AP News, September 19th, 2007
John Edwards' presidential campaign is asking for a criminal investigation after an aide's internal e-mail messages were copied and mailed to some people he disparaged.
Matt Spence, Edwards' deputy New Hampshire political director, apologized and resigned after being confronted with the e-mails, campaign spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield said Wednesday.
The e-mails disparaged some Edwards backers and people associated with other campaigns, notably calling some Barack Obama supporters "three losers and a lobbyist." Bedingfield declined to release the e-mails; the contents were provided to The Associated Press by non-Edwards sources on condition they not be identified.
In one e-mail, Spence used a vulgar term to refer to a woman in state government who was being courted by the campaign but decided to back Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton instead. He also disparaged a group of state activists as lax and referred to Obama supporters as "losers."
"We will not tolerate that kind of language on the Edwards campaign," Bedingfield said. "The campaign has personally apologized to everyone referenced in the e-mails."
Bedingfield would not discuss who the campaign asked to investigate. Manchester Police Sgt. Maureen Tessier knew of no complaints in the city, where Edwards' state headquarters is located and Spence was based.
Spence sent the e-mails only to other Edwards staffers. The copies, sent by U.S. mail to the people they disparaged, arrived this weekend.
Spence, 25, did not respond to an e-mail sent to a non-campaign address seeking comment.
At the campaign, Spence was responsible for outreach to constituent groups and elected Democrats. He worked previously on New Hampshire state Senate races.
