Editing John Edwards (section)

==Personal life==

===Family===
While at UNC, he met [[Elizabeth Edwards|Elizabeth Anania]]. They married in 1977 and had four children (Wade in 1979, [[Cate Edwards|Cate]] in 1982, Emma Claire in 1998, and Jack in 2000). In a [[John Edwards extramarital affair|widely-publicized extramarital affair]], he fathered a daughter in 2008 with Rielle Hunter, a staffer on his [[John Edwards presidential campaign, 2008|2008 presidential campaign]]. Edwards denied being the father until 2010.<ref name="NYTimesPaternity">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/us/politics/22edwards.html |title=John Edwards Admits He Fathered Girl with Mistress |author=Julie Bosman |access-date=May 8, 2010 |date=January 21, 2010 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

Wade was killed in a car accident when strong winds swept his Jeep off a North Carolina highway in 1996. Three weeks before his death, he was honored by [[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]] [[Hillary Clinton]] at [[The White House]] as one of the 10 finalists in an essay contest sponsored by the [[National Endowment for the Humanities]] and the [[Voice of America]] for an essay he wrote on entering the voting booth with his father.<ref name="FoxNewsWade">{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/john-edwards-opens-up-about-death-of-teenage-son |title=John Edwards Opens Up About Death of Teenage Son |agency=Associated Press |access-date=May 21, 2007 |date=March 29, 2007 |work=Fox News}}</ref>  Wade, accompanied by his parents and sister, went on to meet North Carolina Sen. [[Jesse Helms]], who later entered Wade's essay and his obituary into the ''[[Congressional Record]]''.<ref name="Helms eulogy">{{cite web |url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r104:S16AP6-72: |title=Lucius Wade Edwards July 18, 1979-April 4, 1996 |work=Congressional Record, 104th Congress, (1995-1996) |access-date=May 21, 2008 |archive-date=October 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016224552/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r104:S16AP6-72: |url-status=dead }}</ref> Edwards and his wife began the Wade Edwards Foundation in their son's memory; the purpose of the non-profit organization is "to reward, encourage, and inspire young people in the pursuit of excellence." The foundation funded the Wade Edwards Learning Lab at Wade's high school, [[Needham B. Broughton High School]] in [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]], along with scholarship competitions and essay awards.<ref name="WadeFoundation">{{cite web |url=http://www.wade.org/ |title=Wade Edwards Foundation |access-date=May 21, 2007}}</ref>

On November 3, 2004, Elizabeth Edwards revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She was treated by [[chemotherapy]] and [[radiotherapy]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6522712 |title=Elizabeth Edwards battles breast cancer |author=Katie Couric |publisher=[[NBC News]] |date=November 21, 2004 |access-date=May 20, 2007}}</ref> and continued to work within the Democratic Party and her husband's One America Committee. On March 22, 2007, during his campaign for the 2008 Democratic nomination for the presidency, Edwards and his wife announced that her cancer had returned; she was diagnosed with [[Cancer staging|stage IV]] breast cancer, with newly discovered [[metastasis|metastases]] to the bone and possibly to her lung.<ref name="pressconference">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/22/AR2007032201422.html |title=Former Sen. Edwards Holds a News Conference on Wife's Health: Breast Cancer Has Returned |author=Transcript of press conference |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=March 22, 2007 |access-date=March 25, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/22/edwards.2008/index.html |title=Edwards: Wife's cancer returns, campaign goes on |work=CNN|author=Candy Crowley |date=March 23, 2007 |access-date=June 14, 2007}}</ref> They said that the cancer was "no longer curable, but is completely treatable"<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/03/22/cancer.edwards/index.html |title=Edwards: Cancer 'no longer curable' |work=CNN|author=Mary Carter |author2=Elizabeth Cohen |author3=Amy Burkholder |date=May 22, 2007 |access-date=June 14, 2007}}</ref> and that they planned to continue campaigning together with an occasional break when she required treatment.<ref name="pressconference"/><ref name="Elizabethhealth">{{cite news |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070322/ap_on_el_pr/edwards2008 |title=Edwards Presses on With 2008 Campaign |author=Nedra Pickler |agency=Associated Press |access-date=March 22, 2007 |date=March 22, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070328171649/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070322/ap_on_el_pr/edwards2008 |archive-date=March 28, 2007}}</ref>

