RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The daring indictment of two-time presidential candidate John Edwards has pitfalls at every turn for federal prosecutors, adding strain to a Justice Department section still trying to recover after botching its last major political case.
Two crucial witnesses are dead, another is 100 years old and a fourth was recently held in contempt of court, all of which could present challenges.
Plus, government attorneys are relying on an untested legal theory to argue that money used to tangentially help a candidate - in this case, by keeping Edwards' pregnant mistress private during his 2008 presidential run - should have been considered a campaign contribution. Edwards' attorneys counter that he was interested only in hiding the affair from his cancer- stricken wife, who died in December.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
