edwards' lawyers say it was gifts from old friends intended to keep the affair street from elizabeth edwards who died back in december. first, joe johns lays out how all of this mess began. >> reporter: john edwards, the politician. remember him? >> we have much work to do. because the truth is, we still live in a country where there are two different americas. >> reporter: as it turned out, mr. two americas had two very different faces himself. people close to him said it was the face of betrayal. betrayal of the people closest to him. his late wife, elizabeth, supporters, his staffers, his contributors. grant it, he was a promising politician at first. rich trial lawyer, but a spokesman for the poor. smart but homegrown. talked such a good game, he good picked up as john kerry's running mate in 2004. >> i have chosen a man who understands and defends the values of america. >> reporter: but it didn't work out, so next election cycle, edwards jumped into the race for the white house once again. by early 2008 -- >> it's time for me to step aside. >> reporter: he was out. but not before getting entangled in a messy relationship with a woman named rielle hunter. she eventually gave birth to edwards' child. edwards at first denied having the affair and then denied being the father. last year he finally admitted it. the story reached a sleazy low point when a video surfaced that purportedly showed the two having sex. it took eight months before edwards' wife, elizabeth, learned the extent of the affair. and before she died last year, she went public with her feelings in a book and numerous tv appearances. >> maybe it was that 30-year investment i had in my marriage or that i could not separate the flawed man before me. >> reporter: the death of elizabeth edwards might have been the end of the story, but there has yet to be a full public accounting. edwards raised $43.9 million in campaign money for his bid for the white house. where some of it came from and where it went has been scrutinized. rielle hunter worked for the campaign and got paid. questions have been raised whether funds may have been used to keep the affair quiet. andrew young said he was persuaded to claim hunter's child was his own and he went to great lengths to help conceal the affair. >> this was john edwards' idea from the beginning. >> reporter: which brings us back to the golden boy. something like this could never have been part of the plan. >> an extraordinary rise and fall. candy crowley joins me now with jessica yellin and jeffrey toobin. jeff, obviously the point of a grand jury is to keep things secret. on the other hand, the indications that this case is coming to a head tomorrow are coming from a source that cnn feels comfortable relying on. how strong is the case against john edwards and what are they looking at? >> this is a paradoxical situation. here he is, his wife is dying, he has this affair. they construct this ridiculous story that andrew young, the aide, is the father. and they get all this money together to give to rielle hunter. that's a very ugly, unappealing story. what is unclear is whether it's a crime. because this is potentially a violation of the federal election act, and the federal election laws are rarely used in criminal prosecutions. and whether this money was a campaign contribution or simply a ruse to take -- to deceive his wife, having nothing to do with this campaign, that's the factual and legal question that if there's a trial, will be probably the central issue in the case. >> so he could go to trial theoretically, if he's in fact charged tomorrow, and argue that, well, i wasn't misusing this money. i was using it to protect my sick wife. >> exactly. he's saying look, this wasn't a campaign contribution. this money from fred barren, who was a texas trial lawyer, who has since died, this was money that i was using to try to keep my family together in some way. that this money had nothing to do with the s.e.c. he was never part of the campaign. this is not a violation of the campaign laws. it's not a crazy argument. a jury is unlikely to feel any sympathy for edwards, but as a legal matter, he may have a point. >> jessica, in political circles, is there any prediction whether edwards, if charged, would go to trial or whether he would try to get a plea deal? >> people who know edwards well describe him as a fighter. he was a courtroom attorney himself and he likes to take challenges head on and he has experience staring down the demons and winning. so he has that kind of personality that thinks he can beat it. but his defenders say a little bit different from what you and jeff are discussing, that there was no i in any of this, that john edwards didn't even know this money was being exchanged. the justice department is charging him based on his word versus andrew young's word. they would argue this is basically prosecuting john edwards, if it comes to that, for being a really bad guy to his wife and banking on the fact that a jury will dislike him so much that they'll do something unprecedented. the justice department, if they charge him, thinks that's a good enough case or they have a strong case and juries aren't going to be that friendly to this man who nobody really feels that fondly toward right now, and john edwards is smart enough to know that in front of a jury he's going to have an uphill climb. >> candy, what's so extraordinary about this case and whole saga is how close this man came to power, not only as a vice presidential candidate but as a presidential candidate. and just the hoopspa of not only having the affair and the child and continuing to lie about it, but even when he had his big confessional interview on tv, he still continued to lie in that interview. >> well, you know, politics