The 527 doing independent mailings for John Edwards got a staggering, $500,000 donation from one past donor to a similar group that financed the One America anti-poverty campaign Edwards waged before becoming a candidate.

  The heiress to the Timothy Mellon fortune through a legal counsel gave $250,000 to the Edwards One America effort last year.

   Her donation makes up nearly 30 percent of the $1.7 million the Alliance for a New America reported to the Federal Elections Commission.

   The 527 has paid for pro-Edwards mailings in New Hampshire and reserved more than $750,000 in TV ads leading to the Iowa caucuses.

    These independent groups don't typically have to identify donors but they disclose activities if they are within 30 days of an election.