including many used by violent drug cartels were traced back to the u.s. mentixico says th

that it was john edwards' idea ultimately, to go to bunny mellon to ask her for funds that would r could wind up supporting rielle hunter that edwards knew about and had, gave guidance on how the money flow should take place in order to cover the tracks. >> reporter: when discussing the plan that funneled money through he and his wife's personal bank accounts, young said, "it was crazy. we were all scared to death and felt extremely uneasy about it." he talked about confronting edwards with news hunter was pregnant. young says that edward responded by calling young crazy and using harsh words, analysts say could come back to haunt the defense if jurors believe edwards spoke that way about the mother of his child. jay gray, nbc news, greensboro, north carolina. >>> well, the secret service is done with its probe in the colombian prostitution scandal, but there are signs of more trouble ahead. three more secret service employees lost their jobs with two resigning and a third losing his national security clearance. this morning's "washington post" reports several secret service employees wh

he testified in court earlier this week that bunny mellon had committed $1.2 million. turns out he told the fbi a while back that she had committed $900,000, and then testified to the grand jury that he -- she had committed $925,000. young also had testified that, you know, the money from bunny just kept coming, but abby lowell introduced phone records, which showed that the day before -- or the day of every check that came from bunny mellon, there were calls, at least one and sometimes multiple calls from andrew young, so that's basically what abby lowell's focus has been this morning. >> lisa, amazing, i feel like if you look up the word "sordid" you'll find this trial. thanks for staying on top of it. >> reporter: you bet. >>> coming up, the supreme showdown, how will the court's ruling on one of the controversial immigration law impact the 2012 election? >>> plus she fought toxins in california, now she's taking on the global water crisis. environmental activist erin brockovich is ahead on "andrea mitchell reports." minimize litter box odor: purina tidy cats. our p

as a way to get money for himseef..oung said no.most of given by a wealthh edwards benefactor, bunny mellon of northern virginia.mellon's checks- rrleased publicly had been endorsed by young'ss young family account.mellon -3 ended up giving 725-thousand dollars thougg the larger dispute. the edwardd defense team needs a clear time line to try to support its claim that young was enriching for llving and ttavel hunter and the baby girl fathered by was at one point, judge ination- have to exclude certain the confusinggtte time.a north carolina law proffssorrtrial defendee lowell's line of &pprof. michael rich: i think he's ddeling with a ostile, difficult witness to get answers oot of so it doesn't and 3 jury's time.wasting the court and jury's time. 3 you could soon get a check in the mail... rom your ealth the health caae reform law... that's rewarding millions of people with 1277dollar checks. ccmpanies ave to spend 80 to &p85 percent of ppemium payment things like discounted gym n pn things like marketing or administrative coots... they custtmer.if your emplooer pays for all or part f your

. >> make him out to be a scam are a -- artist, a person who tried to defraud the heiress bunny mellon, take her money put it in his pocket instead of passing it on to rielle hunter. >> reporter: young testified the plan to solicit nefunds was to cover up the pregnancy. the first check came more than a month before young was aware of the child. >> what the defense tried to hammer home at the time andrew young was soliciting money from bunny mellon, he didn't know, couldn't know, rielle hunter was pregnant. >> it strikes to the core of the case, who knew what and when and if any of it was illegal. after four days on the stand, the testimony should end soon. his wife will likely be the next witness called by the prosecution here. in greensboro, n north carolina, jay gray. >>> the secret service is investigating more prostitution after fall-out continues. an official is look into reports s that secret service employees hired prostitutes and strippers in el sal da vor last year ahead of the president's visit there. j janet napolitano believes it was an isolated incident. that scandal erupt

