John Edwards faces campaign finance charges

Former U.S. senator and onetime presidential hopeful says he did not break the law during his 2008 campaign to win the Democratic presidential nomination.

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May 24, 2012

Former U.S. Senator John Edwards, right, and his daughter, Cate Edwards leave for lunch during the jury deliberations at the federal courthouse in Greensboro, North Carolina.

JOHN ADKISSON / REUTERS

May 24, 2012

Attorneys for former Democratic presidential candidate and former U.S. Senator John Edwards (D-NC), left to right, Abbe Lowell, Alan Duncan, and Allison Van Laningham, arrive at a federal courthouse in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Alex Wong / GETTY IMAGES

May 21, 2012

John Edwards arrives for the second day of jury deliberations with his daughter, Cate Edwards, left, and father, Wallace Edwards, right, at the federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C. Jurors were set to resume deliberations in the federal campaign finance case against John Edwards, who is accused of using campaign funds to hide his pregnant mistress as he sought the presidency.

John Adkisson / Reuters

May 21, 2012

John Edwards arrives for the second day of jury deliberations at the federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C.

John Adkisson / Reuters

May 18, 2012

Former U.S. senator John Edwards exits the courtroom with his daughter, Cate Edwards, second from left, and father, Wallace Edwards, left, after a jury began deliberations in his trial in North Carolina.

John Adkisson / Reuters

May 18, 2012

Defense attorney Abbe Lowell, left, exits the federal courthouse after jury deliberations began at the trial of former U.S. Senator John Edwards.

John Adkisson / Reuters

May 16, 2012

Former presidential candidate and Sen. John Edwards, center, arrives at a federal courthouse with his parents Wallace and Bobbie Edwards, right, in Greensboro, N.C.

Gerry Broome / AP

May 15, 2012

Cate Edwards, daughter of John Edwards, makes her way into a federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C., where she is expected to take the stand to testify in his campaign corruption trial.

Bob Leverone / AP

May 15, 2012

John Edwards makes his way into a federal courthouse where he is standing trial on charges of campaign corruption in Greensboro, N.C. Edwards has pleaded not guilty to six counts related to campaign finance violations.

Bob Leverone / AP

May 15, 2012

Former John Edwards attorney Wade Smith greets the media on his way into the federal courthouse where Edwards is standing trial for campaign corruption in Greensboro, N.C.

Bob Leverone / AP

May 15, 2012

Scott Thomas makes his way into a federal courthouse where he is expected to testify as an expert witness for the defense in the John Edwards campaign corruption trial in Greensboro, N.C.

Bob Leverone / AP

May 11, 2012

Attorneys for former presidential candidate and Sen. John Edwards, from left, Allison Van Laningham, Abbe Lowell and Alan Duncan, far right, arrive at a federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C. Prosecutors rested their case Thursday.

Gerry Broome / AP

May 11, 2012

Former presidential candidate and Sen. John Edwards and his daughter Cate Edwards arrive at a federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C.

Gerry Broome / AP

May 10, 2012

From left, Allison Van Laningham, Abbe Lowell and Alan Duncan — defense lawyers for John Edwards — walk toward a federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C. Edwards, 58, is accused of violating federal election laws by soliciting more than $900,000 in illegal campaign contributions from two wealthy donors to hide his pregnant mistress during his failed bid for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

/ Reuters

May 10, 2012

John Edwards arrives with his mother, Bobbie Edwards, at a federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C. He has pleaded not guilty to six charges related to violations of campaign finance laws.

Gerry Broome / AP

May 10, 2012

John Edwards's mother, Bobbie Edwards, enters a federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C.

/ Reuters

May 10, 2012

John Edwards's father, Wallace Edwards, enters a federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C.

/ Reuters

May 10, 2012

John Edwards arrives at a federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C.

Gerry Broome / AP

May 10, 2012

John Edwards, second from left, and his parents, Bobbie Edwards, center, and Wallace Edwards, second from right, enter a federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C.

Ted Richardson / Reuters

May 9, 2012

Abbe Lowell, defense attorney for John Edwards, enters a federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C.

Ted Richardson / Reuters

May 9, 2012

TV cameraman Rich Cisney sits out a downpour while waiting outside a federal courthouse during the John Edwards trial in Greensboro, N.C.

Ted Richardson / Reuters

May 9, 2012

John Edwards leaves a federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C.

Ted Richardson / Reuters

May 9, 2012

John Edwards and his daughter Cate Edwards arrive at a federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C.

Gerry Broome / AP

May 9, 2012

Jennifer Palmieri, left, John Edwards's chief spokesman during his 2004 presidential run, departs a federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C., after another day of the John Edwards trial.

Ted Richardson / Reuters

May 8, 2012

Former presidential candidate and senator John Edwards, left, leaves a federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C.

Chuck Burton / AP

May 8, 2012

Wendy Button, left, speechwriter for former presidential candidate and senator John Edwards, arrives at a federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C. Button is expected to testify that Edwards asked her in the summer of 2009 to help draft a public statement admitting he had an affair and fathered a baby outside his marriage.

