Former senator John Edwards is trying to have his trial delayed (again), this time citing an undisclosed medical issue. CNN’s Erin Burnett sat down with network legal contributor Paul Callan (And with a bottle of booze on her desk. Get it, girl.) to discuss this latest wrinkle in the case against Edwards.

As this campaign finance cycle comes to a close, presidential candidates are required by FEC rules to disclose their budgets and spending, and nearly every candidate’s expensive will generate their own headline. Yesterday, it was the unexpected closing of Newt Gingrich‘s Tiffany’s credit line. Today, it’s something that, with traction, could do harm to a campaign of legitimate viability: Rep. Michele Bachmann‘s, as the disclosures show a surge in hair and makeup spending unprecedented in her career.

What does a politician do with his days after being disgraced in public, indicted on federal charges and losing a wife that left video testimony against him for his upcoming trial? Spend a lot of time with his late loved ones, according to a recent profile of former Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards. Daily Beast writer Michelle Cottle spent Edwards’ birthday in his native Chapel Hill, where residents noted he was so despised he was mostly seen alone these days, by tour guides at the local cemetery.

He’s smiling, but probably not too happy inside. Former Democratic vice presidential nominee and presidential candidate John Edwards‘ mugsot has been released after he pleaded not guilty last week to conspiracy and campaign law violations. A federal grand jury indicted Edwards on six counts, including conspiracy, making false statements, and violating campaign contribution laws. The case stems from alleged payments made in an attempt to cover up Edwards’ affair with Rielle Hunter.

Elizabeth Edwards, who passed away from cancer in early December of last year, has left a damning video testimony highlighting what she knew about her husband John Edwards‘ extramarital affair with his former campaign worker, Rielle Hunter … this, at least, according to an exclusive by The National Enquirer, the publication that first broke the story of Edwards’ affair and subsequent child with Hunter.

With all the scandals to have hit American politics in the 21st century, it’s sometimes hard to keep all these disgraced politicians straight. Luckily, Rachel Maddow put all the data together on one handy chart– the Post Bill Clinton Modern American Political Sex Scandal Consequence-O-Meter, the X-axis representing potential legal problems and the Y-axis representing the creepiness factor of their behavior.

With the legal noose swiftly tightening around former Democratic Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards, it is likely many are having a hard time keeping his woes with the court separate from his manifold moral shortcomings. On ABC’s World News Tonight, George Stephanopoulos and Mediaite founder and ABC legal analyst Dan Abrams discussed how the court will likely sort out the illegal from the immoral, and what money transfers are in dispute.

Former Senator John Edwards, who was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2008, has entered a not guilty plea in a North Carolina courtroom, telling reporters he’s sorry for what he has done, but he has broken no law. “There’s no question I’ve done wrong,” Edwards told reporters outside the courthouse. “And I will regret for the rest of my life the pain and the harm that I have caused to others. But I did not break the law, and I never ever thought I was breaking the law.”

Former Senator and Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards has been indicted by a federal grand jury in North Carolina, accused of six counts–conspiracy, four counts of illegal campaign contributions, and one count of false statements. The indictment was returned Friday morning–the most dramatic step in a two year investigation into charges Edwards used campaign donations to keep his mistress out of sight during the 2008 presidential campaign.

Judge Andrew Napolitano spoke with Martha MacCallum earlier today about the developments in the criminal case against former presidential candidate John Edwards. MacCallum described it as an “incredible fall from grace” and the Judge felt that the government’s case is so strong, regardless of a plea or trial, Edwards is likely to be behind bars for at least some time.

ABC News reports this morning that Justice Department officials have given the green light on criminal charges to be filed against former presidential candidate John Edwards. Citing sources, ABC reports the charges will involve alleged violations of campaign finance laws. The violations involve more than one million dollars in donations to Edwards from wealthy supporters–money allegedly used to cover up an affair with a campaign staffer.

The fast-moving investigation into former presidential candidate John Edwards and charges he orchestrated an elaborate coverup of his affair with campaign worker Rielle Hunter will soon reach a “day of reckoning,” ABC’s investigative correspondent Brian Ross on Good Morning America. A federal grand jury has been investigating Edwards, and a decision could come soon on whether Edwards will face criminal charges. “The moment of truth does seem to be fast approaching for Edwards,” said Ross on GMA Friday.

North Carolina television station WTVD-TV has obtained voicemail messages “purportedly left by John Edwards” that a former aide says prove Edwards orchestrated the cover up his affair with campaign worker Rielle Hunter. The recordings were turned over to a federal grand jury that’s investigating the former senator and presidential candidate.