have to draw down on the money because he had hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank from bunny mellon asked, are you concerned people will see you as a cold blooded schemer who was motivated by greed and the need for power. >> the defense is now saying they're dirty too and that they're playing in the same sandbox. >> reporter: with the end of young's testimony, his wife sherry was called to the stand who talked almost regretfully who talked about all the different jobs he did for the edwards family. the trial is expected to pick up next week where it left off with the wife of andrew young on the stand. no word yesterday on when rielle hunter, the mistress of john edwards is expected to testify. joe johns, cnn, greensboro, north carolina. >>> celebrities and politicians together on to the red carpet. it is a glamorous night in washington. you see all the folks all gussied up, as they say, all dressed up. and we're going to carry a big portion of it live for you. kim kardashian, george clooney, they're all there, that is next. don't go anywhere. homicide of young people in america has

alsoostunning was the respon of bunny mellon -- the big money onor from northern virginia who agreedhelp because she thought edwards could rescue america. andrew young said he secured her agreement to giveehundrs ofthousands of dollars for the benefit of the camppign. no questions asked, young increasing sums, funneled through mrs. mellon's ddcoraaor and endorsed by aadrew young's wife, acccrding to young.with this money in the family account, yoong said, hh moved riiele hunter to north carolina tookeep her away from the media. she was threatening to go public, he said. he gave her a 5000 dollar a month allowance..a couple times it went up to 12,000.he rrnted a houseefor her ii his name. got herra bmw. by this time she was using an alias, young says, going by the name of jaya james.young said rielle also lived in his house with him and his wife and kids for about three weeks, which he called very difficult. he said rrelle could be very demanding. more than once he talk to edwards she was going public.and how did his wife feel about all of this? young said she was scared to death. we

one, he made clear that bunny mellon wanted nothing in return. two, he made clear that bunny melon was told these expenses were made for personal matters, not political. and, three, andrew young said john edwards told him time and time again this was perfectly lawful. so andrew young may have made out the government's case, but he also helped john edwards. >> that's what i'm wondering about. it sounds like he made the case against the prosecution by saying this isn't a political expenditure. and this wasn't intended to be such by the one who gave the money, bunny mellon, the wealthy heiress. nor was it in anyway ever described as such. it was simply a way to pay a family expenditure to keep a family problem secret. >> yes, i think it's all going to turn on how much you believe the part of andrew young's all over the map statements that says, you know, this was in john's mind a way to keep his campaign viable. that this was very crucial to his campaign because he had even after he suspended his campaign some kind of idea that he was bound to be as

have to draw down on the money, because he had hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank from bunny mellons-examination by edwards' lawyer ended with lowell quoting a line from young's book asking him, are you concerned people will see you as a cold-blooded schemer who was motivateed by ego and greed or the desire for power? young, of course i'm concerned about how people see me. lowell, isn't that exactly what you are? >> the defense is now saying, they're dirty, too, and they're playing in the same sandbox. >> reporter: with the end of young's testimony, his wife was calmed to stand who talked almost regretfully about how many different jobs her husband did for the edwards family. things he was never able to do for my family, he said. i allowed limb to do that. the trial is expected to pick up next we're whereleft off with the wife of andrew young on the stand. no word yet on when rielle hunter, the mistress of john edwards, is expected to testify. joe johns, cnn, greensboro, north carolina. >>> pirates are back on the big screen, but, ah, yes, this time no johnny depp. is this the start

the elaborate process of funneling money from bunny mellon to her.hat was edwards' reaction to young's testimony listening to the things he was saying? >> i got to tell you. the time i spent in that courtroom, i sat right behind him. i really haven't seen much reaction from john edwards at all. he is a trained trial lawyer and he acts like one sitting there even though he's the client. he doesn't show any emotion unless he does it for effect. so he's been pretty stone cold silent except for an occasional smile at an appropriate time. and that's just what you'd expect from a guy who spent so much time at the defense table. >> joe, i mean, young testified that edwards basically went shopping for a wealthy donor to support rielle hunter and asked bunny melon because she was the one who offered to pay for the $400 hair cuts. >> right. that's the way it started. the $400 hair cuts became a big dustup in the news media. and bunny melon essentially reached out and said i'll pay for the $400 hair cuts. you don't need to worry about that anymore. andrew young

