John Edwards side mugshot (
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Even in a mugshot, slick former presidential candidate John Edwards is all smiles.
The Feds today released mugshots of Edwards, who is charged with six felony counts, including conspiracy, illegal use of campaign contributions and making false statements. Each count carries a sentence of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Prosecutors say Edwards, the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee, knew that two donors made $925,000 in under-the-table contributions, and that the money was used to hide his affair with Rielle Hunter during the 2008 presidential campaign. The legal limit for individual contributions is $2,300.
Hunter had his child, something that Edwards at first denied.
Edwards has pleaded not guilty and says he never intended to commit a crime.
“There’s no question that I’ve done wrong. And I take full responsibility for having done wrong. And I will regret for the rest of my life the pain and the harm that I’ve caused to others,” Edwards said outside the courthouse. “But I did not break the law, and I never, ever thought I was breaking the law.”
The centerpiece of the investigation has been the hundreds of thousands of dollars provided by two wealthy Edwards supporters — Fred Baron, his former campaign finance chairman, and Mellon, the 100-year-old widow of banking heir Paul Mellon.
Prosecutors said $725,000 from Mellon and $200,000 from Baron was used to pay for Hunter’s living and medical expenses and for chartered airfare, luxury hotels and rental of a house in Santa Barbara, Calif., to keep her hidden from the public.
Prosecutors say because that money went to hide Hunter from the media and voters, that amounted to campaign contributions; Edwards team says the funds were a private matter not connected to the campaign.