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 hou