then he said, they decided to try heiress rachel "bunny" mellon, who provided $725,000 in checks for what she was told was a non-campaign expense. checks written to her decorator and signed over to young's wife. >> if you believe andrew young, then i think the jury will believe that john edwards knew what was happening in terms of the money flow. >> reporter: young says five times he questioned whether the payments were legal. it all just seemed crazy. it looked and smelled wrong. but edwards assured him it was completely legal. in his tell-all book, young said the funds were gifts, entirely proper and not subject to campaign finance laws. but today he appeared to change his tune, saying the money was to influence the outcome of the election. echoing the government's allegations that they were illegal campaign contributions. young is testifying under a government grant of immunity. one of the more electric moments came when young recounted edwards reaction to learning hunter was pregnant. he said edwards used a pejorative term and said it was a one in three chance it was his child. >

donations, both from his late campaign finance director fred barron and philanthropist rachel bunny mellon of northern virginia. prosecutors say edwards used the money to cover up his affair with photographer riyal hunter and the child he fathered with her. some legal experts say edwards' lawyers will argue the money he used was personal gifts from edwards' friends. >> the individuals had to know right then it would have to be a personal gift because it couldn't be anything else. >> reporter: washington d.c. defense attorney keith waters knows edwards and says he suspects the scandalous details of edwards' personal life are fielding the prosecution of charges which don't always go to trial. >> having a porno tape with your mistress, having a baby out of wedlock, having a wife at homesick with cancer, that kind of paints him as someone with a despicable personality. that could be reason for the motivation. >> reporter: edwards faces six counts including conspiracy, receiving illegal campaign cricks and making false statements. back in february edwards' former mistress and former campaign ai

calling on bunny mellon, a billionaire heiress who had taken a liking to mr. edwards. "she volunteered an amount of $1.2 million," young said today, "to be sent over time." young also described how elizabeth edwards found out about the affair, answering her husband's phone when rielle called. but did elizabeth know that the affair continued? that is a critical question in this case. >> because if elizabeth all ready knew about the pregnancy, there is no reason to cover it up, at least not for purposes of saving the marriage. >> reporter: that's key because if edwards used campaign money to fool voters, that would be illegal. using money to hide the truth from his wife and family would not. his defense team has accused young of pocketing the cash for himself. a vigorous cross-examination of young is expected to begin tomorrow. >> reporter: i should tell you john edwards stared down andrew young as he spoke, sometimes squinting his eyes, indicating his anger and frustration. but andrew young, just stared straight ahead, never made a single eye contact with his former bos

tessified today about the mistress, rielle hunter, in 2006.that aide also introduced edwards to "bunny" mellonng at the trial offthe man accused of killing her mother, brotherrand 7-year-old nephew in a jealous rage fouu years ago..udson was the first pitness called.she told jurors her family didn't want her sister to marry william balfour --- the man accused of the killings. 3& the search .../ heightens...// for... this... six--ear-old girl... who vanished.../ arizona.../. ucson, ááisabeláá mercedes... celis.../ was... last seen friday her parents... tucked her... in bed.../. áátheyáá found... her missing... ssturday morning.../. áárelativeeáá say... the girl's bedroom window .,../ was... pushed open..../ áátoday poliieáá... extended their searcc to area landfills. they go out there in teams aad search through all the refuse that's been identified as having come from this general area and you just have to take that painstaking work of just looking through everything and making sure there's not sommthing we should be looking at harder." harder." áápoliceáá./.. wentt.. weekend, .../ ááandáá...

so even if you don't believe andrew young, why was bunny mellon funneling that money to rielle hunter really had an affinity for john edwards, and the defense maintains, these were gifts unrelated to his campaign. that's going to be the message his defense team is going to hammer throughout the rest of the five weeks this trial is supposed to take place. megyn: so they've got to get out of andrew young bunny was giving you this money, the 100-year-old donor who loved john edwards so much she would give anything to help him personally and professionally. >> it wasn't about the haircuts -- >> remember that? megyn: he got ridiculed for the $400 haircuts. megyn: she felt bad for him when she heard that and be said let me cut you a checks so you can have all the haircuts you want -- >> why would she come in now to coffer up the mistress, not to coffer up the embarrassment for elizabeth because elizabeth knew about the affair, to cover up the scandal so that he could continue the campaign. that's the fundamental issue. megyn: what is the defense going for this you were in love with him busi

