Onetime Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards was charged Friday with using $900,000 in campaign funds to cover up an affair with a film producer with whom he had a baby girl. Edwards, 57, faces a six-count indictment "for allegedly participating in a scheme to violate federal campaign finance laws," the Justice Department said.
The former US senator arrived at a courthouse in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with his attorneys for a 2:30 pm local time (1830 GMT) hearing. "No one has ever been charged with the claims brought against senator Edwards," his lead attorney Greg Craig told reporters. "John Edwards will tell the court he is innocent of all charges, and will plead not guilty. He did not break the law and will mount a vigorous defence," Craig told reporters ahead of the hearing.
The charges, prepared after two years of investigations, concern hundreds of thousands of dollars provided by two wealthy donors that Edwards allegedly used to shelter his mistress, Rielle Hunter, with whom he fathered a child. A youthful, silver-tongued trial lawyer elected senator from North Carolina, Edwards sought the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008. In 2004, he became Democrat John Kerry's running mate, but the two were defeated by George W. Bush, who was running for re-election.
His indictment marks a stunning fall for a man once seen as a contender for the White House. Edwards was wealthy, had a model family after marrying his college sweetheart and fathering four children, one of whom died in a car accident as a teen, and had seemed destined to be a leading voice in the Democratic party. His hugely popular wife, Elizabeth, an attorney and campaigner, had inspired America when it was revealed she was battling breast cancer. She died in December after having secretly grappled for years with her husband's infidelity.
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