In June 2010, Elizabeth published a book called ''Resilience''. Her book is about the struggles of her marriage and how she was affected by [[John Edwards extramarital affair|her husband's affair]]. In the book, Elizabeth talks about how long she was in the dark about the affair and how many times her husband lied about the details of the affair. She never addresses John's mistress by name but calls her a "parasitic groupie" and claims that she is "pathetic". Elizabeth also opens up about how she tried to forgive her husband after she first learned of the affair but struggled to find forgiveness when he continued to lie. After Edwards's January 21, 2010, admission that he fathered a child with his [[mistress (lover)|mistress]], Elizabeth obtained a [[legal separation]] from him and intended to file for divorce after a mandatory one-year waiting period.<ref name="reuters.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60Q65P20100127 |title=Politician John Edwards and wife separate |publisher=Reuters |date= January 27, 2010|access-date=May 24, 2010 | first=Richard | last=Cowan}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | author=Lisa Myers and Michael Austin | title=Edwards admits fathering child with mistress | url=http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/34963767/ns/today-today_people/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123010119/http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/34963767/ns/today-today_people/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 23, 2010 | work=NBC News | date=January 21, 2010 | access-date=January 21, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2010/01/elizabeth-edwards-tells-her-sister-ive-had-it-/1 | work=USA Today | title=Elizabeth Edwards tells her sister: 'I've had it.' | date=January 27, 2010 | access-date=May 6, 2010 | first=Ann | last=Oldenburg}}</ref>

On December 7, 2010, Elizabeth died of [[metastatic breast cancer]], aged 61.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://iknowjack.radio.com/2010/12/07/elizabeth-edwards-dies-at-61/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101211201254/http://iknowjack.radio.com/2010/12/07/elizabeth-edwards-dies-at-61/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2010-12-11 |title=Elizabeth Edwards Dies At 61 }}</ref>

===Residence===
In Washington, D.C., Edwards lived on [[Embassy Row]], at 2215 30th Street NW.<ref name="Life">[http://www.washingtonlife.com/issues/2005-09/hungarians_residence/index.php Hungarian Rhapsody] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110137/http://www.washingtonlife.com/issues/2005-09/hungarians_residence/index.php |date=March 4, 2016}}, Mary Mewborn, Washington Life.</ref> In 2004, he sold his house to the [[Hungarian Embassy to the United States]].<ref name="Wright">''[https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/06/five-hostages Five Hostages] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018233204/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/06/five-hostages |date=October 18, 2016}}'', [[Lawrence Wright]], July 6, 2015, ''[[The New Yorker]]''.</ref><ref name="NYT">''[https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/10/politics/campaign/10edwards.html Campaign Releases Edwards's Earnings] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016224552/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/10/politics/campaign/10edwards.html |date=October 16, 2015}}'', [[Michael Moss]] and [[Kate Zernike]], July 10, 2004, ''The New York Times''.</ref>