using her maiden name so that gives you an idea as to how the funds of being fund melted from bunny mellon to andrew young to keep rielle hunter in hiding. the next exhibit is a note from the interior deck indicator to andrew young saying "a little table money for now. will try to make up the difference soon, go, edwards." and the case hinges whether this should be considered campaign contributions or private gifts and that is what the jury will have do decide. >>shepard: thank you, jonathan. and now arrest 30 -- arthur aidala, and criminal defense attorney randy zelin. and jonathan. >> what do you do? >>jonathan: very little. >>shepard: the key is to prove, the goal, was to hide the affair from the voting public not the wife the someone a crime, one is a sin but they trying to bring in evidence now^, the prosecution is, to show that he was actually either doing both or trying to hide from the public. we have the new things today that the most important job for the campaign is to key the affair secret. now notes and the rest. are they getting to the burden of proof? >>arthur: that is the b

>>randy: but andrew young told her that, not john edwards and he covered it up from bunny mellon and did it twice the he was so afraid he used the money to buy a new house. >>arthur: after he bought the new house. and he went to the feds and cooperation. >>randy: and the police report and he got immunity from the crimes. >>shepard: not unusual at all. >>randy: i cannot believe you. >>arthur: how many cases have you been involved where that is the only witness involved and they get a guilty plea. >>shepard: a hand -- man suspected of slaughtering his entire family could be hiding out in the woods after shooting to death his wife, 18-year-old daughter, and all the family pets, and set the family home on fire. one investigators described it as "the crime almost unbelievable evil." and, now, a manhunt for the suspect, peter keller, here is the picture, a man officials say knows how to survive in the wilderness, who may be heavily armed and no doubt extremely addition. and now the news from 30 miles outside of seattle. do we have an idea of what set him off? >>reporter: police are not tal

edwards was driving erratically after learning young had received $725,000 from wealthy donor bunny mellonr my life. it was bizarre. young told the court, i said if he won't tell the truth i was going to tell the truth. edwards responded to him you can't hurt me, andrew. you can't hurt me. defense attorney abbe lowell asked young if he had threatened edwards with exposure of the whole story. young said he and his family did everything that he, edwards, asked us to do. he completely abandoned himself from us and he walked away from us and i was extremely angry. drilling down on the cost of shepherding john edwards' mistress across the country while she was on the run from the media, andrew young admitted under cross-examination that he got hundreds of thousands of dollars more from two rich benefactors than he actually spent on hunter's expenses. defense attorney abbey lowe pressed for more. young said he had attributed expenses to rielle hunter that he actually spent on himself or his family for lavish trips to a disney cruise and trips to san diego, cabo san lucas and legoland. and they p

and does not have to drawdown on the money because he had hundreds of thousands in the bank from bunny mellon the cross-examination ended with him quoting from the book asking him, are you concerned people will see you as a cold-blooded schemer motivated by ego and greed motivated by power. young, of course i'm concerned about how people see me. lowell, isn't that where you are. >> the defense is saying they are dirty, too, playing in the same sand box. >> reporter: at the end his wife sherry called to the stand and talked almost regretfully about how many jobs her husband did for the family. things he was never able to do for our family. i allowed him to do that. the trial picks up where it left off with the wife of andrew young on the stand. no word yet on when rielle hunter, yes, he did mistress, is expected to testify. joe johns, greensboro, north carolina. >> an interesting one. in 10 minutes legal guys weigh in on john edwards corruption trial and give their take on how the testimony went. why avery friedman is dressed in a tux. i have a feeling not because he's appearing on cnn this mo

