Chuck Todd: NBC should make a movie about John Edwards, not Hillary Clinton

To any entertainment folks looking for a compelling political mini-series: try John Edwards

— Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) August 8, 2013

NBC has a four-hour mini-series in the works starring Diane Lane as Clinton, and Todd made headlines Thursday when he called it a “nightmare” for the outlet’s news operations.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus this week threatened to pull his group’s partnership with NBC for the 2016 GOP presidential primary debates if the network moved ahead with the movie.

NBC News has argued that it is completely independent from the Clinton film, which is being produced by NBC Entertainment.

{mosads}Todd argued Thursday that even though the divisions are separate, the average layperson wouldn’t make the distinction between the two.

“People are going to see the peacock, and they see NBC, and they see NBC News, and they think, ‘Well, they can’t be that separate,’ ” Todd said.

Earlier this year, Edwards (N.C.) was found not guilty on one felony charge of accepting illegal campaign contributions from heiress Rachel “Bunny” Mellon. A jury was deadlocked on five other felony charges, provoking the judge to declare a mistrial on those counts.


Edwards faced six felony charges, including conspiracy, making false statements and four counts of receiving illegal campaign contributions during his failed bid for the presidency in 2008.

He pleaded not guilty to all the charges, which stem from a payment of $925,000 made by two campaign donors to allegedly cover up an affair he had with Rielle Hunter, who later gave birth to his daughter. 
Edwards’s wife, Elizabeth Edwards, died of cancer soon after the affair became public.