Posted by
Roxanna M. on Friday, August 15, 2008 10:07:57 AM
Fred Baron, John Edwards' national finance chairman and a "wealthy Dallas-based trial attorney", has apparently been "quietly" sending money to Mr. Edwards' former mistress. Mr. Edwards claims no knowledge of this. Of course he doesn't.
If Mr. Baron is the one sending the money, why? There are denials that this is campaign cash. There are denials that this money from Mr. Edwards. So, why is Mr. Baron sending his own money -- some $3-$8 million, or so I've heard -- to his boss's former mistress?
There are no claims that Mr. Baron is the father, so this money is not child support. There's no divorce involved, so this is not spousal support/alimony, which is a taxable event to the recipient. And, Mr. Baron has already admitted that Ms. Hunter was not working for the campaign when he began sending her money.
Curiouser and curiouser.
Since these payments are not child support, spousal support or income, they must be gifts, in which case Mr. Baron must report them on his taxes and pay the gift tax, which means that he's going to have to pay more on top of what he's already paid out.
So, here we are left with the questions: Why has Mr. Baron been sending money to Ms. Hunter? Are we really supposed to believe that he's doing this out of the goodness of his heart out of his own pocket?
More importantly, is hush money counted as ordinary income for tax purposes?