John Edwards charged over funds

Former US presidential hopeful John Edwards has been formally charged over alleged campaign funding violations linked to the cover-up of an affair.

The indictment was issued by a grand jury in the state of North Carolina.

The allegations concern cash from two donors that he allegedly used to shelter campaign worker Rielle Hunter, with whom he fathered a child.

Mr Edwards, 57, a former senator from North Carolina, ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008.

He split from his wife Elizabeth Edwards in January 2010 after admitting the affair.

Elizabeth died at the age of 61 almost one year later after a long battle with breast cancer.

Edwards’ public image

Mr Edwards, who was also a vice-presidential candidate in 2004 alongside Senator John Kerry, is charged with funnelling money from two political donors to Ms Hunter, a former campaign aide, in an alleged attempt to cover up the extramarital affair they had while he was running for president.

The indictment said the payments were a scheme to protect Mr Edwards’ White House ambitions.

“A centrepiece of Edwards’ candidacy was his public image as a devoted family man,” the indictment said.

“Edwards knew that public revelation of the affair and the pregnancy would destroy his candidacy by, among other things, undermining Edwards’ presentation of himself as a family man and by forcing his campaign to divert personnel and resources away from other campaign activities to respond to criticism and media scrutiny regarding the affair and pregnancy,” the indictment added.

The indictment and an arrest warrant were filed in Greensboro in North Carolina, where Mr Edwards’ campaign was based.

The investigation into the alleged cover up has been underway since at least early 2009, when he confirmed political groups linked to him were among the potential targets of a probe into his finances.