===Extramarital affair===
{{main|John Edwards extramarital affair}}
In October 2007, ''[[The National Enquirer]]'' began a series of reports alleging an [[Adultery|adulterous affair]] between Edwards and former campaign worker Rielle Hunter. By July 2008, several news media outlets speculated that Edwards's chances for the vice presidency as well as other positions such as the attorney general were harmed by the allegations, which now included that he fathered a child with Hunter and had visited her and the baby girl at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in [[Beverly Hills, California]]. The story was not widely covered by the press for some time, until, after initially denying the allegations,<ref name="MC073108">{{cite web |date=July 31, 2008 |last=Zagaroli |first=Lisa |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/election2008/story/46066.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130128163414/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/election2008/story/46066.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 28, 2013 |title=Birth certificate of child linked to Edwards lists no father |publisher=[[McClatchy Newspapers]] |access-date=August 1, 2008}}</ref><ref name="FoxNews">{{cite news |title=Guard Confirms Late-Night Hotel Encounter Between Ex-Sen. John Edwards, Tabloid Reporters |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/guard-confirms-late-night-hotel-encounter-between-ex-sen-john-edwards-tabloid-reporters |publisher=[[Fox News Channel]] |date=July 25, 2008 |author=Fox News (unsigned) |access-date=July 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130215000122/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,391426,00.html |archive-date=February 15, 2013 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="Independent">{{cite news|title= Love child and mistress claims hit Edwards |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/love-child-and-mistress-claims-hit-edwards-878277.html |work=[[The Independent]] |date=July 27, 2008 |author=Guy Adams |location=London}}</ref><ref name="TheTimes1">{{cite news |title=Sleaze scuppers Democrat golden boy |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article4406814.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007174835/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article4406814.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 7, 2008 |work=The Times |date=July 27, 2008 |author=Sarah Baxter |location=London}}</ref> Edwards admitted the affair.<ref name="RT080108">{{cite magazine |date=8 August 2008 |url=https://entertainment.time.com/2008/08/08/its_mainstream_now_edwards_adm/ |title=It's Mainstream Now; Edwards Admits Affair |last1=Poniewozik |first1=James |magazine=Time |access-date=1 August 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=August 9, 2008 |last=Hoyt |first=Clark |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/opinion/10pubed.html |title=Sometimes, There's News in the Gutter |work=The New York Times |access-date=September 3, 2008}}</ref>

In an August 8, 2008, statement,<ref name="Aug8statement">{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/08/AR2008080802738.html | title=Statement of Senator John Edwards |newspaper=The Washington Post | date=August 8, 2008 | access-date=August 8, 2008}}</ref> and an interview with [[Bob Woodruff]] of [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]], Edwards admitted the affair with Hunter in 2006, but denied being the father of her child. He acknowledged that he had been dishonest in denying the entire ''Enquirer'' story, admitting that some of it was true, but said that the affair ended long before the time of the child's conception. He further said he was willing to take a paternity test, but Hunter responded that she would not be party to a [[DNA]] test "now or in the future".<ref>Lois Romano and Howard Kurtz, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110131094402/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/09/AR2008080901298_pf.html "Edwards's Ex-Lover Rejects Idea Of DNA Test: Hunter Requests Privacy For Herself, Her Child"], ''The Washington Post'', August 10, 2008</ref> Initially, campaign aide Andrew Young claimed that he, not Edwards, was the child's father.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5441195&page=1 |title=Edwards Admits Sexual Affair; Lied as Presidential Candidate |author=Rhonda Swartz |author2=Brian Ross |work=ABC News |date=August 8, 2008 |access-date=August 8, 2008}}</ref> Young later renounced that statement, instead alleging that Edwards always knew he was the child's father and had pleaded with him to falsely accept responsibility.<ref name='Edwards-Denouement'>{{cite news |first=Neil |last=Lewis |title=For Edwards, Drama Builds Toward a Dénouement |date=September 19, 2009 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/us/politics/20edwards.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=September 20, 2009}}</ref>

Young further claimed to have set up private meetings between Edwards and Hunter, and that Edwards once calmed an anxious Hunter by promising her that after his wife died he would marry her in a rooftop ceremony in New York with an appearance by the [[Dave Matthews Band]].<ref name='Edwards-Denouement' /> Young also maintains that Edwards asked him to "Get a doctor to fake the DNA results ... and to steal a diaper from the baby so he could secretly do a DNA test to find out if this [was] indeed his child."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/john-edwards-admits-fathered-child-affair/story?id=9620812 |title=John Edwards Admits He Fathered Rielle Hunter's Child During Affair  |work=ABC News |date=January 21, 2010 |access-date=May 24, 2010}}</ref>

