Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on Sept. 8, 2013. 
In a once-in-a-lifetime event, Larry King interviewed former Gov. Edwin Edwards and author Leo Honeycutt about Edwards’ legal troubles, his marriage to a woman 50 years his junior and the artificial insemination process Edwards went through to have his most recent child.
King, a two-time Peabody award winner known mainly for his years on television and radio, sat down in the Union Theater with Edwards and Honeycutt on Sunday afternoon for an hour-long interview.
“I am glad to be at LSU,” King said.
The interview was full of jokes and laughter from the audience as King asked Edwards questions about his personal and political life that has led him to be one of the most well-known Louisiana political figures.
“I am not using this forum to convince anyone that I am innocent or not guilty, but I will point some observations,” Edwards said when asked if he believed that he was railroaded during his trial.
Edwards was convicted in 2001 of extortion and money laundering and finished serving his eight years in two federal prisons in 2011.
“It’s history. This will never happen again,” Honeycutt, who wrote Edwards’ biography, said.
Edwards went on to explain the situation relating to his 2001 conviction. He discussed his previously friendly relationship with former San Francisco 49ers owner Edward Debartolo Jr., who claimed during the trial that he paid $400,000 in exchange for Edwards’ assistance in obtaining a casino license.
Edwards stated the money was given to him to assist with getting a bill passed that was necessary for Debartolo to gain his license. He said that Debartolo testified against him because the Louisiana governor at the time told Debartolo that, if he didn’t testify favorably to the governor, his license and casino business would be in jeopardy.
Edwards also talked about his time spent in federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas, and Oakdale, La. The former governor said while serving as chief librarian during his time in Oakdale, he helped inmates write their letters and assisted six of his fellow inmates with getting their GED.
He told the story of marrying his current wife, Trina Scott, during his time in prison. He and Scott became pen pals during his time in prison after she read Honeycutt’s biography on Edwards.
Edwards joked that with his wife, a long-time Republican, he finally found something good to use the Republicans for: sleeping with them.
Edwards has recently become a five-time father with the birth of his new son with Scott, named Eli Wallace Edwards. King asked Edwards if donated sperm was used, and Edwards confirmed that, “Yes, I donated it.” Edwards said that in 1997 when he realized that there was a possibility that he would go to prison, he got sperm removed and stored because he knew there would come a time when he could no longer perform sexually.
Currently 86 years old, Edwards defended his decision to have a child with Scott — who is 50 years his junior — so late in his life.
“Maybe it is unfair to him to bring him into the world with no prospect of his father seeing him graduate, but is that worse than not bringing him at all?” Edwards said.
Edwards also took a few shots at current Gov. Bobby Jindal during his interview with King.
“I just don’t understand the man,” Edwards said. “He’s a different sort of person.”
The interview concluded with King and Edwards telling the audience two different jokes that had the audience erupting with laughter.
An invite-only meet-and-greet followed the interview on the first floor of the Union Theater.
Edwards currently spends his time traveling and giving speeches. He and his wife will star in an upcoming A&E reality television show called “The Governor’s Wife.”