is full of people where hoopspa is given new definition every day. we've seen this in any number of scandals, regardless whether they're about sex with another woman or money or any other form of cheating, it kind of comes out bit by bit. because in the end, there's something in the at mott fear around a politician that makes them believe they're invulnerable to this sort of thing. i think we're always sort of struck and start out every story like this and saying oh, they couldn't have been that stupid. and then it turns out they were that stupid. and so i think the other thing that we have to keep in mind here when we're discussing the possibility with john edwards because i talked to someone who is close to him, doesn't know what he's decided to do but says he does have three young children, two by elizabeth, one by rielle hunter. to have a court proceeding that puts this into the court records may not be something he's willing to do as a surviving parent of two of those children. there's a lot on the table here, and certainly elizabeth is right -- i'm sorry, jessica is right in that he is known as a fighter, he's a fierce courtroom lawer. on the other hand, he's also a parent. so, again, without knowing what kind of decisions he's made, they just threw that into the mix. >> anderson -- >> jeff, he could lose his law license, correct? >> there are two big issues at play when you have a plea bargain in a case like this. one is, do they have to serve prison time. that is obviously something people are obvious very concerned about. but perhaps even more important is i think you started to say before i interrupted you, the question of will he have to sacrifice his law license. and that is actually a very complicated question that varies state by state in terms of which crimes require you to be disbarred. sometimes you can be suspended. when i was a prosecutor, i happened to prosecute a bunch of lawyers, and it's a very big part of a plea negotiation and there are various ways you can handle it. i am certain that greg craig, the former white house counsel to president obama, that if a negotiation is going on that may stop an indictment, his law license is very important, because being a lawyer -- look, i think we all know john edwards is not going to be a politician again, but he is interested in practicing law again and that is going to have to be dealt with in any plea negotiations. >> jessica, do we know what time tomorrow we'll learn what's happening? >> it's all very fluid. what is really happening is there are going to be meetings. there's no court appearance scheduled. so it's sort of one of these stories that's going to unfold and we will find out as we see people moving and walking. the one thing i would point out there are a lot of nervous politicians as well, anderson. don't forget the democratic national convention is happening in north carolina next year. so it would be a pretty unfortunate picture for the democratic party if you were to have the 2004 vice presidential candidate on trial in the same state that you're having your big celebration for your party convention. i don't think that anybody's worried that john edwards and his future paints the entirety of the democratic party. it kind of reminds people why they don't like politicians these days. but there are a whole lot of people, both close to the edwards family and worried about those kids and worried about the future of the democratic party who are hoping he takes a plea deal. >> candy, stick around, more from you in a moment, talking about sarah palin and mitt romney today. let us know what you think on facebook or twitter @ anderson cooper. up next, sarah palin takes her bus tour to new hampshire on the same day mitt romney is there to announce he's running for president. she says it's entirely koins dental. do you believe here? keeping them honest. and another relative of a 13-year-old boy found dead, little hamza, reportedly tortured by the regime. a family member speaking out. remember how hamza al khateeb's father and uncle spoke on state tv yesterday, praising the country's dictator. well, a relative speaking out now has a twist on that story. all of that ahead and more. also, isha sesay has more stories tonight. what are you following? >> major drama in the casey anthony trial today. jurors hear about the incredibly intricate lies anthony told police and also listen to visits she had with her family while in jail. 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>> not at all. and if he would be personally offended for me to be in the state, i wouldn't be here. >> today when romney was asked how he felt about palin being there, he said, that's terrific. among the stops, the battlefields of gettysburg, independence hall in philadelphia and the statue of liberty. some say this is one big campaign rollout or one big publicity tour or a way to keep her name in the spotlight. political observers know she started this tour on sunday to raise money before the deadline at the end of june. she says no, that was not part of her agenda. watch. >> it truly isn't the purpose of this trip, is to test the waters or to have some kind of exploratory committee or group going on. no, it's to highlight america's history. we're thankful to be able to travel around and remind americans what our foundation is. >> it's a history lesson of sorts she says for all of us. a history lesson not, repeat, not about publicity. >> it's not about me or a publicity speaking tour. >> word of advice, if you're not looking for publicity, you might want to avoid this guy. she had dinner with donald trump in new york city's times square. there are questions about their mode of transportation, the bus itself. palin has an explanation for that, as