bunny mellon, the rich donor, there is evidence that she wanted them to go towards covering up this personal, this affair, and did not want them to go to campaign issues. if the jury believes that and they believe that john edwards didn't have personal knowledge of how the funds were being switched around by his aides, they will acquit him. andrew young is a star witness. the case rests on him. so i don't think there is any chance at this point of a conviction. >> well, david mentioned the personal aspect of the trial. it is not about the personal aspect, but hunt hunt will take the stand, the mistress who had the baby for senator edwards, this is how this kicked off. there is an alleged sex tape between them. and rielle hunter's legal team requested that the tape not be presented as evidence. but they are saying they want to strictly limit how much talk we hear about the tape. will the jury be able to discern and hear all of these personal allegations and accounts of what happened in this whole affair here? and be able to make a fair decision and throw that out? and do you think in the end,

outlined a complex system he said was created by edwards to collect money from rich friends including bunny mellon to help hide his then pregnant mistress rielle hunter. he testified that he said begin giving hunter an allowance in 2007 after threatening to expose their affair. >> andrew young described edwards' role as the director of this entire operation. that it was john edwards' idea ultimately to ask for funds that could wind up supporting rielle hunter, that edwards knew about and gave guidance on how the money flow should take place in order to cover the tracks. >> reporter: when discussing the intricate plan that funneled money through he and his wife's personal bank accounts, he told the court, "it was crazy, we felt extremely uneasy about it." in an explosive moment, young talked about confronting edwards with news that hunter was pregnant. edwards responded by calling hunter crazy and using an expletive. harsh words that analysts say could come back to haunt the defense if jurors believe edwards, in fact, spoke that way about the mother of his child. another key element of young's test

. >> for both, and so in court today, young admitted taking money from bunny mellon, the wealthy donorst to conquer up the affair also using it for himself. additions to his home, boats, expensive vacations. does this rock also his john edwards or succeed in making andrew young look bad? >> the defense made a real, real score today. this was a devastating attack on young. it showed really that young has admitted to being a crook. he was taking $200,000 from someone who supposedly was donating to john edwards. spending the money on his own personal expenses. so it really, really did serious damage to him. i thought it was the best day the defense has had in the case. >> all right. paul callan, thank you very much as we continue to follow that. >>> now an in depth special report here on "outfront." talking about debt collectors and this story took it to a whole new level. it's shocking. here it is. high pressure sales tactics. you remember this scene from "glengarry glen ross"? >> adding a little something to this month's sales contest. you all know first price a is cadillac el dorado? s

granted, when he went to bunny mellon and this other big -- >> fred baron-- >>> these guys thought they helping his campaign. i don't think their intention was. the only question i have not gotten a good answer to was did he run it through the campaign? >> no, he did not. >> sean: does that make a legal difference. >> it makes a legal difference in my opinion. it doesn't go through the campaign. it didn't go through his personal account. it was designed principally to keep a woman who was causing him all sorts of problems under control-- >>> it really is coom campaign related -- >> i don't think campaign related. i have been in enough campaigns, where candidates went up in the polls during periods when there were these controversies? >> bill clinton, your buddy itch it is questionable. but the voters -- the supporters, bonet and other one, clearly gave the money to help him. they believed in him for some reason. i don't know what their intentions were. >> sean: did they give the money knowing he had an affair, no. so -- >> i don't think it's their intent. it's what the money was used fo

by the way, the money came from bunny mellon and the nickname was bunny money. >> more than a millionle and the baby secret. that's like a soap opera trial. >> it's going to be juicy, no doubt. >>> some other legal news. a defense attorney for former pitching great roger clemens makes his opening statement today at clemens' perjury trial. the seven-time cy young award winner is accused of lying to congress when he said he never used steroids. in their opening statement, prosecutors called clemens a liar who told lies to cover up other lies. and after several motions, the judge admonished both sides for making their cases too complicated. >>> another big court case we're following, jennifer hudson has now testified against her former brother-in-law. the man accused of killing her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew. the oscar-winning actress and singer was first to take the stand in the chicago courtroom yesterday. she tearfully told the jury that none of them wanted her sister to marry the defendant william balfour. she said she was so close to her mom that she slept with her until