Former N.C. Sen. John Edwards was indicted today on six counts of violating federal campaign laws. The former vice presidential nominee and presidential hopeful will make an initial appearance in federal court in Winston-Salem later today.
The indictment alleges that Edwards accepted more than $900,000 to “protect and advance” his presidential hopes by concealing an extra-marital affair and a resulting pregnancy.
According to the Justice Department, if convicted, Edwards faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge, five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count of accepting and receiving illegal campaign contributions, and a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the charge of concealing the alleged illegal donations.
A U.S. Department of Justice press release states:
“Today, a federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment against former Senator John Edwards for violating federal election laws during his campaign for President of the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “Mr. Edwards is alleged to have accepted more than $900,000 in an effort to conceal from the public facts that he believed would harm his candidacy. As this indictment shows, we will not permit candidates for high office to abuse their special ability to access the coffers of their political supporters to circumvent our election laws. Our campaign finance system is designed to preserve the integrity of democratic elections – for the presidency and all other elected offices – and we will vigorously pursue abuses of the kind alleged today.”
The Justice Department press release can be downloaded here (51KB Word Document).
The full indictment can be downloaded here (603KB pdf).
His arrest warrant can be downloaded here (82KB pdf).
A statement by Democratic U.S. Sen Kay Hagan calling for the immediate confirmation of Thomas Walker to replace George Holding as U.S. attorney can be downloaded here (988k pdf).