well. >> this isn't a campaign bus. this is a bus to be able to express to america how much we appreciate our foundation and invite more people to be interested in all that is good about america and remind ourselves we don't need to fundamentally transform america, we need to restore what's good about america. >> not a campaign bus palin says, but it was painted on one side with the words one nation, sarah palin. and there's also this, a plug for her sarah pack website. and here's what pops up, a chance to donate to her pac. as we touched on, she took a failed swipe at mitt romney just before he announced his candidacy for the white house in new hampshire. romney himself also took some sharp swipes today at president obama. with all the "raw politics," here's candy crowley. >> reporter: he's the heaviest hitter in the republican field right now, and mitt romney came to play. >> now in the third year of his fourth year term or his four-year term, barack obama has failed america. you know, if you want to create jobs, it helps to actually have had a job. and i have. >> reporter: he excoriated all things obama, foreign and domestic, including the president's health care plan, not unlike the one romney signed as governor of massachusetts, an uncomfortable similarity he tossed off in a single line. >> not perfect, but it was a state solution to our state's problem. >> reporter: from hay bails to hot dogs, the trappings were pure americana. on a banner, the words believe in america. >> president obama's european answers are not the solution to america's challenges. >> reporter: romney's economy centered bid comes amidst discouraging headlines. home prices dipping down, a stubborn jobless rate. good timing for an opposition launch. but look who else was in the neighborhood playing rough with the massachusetts health care plan. >> a health care plan, in my opinion, any mandate coming from government is not a good thing. so obviously, and i'm not the only one to say so, but there will be more of the explanation coming from former governor romney. >> reporter: sarah palin says it's just a coincidence she arrived in new hampshire in the middle of romney's speech. she insists there's not political about her for ray into this primary state and sees no reason romney should be offended. and he didn't seem to be. >> did you hear sarah palin is in the state today? >> that's terrific. new hampshire is action central today. >> your health care plan won't sit well with the tea party. >> joining me again, candy crowley. also with us tonight, ari fleischer, former white house press secretary for president george bush. ari, does anybody -- do you actually believe that it's just a coincidence that sarah palin ended up in new hampshire today? >> i do think, anderson, that's conceivable. sarah palin is utterly unconventional. you doesn't have your usual political people doing her research and what republican candidate would go to new york city or philadelphia as part of the republican primary? if she did do it on purpose, who cares? politics is like that. i think rudy may have been there for that reason. that's part of what happened when you have ten people running for office and a lot will be in iowa and new hampshire at the same time. >> do you believe this isn't about publicity for her or keeping her in the headlines, that this is just a family vacation where he's going around to significant monuments and having pizza with donald trump? >> i think it's impossible to be sarah palin today without getting publicity for virtually anything she does in the public arena. so if she wants to take a tour to visit americana, it's going to happen. unless the day comes she says i'm not running for president, that's when the press will back off of her. that just comes with being sarah palin, no matter what. >> candy, do you think it was just a coincidence? >> look, i don't know if it was a coincidence or not. i don't think so. she told folks she was going to come for a clam bake in the evening. it turns out that she showed up in new hampshire in the middle of romney's speech. she was several miles away but nonetheless. and if you want to take a family vacation, you can go in a station wagon and not attract this attention. so this was something she wanted. it's not just that we're following her around. she tweeted it. she's running around in this gigantic bus that says one nation and we the people. so this is not a family vacation she wanted to keep quiet and be a private citizen about. >> i agree with that. but there's no crime in seeking publicity. there's nothing wrong with that. >> no, no. but the question is -- right. >> there's no crime in it. but to say that's -- there's no crime it in, but to say you're not doing that, i mean, that sort of raises -- then if you call her on it, then you're the jerk who seems like you're pressuring her. it's one thing to do it, sure. but to say you're not doing it, it sort of seems odd to me. >> i think sarah palin has always had a twisted relationship with the press, and part of the twist is from the press' side and part of it is her giving it right back. so she plays this unconventional game about publicity. but i don't think it's all guile. i think there's a part of it that she says i just want to go on a family vacation and do these things. and because she's proud of america and wants to promote who she is and her pac and she has a bus. and she's going to do things in an up conventional way. i'm still not convinced she's running for president, which is what the real question is here. >> right. candy, you spoke to mitt romney. sorry, go ahead, candy. >> reporter: i was just going to say on that score, i spoke to people that came to watch mitt romney that weren't necessarily hadn't signed on to suppo