Ownership of Edwards sex tape disputed

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C., July 8 (UPI) -- Ownership -- and potential profits -- of a sex tape featuring former presidential candidate John Edwards was argued in a North Carolina courtroom.

Rielle Hunter, a campaign videographer with whom Edwards admitted to having an extramarital affair and fathering a child, claimed the tape is hers and wants it back from Andrew Young, the former Edwards aide who wrote a tell-all book about the politician's quest for the White House.

During the preliminary hearing Wednesday in the Orange County Superior Court, lawyers for Young argued Hunter had no claim to it, contending it belonged to the Edwards campaign or his political action committee, The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer reported Thursday. Trial is scheduled for September.

"What possible purpose would a campaign want -- or desire for -- a sex tape of a candidate involved in a sex act?" Judge Carl Fox asked.

Besides ownership of the tapes, attorneys argued about potential profits from the video currently in the court's custody.

Hunter's lawyers said their client should receive some of the profits from Young's book, "The Politician," because Young promoted his work by discussing the tape.

Her defense team also said Young furtively removed the tape from a fur-lined hat box where she kept her passport, childhood photographs and other personal items.

Young's lawyers said Hunter knew he had the tape months before the release of "The Politician" but only tried to reclaim it about the time the book was published, The News & Observer said.

Neither Hunter nor Young attended the hearing. Neither did Edwards, now separated from his wife and recently spotted in restaurants and night spots in the Hillsborough-Durham-Chapel Hill area, the newspaper said.