Chuck Burton / AP

May 8, 2012

Tim Toben, center, arrives at a federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C., for the trial of former presidential candidate and senator John Edwards.

Chuck Burton / AP

May 8, 2012

Eileen Mancera, right, a financial adviser to the John Edwards campaign, is escorted into a federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C., for the trial of former presidential candidate and senator John Edwards.

Chuck Burton / AP

May 7, 2012

Nick Baldick, center, leaves the federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C.

Davis Turner / Reuters

May 7, 2012

Tony Willis arrives at a federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C., for the trial of John Edwards.

Chuck Burton / AP

May 7, 2012

Thomas Lloyd, center, Rachel "Bunny" Mellon's grandson, leaves the federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C.

Davis Turner / Reuters

May 7, 2012

Alex Forger, center, Rachel "Bunny" Mellon's lawyer, arrives at the federal courthouse in Greensboro.

Davis Turner / Reuters

May 7, 2012

John Edwards arrives at a federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C.

Chuck Burton / AP

May 4, 2012

John Edwards arrives at the federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C. Edwards is accused of conspiring to secretly obtain more than $900,000 from two wealthy supporters to hide his extramarital affair with Rielle Hunter and her pregnancy from the media. He has pleaded not guilty to six charges related to violations of campaign finance laws.

Chuck Liddy / AP

May 4, 2012

Bryan Huffman, center, an interior decorator from Monroe, N.C., is escorted into the federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C. He is testifying for the second day in the trial of John Edwards.

Chuck Liddy / AP

May 3, 2012

Former U.S. senator John Edwards (D-N.C.) and his daughter Cate arrive at U.S. federal court in Greensboro, N.C.

Chuck Liddy / AP

May 3, 2012

Interior designer Bryan Huffman arrives at court, where he testified about his role in allegedly funneling secret money from a millionaire donor to an Edwards aide via fake furniture purchases.

Chuck Liddy / AP

May 3, 2012

Edwards's defense attorneys, Allison Van Laningham and Alan Duncan, arrive at court.

Chuck Liddy / AP

May 3, 2012

John Davis, who worked for Edwards, testified about running into Edwards's mistress, Rielle Hunter, on the campaign trail.

Chuck Liddy / AP

May 2, 2012

Edwards and his parents, Wallace and Bobbie, arrive at court.

Chuck Liddy / AP

May 2, 2012

Matthew L. Nelson, who worked as Edwards's campaign scheduler, leaves court after testifying.

Chuck Liddy / AP

May 1, 2012

Former U.S. senator John Edwards (D-N.C.) arrives with his daughter Cate at the federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C.

Chris Keane / Reuters

May 1, 2012

Cheri Young, wearing a blue dress, returns to the federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C., for a second day of testimony in the case against former U.S. senator John Edwards. On Monday, Young broke down on the stand as she told the court that Edwards asked her husband, former Edwards aide Andrew Young, to claim paternity of the child Edwards had fathered with Rielle Hunter.

Chris Keane / Reuters

May 1, 2012

John Edwards’s defense attorneys, Allison Van Laningham and Abbe Lowell, arrive at the federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C. The defense team for the former U.S. senator and presidential candidate was expected to cross examine the prosecution’s second witness, Cheri Young. Young, the wife of Edwards aide Andrew Young, broke down crying on the stand Monday.

Chris Keane / Reuters

April 30, 2012

Cheri Young, right, is escorted out of the Federal Courthouse in Greensboro, N.C., after testifying in the John Edwards trial. Young, the wife of an ex-aide to John Edwards, broke down on the witness stand as she recounted how the candidate asked the couple to hide an affair he was having and justified using wealthy donors’ money to do it.

Shawn Rocco / The News & Observer via AP

April 30, 2012

Former U.S. senator John Edwards walks with his father Wallace Edwards, left, as they leave the federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C.

Chris Keane / Reuters

April 30, 2012

Former U.S. senator John Edwards leaves the federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C.

Chris Keane / Reuters

April 24, 2012

Former U.S. senator John Edwards sits in a vehicle after leaving the federal court house in Greensboro, N.C.

Chris Keane / Reuters

April 24, 2012

Former U.S. senator John Edwards, center, helps his mother, Bobbie Edwards as they leave the federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C.

Chris Keane / Reuters

April 24, 2012

Allison Van Laningham, right, and Abbe Lowell, defense attorneys for former U.S. senator John Edwards, arrive at the federal courthouse in Greensboro.

Chris Keane / Reuters

April 24, 2012

Former U.S. senator John Edwards, center, arrives with his daughter Cate at the federal court house in Greensboro.

Chris Keane / Reuters

April 24, 2012

Charles Stuber with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a potential witness, arrives at the federal court house in Greensboro.

Chris Keane / Reuters

April 23, 2012

Former U.S. senator and presidential candidate John Edwards arrives at federal court in Greensboro, N.C. Prosecutors and defense lawyers will begin making their case to jurors on whether the former presidential candidate violated federal campaign finance laws.

