Judge rejects Edwards’s attempt to have charges of illegal payoff dismissed

A North Carolina judge has rejected motions from former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) to have charges stemming from his cover-up of an extramarital affair dismissed, according to multiple media reports.

Edwards stands accused of asking wealthy donors to covertly funnel nearly $1 million to his mistress, Rielle Hunter, and an aide who had falsely claimed to be the biological father of Edwards's and Hunter's child. Government prosecutors say that the payments violate federal campaign finance laws, and that the payoff should be considered a campaign expense intended to protect the senator's image during his 2008 presidential run.

But Edwards's lawyers had argued that the charges should be dismissed, claiming Edwards had no knowledge of the payoff and that it was a gift between private citizens. His attorneys also maintained that similar payouts have been recognized as legitimate campaign expenses in past, arguing even if Edwards was found to be knowledgeable of the financial transfers and they were done solely for the purpose of helping his campaign, his actions were not illegal.

To bolster this argument, Edwards's team cited the case of former Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), whose parents gave $96,000 to a former aid with whom the senator was having an affair.

Edwards's case now likely will head to trial. Previous attempts to reach a plea bargain failed after the former senator balked at the prospect of serving jail time.

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