John Edwards Meets Privately with Bunny Mellon, Potential Witness in Cover Up Case

(By James Hill, The Note) - John Edwards, while facing looming criminal indictment, spent the afternoon in Upperville, Virginia, visiting one of the key players in the alleged scheme to cover-up his affair.

Multiple sources at the estate of Rachel "Bunny" Mellon confirm to ABC News that the former North Carolina senator met Mellon today for lunch at her sprawling compound in Northern Virginia.

The purpose of the visit is unclear, but it is sure to raise eyebrows with federal investigators who have spent more than two years scrutinizing Mellon's contributions to Edwards and his presidential campaign. Attorneys for Edwards did not respond to requests for comment.

Mellon, heir to a banking fortune, donated more than $4 million dollars to political organizations and non-profits tied to Edwards' 2008 run and also provided more than $700 thousand that prosecutors believe was funneled to the effort to support and seclude Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter. Mellon's attorney has described those payments as gifts and has said that Mellon was unaware of how the money was used.

Acting on a tip - ABC News cameras were outside the Mellon estate this afternoon but Edwards managed to enter and leave without being seen.

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