Gerry Broome / AP

April 23, 2012

Former presidential candidate and U.S. senator John Edwards, center, arrives outside federal court with his daughter Cate, left, in Greensboro, N.C., for his trial on charges of violating federal campaign finance laws.

Chuck Burton / AP

April 23, 2012

Allison Van Laningham, attorney for John Edwards, arrives at federal court in Greensboro, N.C.

Gerry Broome / AP

April 23, 2012

Abbe Lowell, attorney for John Edwards, arrives at federal court in Greensboro, N.C.

Gerry Broome / AP

April 12, 2012

Former U.S. senator John Edwards and his daughter Cate Edwards, right, leave the federal court house after jury selection in Greensboro, N.C.. Edwards goes on trial on April 23, 2012, on charges he used illegal campaign contributions to cover up an affair with a mistress who became pregnant during his failed bid for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. Edwards is accused of accepting more than $900,000 in campaign funds from two wealthy donors, knowing the exposure of his extramarital affair "would destroy his presidential campaign," prosecutors said in a trial brief.

Chris Keane / Reuters

April 12, 2012

Allison Van Laningham, attorney for John Edwards, leaves the U.S. Federal Courthouse after the first day of jury selection in Greensboro, N.C. Jury selection begins as the former presidential candidate faces a criminal trial for campaign finance violations.

Sara D. Davis / Getty Images

April 12, 2012

Abbe Lowell, attorney for John Edwards, leaves the U.S. Federal Courthouse after the first day of jury selection.

Sara D. Davis / Getty Images

April 12, 2012

Alan Duncan, attorney for former presidential candidate and U.S. senator John Edwards, leaves federal court.

Gerry Broome / AP

April 12, 2012

John Edwards arrives at the federal courthouse for jury selection in Greensboro, N.C.

Chris Keane / Reuters

Oct. 27, 2011

John Edwards, left, speaks to the media with attorney Abbe Lowell, right, as he leaves the federal court in Greensboro, N.C.

Chuck Burton / AP

June 3, 2011

Former U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful and former U.S.senator John Edwards is accompanied by his daughter, Cate Edwards, as he departs U.S. District Court in Winston-Salem, N.C., after pleading not guilty to six federal charges. Edwards was indicted Friday on charges that he used $1 million in campaign funds to help cover up an extramarital affair during his White House bid.

Davis Turner / Reuters

June 3, 2011

John Edwards, center, is seen with his daughter, Cate Edwards, right, as they peer out of the federal building after a court appearance Friday in Winston-Salem, N.C. A grand jury indicted the two-time presidential candidate Friday. The indictment says he tried to protect his political ambitions by soliciting and secretly spending money to hide his mistress.

Gerry Broome / AP

April 23, 2010

Oprah Winfrey, right, interviews Edwards's former mistress, Rielle Hunter, in 2010 at Hunter's home in Charlotte. Hunter talked about Edwards, his aide Andrew Young — who helped to conceal her during her pregnancy and who was rumored to be the baby's father — and her child.

George Burns/Harpo Productions / AP

Feb. 3, 2010

Rielle Hunter holds Frances Quinn, her 2-year-old daughter fathered by John Edwards, at her home in Charlotte. In an interview with GQ magazine, Hunter said that she was helping Edwards live "a life of truth" and that the two were still in love even after their affair triggered Edwards's downfall from the pinnacle of U.S. politics.

Mark Seliger / GQ via AP

Aug. 6, 2009

Hunter, carrying a child, is escorted into the Terry Sanford Federal Building and Courthouse in Raleigh, N.C., in 2009. A grand jury was meeting there to investigate Edwards's finances.

Jim R. Bounds / AP

March 28, 2009

Oprah Winfrey, second from right, views family photos at the Edwards home in Chapel Hill, N.C., in 2009, during a taping of her talk show. With Winfrey are Edwards, his wife, Elizabeth, and their daughter Emma Claire.The show aired on May 7, 2009.

George Burns/Harpo Productions / AP

Aug. 8, 2008

ABC News reporter Bob Woodruff interviews John Edwards in Chapel Hill, N.C. The former North Carolina senator, who was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2004, confessed to ABC News that he had lied repeatedly about his affair with 43-year-old Rielle Hunter.

/ AP

Jan. 1, 2008

Presidential candidate John Edwards campaigns with his wife, Elizabeth, at Iowa State University in Ames in 2008.

John Gress / Reuters

Dec. 29, 2006

Rielle Hunter, back left, holds a video camera as John Edwards campaigns in Portsmouth, N.H., in 2006.

Jim Cole / AP

Dec. 27, 2006

John Edwards shares a laugh with videographer Rielle Hunter in the 9th Ward of New Orleans.

/ National Enquirer via AP

Dec. 1, 2006

Rielle Hunter, left, watches as John Edwards autographs a copy of his book, "Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives," during a 2006 campaign stop in Dallas.

/ AP

2003

John Edwards greets supporters during a 2003 campaign stop as assistant Andrew Young, right, keeps an eye on the crowd. Young has written a book about the Edwards campaign and Edwards's affair with Rielle Hunter.

Robert Willett / News and Observer

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