The John Edwards trial: Major players

Former presidential candidate John Edwards is on trial on campaign finance charges that he used donors’ money to cover up an affair with Rielle Hunter.

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John Edwards

At the crux of the trial is whether John Edwards accepted money from benefactors, including Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, to cover up his affair with pregnant mistress Rielle Hunter, and whether those payments are a campaign donation or personal gift. Edwards was in the midst of a run for the Democratic presidential nomination when he learned about Hunter’s pregnancy. He is indicted on six counts, including taking illegal contributions and conspiracy, facing up to 30 years in prison.

Chris Keane / Reuters

Rielle Hunter

Rielle Hunter, left, worked for Edwards and his presidential campaign as a videographer beginning in the mid-2000s. Edwards and Hunter initially denied and later admitted to rumors of an affair between them. Afterward, Elizabeth and John Edwards separated. Hunter gave birth to John Edwards’s daughter, Francis Quinn, in 2008, and lived with aide Andrew Young and his wife, Cheri, for a period. The Edwards trial revolves around whether he knew that donors’ money was being used to cover up the affair.

Anonymous / AP

Andrew Young

Young, left, served as an aide to John Edwards before and throughout his 2008 presidential bid. He later wrote a book about Edwards’s affair with Rielle Hunter and the campaign, titled The Politician. A central witness in the campaign finance trial, Young says Edwards asked him to use nearly $1 million from donors, including heiress Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, to keep Rielle Hunter out of the public eye during the campaign. The Edwards defense argues he used the money instead to build a 'dream home.'

Gerry Broome / AP

Francis Quinn Hunter

Francis Quinn Hunter, held by Rielle Hunter, was born in February 2008. In 2010, John Edwards acknowledged paternity of Francis Quinn, though Young first did so publicly. Young says it was Edwards’s idea for Young to claim paternity in the midst of the election cycle, while Edwards says Young came up with it.

Jim R. Bounds / AP

Elizabeth Edwards

Elizabeth and John Edwards were married for 32 years and had four children together. In 2004, Elizabeth was diagnosed with breast cancer, which she wrote about in a 2009 book titled Resilience. Edwards separated from her husband in 2010 after he confirmed rumors of an affair with Rielle Hunter. She died on Dec. 7, 2010.

Mary Ann Chastain / AP

Cheri Young

Cheri Young, wife of former Edwards aide Andrew Young, said the former presidential candidate told her it was legal to take money from a wealthy donor to hide Edwards' mistress. Young also testified about her husband initial claim of paternity of Rielle Hunter's child, and the period of time when Hunter lived in their North Carolina home to keep the affair quiet.

Sara D. Davis / AP

Allison van Laningham and Abbe Lowell

Defense attorneys for former U.S. Senator John Edwards, Allison Van Laningham, left, and Abbe Lowell.

CHRIS KEANE / REUTERS

Cate Edwards

Cate Edwards is John Edwards' daughter, and a Harvard Law graduate who has accompanied her father in the courtroom throughout the trial. Edwards reportedly eft the courtroom in tears during an aide's testimony about a confrontation between her father and deceased mother, Elizabeth Edwards.

Chuck Liddy / AP

Bobbie and Wallace Edwards

Bobbie, front left, and Wallace Edwards are John Edwards' parents, who have joined Edwards and Cate in the courtroom for the trial.

CHRIS KEANE / REUTERS

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

epa03714567 A Thai Buddhist family take an offering of lotus flowers to pay respects to a giant Buddha surrounded by more than 1,000 smaller Buddha statues at a Buddhism Park, on Vesak or Visakha Bucha day, in Nakhon Nayok, north of Bangkok, Thailand, 24 May 2013. Buddhist devotees throughout the world offer blessings at temples to mark one of the holiest days in Buddhism, commemorating the birth, enlightenment and the death of Buddha. EPA/BARBARA WALTON

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A portion of the Interstate 5 bridge is submerged after it collapsed into the Skagit River dumping vehicles and people into the water in Mount Vernon, Wash., Thursday, May 23, 2013 according to the Washington State Patrol. (AP Photo/Skagit Valley Herald, Frank Varga)

I-5 bridge collapse in Washington state dumps vehicles, passengers into river

No fatalities reported; collapse over Skagit River shuts down main route between Seattle and Canada.

SILVER SPRING MD: MAY 18
from left to right, Bodybuilders Jorge Villatoro, Sidney Bumbrey, Eric Holmes and Ron Coleman show off their most muscular poses for the judges at the 2013 Musclemania - Capital Tournament of Champions Contest held at the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center in Silver Spring, Maryland on May 18, 2013.
(Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Flexing their muscles

Dozens of bodybuilders came out to Silver Spring to compete in the 2013 Musclemania Capital Tournament of Champions.

epa03714543 US actress Carmen Electra arrives for the Life Ball gala, at the airport Schwechat, in Vienna, Austria, 24 May 2013. The 21th Life Ball, an annual fundraising charity event for HIV and Aids projects, takes place at the Vienna City-Hall on 25 May 2013. EPA/HERBERT NEUBAUER

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A police forensics officer investigates a crime scene where one man was killed in Woolwich, southeast London May 22, 2013. British Prime Minister David Cameron has called a meeting of his government's emergency Cobra security committee after the killing of a man in south London, his office said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth (BRITAIN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

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WASHINGTON DC: MAY 22
Contestant Travis Rumans, 31 dances with his beloved glow sticks for talent at Penn Social in Washington, DC on May 22, 2013. The contestants help raise over $15,000 for the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
The Mr. DC pageant is a fundraising event to benefit Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
The qualifications for the Mr. District of Columbia finalists is that they must live, work and attend school in the District of Columbia between the ages of 21-30 who are unmarried, intelligent, and dapper in a suit.
(Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

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Contestants in the Mr. D.C. Pageant, a fundraising event, helped raise more than $15,000 for the Children’s National Medical Center.

A Burrowing owl tries to perch on a protective rope in a public park in Cooper City, Fla. Monday, May 20, 2013 as rain falls. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Animal views

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