John Edwards sex tape: Could Andrew Young go to jail?

Former John Edwards aide Andrew Young may go to jail for lying about his handling of the John Edwards sex tape. This Tuesday, a judge presiding over a lawsuit filed by Edwards' mistress Rielle Hunter, gave Young until Friday to explain his management of the tape (which depicts Hunter cavorting with former Senator Edwards) or face jail time for contempt of court.

Though Young originally told police had stored a single copy of the tape in a safety deposit box — showing it only to a select few — he later admitted he's previewed the tape for ABC News while promoting his Edwards-smearing, tell-all book, The Politician. Meanwhile, Rielle Hunter's lawyers claim Young also showed the tape to another freelance journalist. When confronted with the latter charge, Young responded, "Whether it's the wine, the time, or the stress, I don't know. But I have no recollection."

Commentators are noting the irony that Edwards himself has so far escaped legal charges. "Finally," says Ryan Tate in Gawker, "someone is about to be punished for sleazy John Edwards having an illicit love child behind the back of his cancer-stricken wife, and lying to the world about it. And naturally that someone is a campaign aide whose last name is not 'Edwards' or 'Hunter.'"

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