Edwards has admitted to having an affair with Hunter and fathering a daughter with her.

News outlets are abuzz over a report that John Edwards has proposed to Rielle Hunter, his former mistress with whom he had a child, just a few weeks after the death of his wife, Elizabeth. The interesting thing is that the initial report came from the National Enquirer. The tabloid famously was the first to break the story of Edwards’ affair and child, so the media has seemingly collectively decided that Enquirer stories of Edwards and Hunter are the only ones they’ll “deign” to cover.

While the gender-based political attack du jour deals with the sowing end of the seed spectrum, maternity has suddenly become fertile ground for at least one candidate. At an Oklahoma gubernatorial debate last week, Rep. Mary Fallin (R-OK) touted her 6-0 childrearing advantage over opponent Jari Askins (D-OK), causing cries of “Low blow!” to come sweeping down the plain. Asked what distinguished her from Askins as a candidate, Fallin replied “I think my experience is one of the things that sets me apart as a candidate for governor. First of all, being a mother, having children, raising a family.”

It’s been a while since we’ve heard any news on that John Edwards sextape that nobody wants to see. Yet the saga rages on, as the implausibly coveted tape returns to a North Carolina courtroom for a hearing. Rielle Hunter, the mistress featured in the allegedly racy video, is suing the former aide Andrew Young to “reclaim the video she made.” According to the AP, she “thinks the tape was taken from a box of her personal belongings.” To make matters queasier, the judge will reportedly “view a DVD this morning containing images related to [the case].”

Conservative website World Net Daily has scored another meta-exclusive, announcing that World Net Daily has “dumped” lightning rod Ann Coulter over a “Homoconflict.” CEO Joseph Farah told his own website that it would be dropping Coulter as keynote speaker at its “Taking Back America” conference because she has agreed to headline GOProud‘s Homocon 2010.

The trials of John Edwards continue. Literally and figuratively. Today’s newscycle is such that Edwards debacles may seem like a bit of a distant memory, but the philandering former Presidential candidate is still in court tangling over access to the sex tape he allegedly made with Rielle Hunter, his former mistress and mother of his child.

The national media have been much quicker to report on the National Enquirer-driven Al Gore sex scandal than they were the John Edwards story, both of which featured underpinnings of traditional journalism, such as named sources, documents, and in Edwards’ case, photographs. It may surprise some, then, that quick-to-lecture-on-journalism Politics Daily Chief Editor Melinda Henneberger is peddling a new rumor about Gore, with a single anonymous source. (h/t Drudge and Washington Examiner)

The New Republic just published a piece by Gabriel Sherman documenting how John Edwards spends his endless hours of spare time now that his political career has been chucked in the wood chipper. Jogging on the beach in North Carolina, taking lengthy lunch breaks at Wendy’s, and partying with drunk Duke coeds are just a few of his hobbies. Sound familiar?

Over the weekend the National Enquirer published an “exclusive” story claiming President Obama had had an affair in 2004. Drudge ran it as its lede, giving the story a level of attentionit probably shouldn’t have received. When reached for clarification, the National Enquirer is standing by their story.

The story of John Edwards‘ affair with Rielle Hunter seems to have raised a media meta-quandary about how to treat stories reported by The National Enquirer. Should we report on them? Should we report that they’re being reported? Throw in a Drudge link to an already explosive rumor like, say, the President covering up an affair with a former campaign staffer, and it’s damn near irresistible. There is a responsible way to cover something like this

The National Enquirer, which published a report this morning that “investigators are attempting to obtain a tape” that proved an illicit rendezvous between President Barack Obama and former US Senate campaign staffer Vera Baker, has updated their story this afternoon to retract the claim that there is video evidence of the affair with the alleged testimony of an anonymous chauffeur. Looks like the National Enquirer Obama sex scandal is unraveling rather quickly.

Chaos in Arizona, an oil spill the size of Rhode Island, and now this on the eve of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner: the National Enquirer published a story last night claiming that President Barack Obama was caught having an affair with a former campaign staffer at a Washington hotel, and they might have the tape to prove it. (UPDATE: Enquirer retracts video claim)

Rielle Hunter made her much-promoted appearance, flatteringly lit, on Oprah Winfrey today to discuss her long and sorted (Pulitzer Prize eligible) relationship with the Edwards family. Nothing terribly jaw-dropping was revealed (mostly because it had already been revealed…again and again!) though there are a couple of the exchanges that will likely set the morning talks shows on fire for the next few days.