Newt Gingrich —whose entire candidacy

Prosecutors contend that Young's testimony cheap burberry bags is permissible under an exemption that allows a member of a conspiracy to testify about statements made by co-conspirators.

Edwards' lawyers argue that no such conspiracy existed.

"There also is no question that Mr. Edwards and Young agreed to hide the truth about Ms. Hunter's baby, and that Mr. Edwards knew and agreed that Young should claim that he (and not Mr. Edwards) was the father," Edwards' lawyers wrote. "There is no evidence, however, that Young believed that he had an agreement with Mr. Edwards to commit a crime."

To bolster their position, Edwards' lawyers quote from Young's 2010 tell-all bestseller, The Politician. In the book, Young described the nearly $1 million paid by Baron and Mellon as "gifts, entirely proper, and not subject to campaign finance laws."

Edwards has pleaded not guilty to six felony and misdemeanor charges related to campaign finance violations. He denies knowing about the money flowing from his wealthy donors to Young, then one of his closest aides. Young falsely claimed paternity of Edwards' child and, with his wife, traveled across the country with the mistress, Rielle Hunter, in an attempt to avoid the media.

Prosecutors also disclosed Wednesday that they intend to call two other former Edwards' staffers as witnesses.
Former Edwards press secretary Jennifer Palmieri is expected to testify she was present in an Iowa hotel room in October 2007 when wife Elizabeth Edwards confronted the candidate, Baron and Baron's wife, Lisa Blue, about the couple's support of Hunter.

According to Palmieri's account, Baron and Blue tried to calm Edwards' angry wife by saying that the mistress was a "loose cannon" who had to be kept happy, lest she go to the press.

Eileen Mancera, a financial advisor to burberry purse the Edwards campaign, is expected to testify that Baron called her in early January 2008 to chastise her for offering her services to the Obama campaign. Baron urged Mancera to stick with Edwards in the hope he would be named the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, according to the government.

Edwards dropped out of the presidential race on Jan. 30, 2008. He later admitted to fathering Hunter's child, effectively ending his political hopes.
Romney's camp suddenly said Thursday that it was planning to skip the debate, intended for March 1st in Georgia, because he would be "campaigning in other parts of the country" ahead of the packed Super Tuesday primaries on March 6. Ron Paul also announced that he would not be attending. Santorum's spokesman said that his candidate "has no plans of doing it right now."
Newt Gingrich —whose entire candidacy has been propelled by his debate performances— was seemingly the only contender who was up for the session. His spokesman, R.C. Hammond, used the cancellation to take some jabs at Romney, tweeting that he had "[spit] in Georgia's face" and asking, "If @MittRomney won't stand up and debate his GOP competitors how will he face President Obama?"

Of course, it's not as if the candidates haven't had a chance to talk to each other about the issues throughout the campaign. Romney's statement on Thursday pointedly said that he had "participated in 20 debates, including 8 on CNN."

The staggering number of debates, and the influence they've had on the GOP contest, has become a key part of the 2012 campaign. Some, such as GOP strategist Karl Rove and Sen. John McCain, have said that the debates have played too prominent a role in the campaign, Burberry Bags forcing the candidates to curtail their interactions with voters in favor of time-consuming preparation for the face-offs.