On January 21, 2010, John Edwards issued a press release to admit that he fathered Hunter's child.<ref name="APAdmits">{{cite news |date=January 21, 2010 |title=Edwards admits he fathered videographer's child |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/john_edwards_admits_he_fathere.html |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> On February 2, 2010, Young released a book detailing the affair. Young also began working with [[Aaron Sorkin]] on a movie about the affair based on the book ''The Politician''. On February 23, 2012, an Orange County, North Carolina, judge ruled that Young and his wife could not publicize the movie. The judge also ruled that an alleged "sex tape" of Edwards and Hunter be destroyed by the court. The judge also allowed only the materials already in the public domain to be used for public purposes. All other photos and materials not yet released can be used for family purposes only.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/23/justice/north-carolina-edwards-sex-tape/index.html |work=CNN|title=John Edwards sex tape to be destroyed after settlement reached |date=February 24, 2012}}</ref>

Reports surfaced in late 2011 in ''The National Enquirer'' and ''RadarOnline.com'' that Edwards asked his former mistress to move into his North Carolina home, where he had once lived with his wife.<ref>{{cite web |last= Tereszcuk |first=Alexis |title=Disgraced John Edwards Asks Mistress Rielle Hunter to Move in with Him |date=2011 |url=http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2011/12/john-edwards-asks-mistress-rielle-hunter-move-together |publisher=Radar Online |access-date=December 15, 2011}}</ref> In 2012, Rielle Hunter announced her breakup with Edwards the same day she released a book about their relationship.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/356563/20120626/rielle-hunter-john-edwards-book-breakup.htm |title= Rielle Hunter, John Edwards Breakup Announced Same Day As Book Release |date= June 26, 2012 |publisher= Ibtimes.com |access-date= December 17, 2012}}</ref>

In response to the scandal involving Edwards's extramarital affair and attempts to cover it up, he has stated "I am a sinner, but not a criminal."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Severson |first1=Kim |date=13 June 2012 |title=No New Trial for John Edwards |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/us/politics/john-edwards-charges-dismissed.html |access-date=5 October 2014 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

===Legal troubles===
In May 2009, newspapers reported that Edwards's campaign was being investigated for conversion of campaign money to personal use related to the affair. Edwards said that the campaign was complying with the inquiry. The relevant US attorney refused to comment.<ref>{{cite news |last=Baker |first=Mike |date=May 3, 2009 |title=For Edwards, investigation is latest stage of saga |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090503/ap_on_re_us/us_edwards_affair |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506225808/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090503/ap_on_re_us/us_edwards_affair |archive-date=May 6, 2009 |access-date=June 5, 2011 |newspaper=Yahoo! News |quote=His once-prominent political career is buried and the turmoil of his marriage is playing out in public. |agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Locke |first=Mandy |date=May 3, 2009 |title=Mellon gave Edwards a boost |url=http://www.newsobserver.com/114/story/1511324.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505181150/http://www.newsobserver.com/114/story/1511324.html |archive-date=May 5, 2009 |access-date=June 5, 2011 |newspaper=The News & Observer |publisher=The News & Observer Publishing Co. |location=Raleigh, NC |quote=John Edwards marched toward the White House in 2006 seeking an arsenal of millions collected a little at a time.}}</ref> In the same month, [[George Stephanopoulos]] of ABC News reported that members of Edwards's staff had told him that they had planned a "doomsday strategy" to derail Edwards's campaign if he got close to the nomination.<ref>{{cite news |last=Weiner |first=Rachel |date=May 10, 2009 |title=Edwards Staff Had Affair "Doomsday" Strategy (VIDEO) |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/10/edwards-staff-had-affair-_n_201317.html |access-date=May 24, 2010 |work=Huffington Post}}</ref> [[Joe Trippi]], a senior advisor to the campaign, said the report was "complete bullshit".<ref name="cnn trippi">{{cite news |last=Mooney |first=Alexander |date=May 11, 2009 |title=Trippi refutes claim Edwards staffers knew of affair |url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/11/trippi-refutes-claim-edwards-staffers-knew-of-affair/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514040452/http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/11/trippi-refutes-claim-edwards-staffers-knew-of-affair/ |archive-date=May 14, 2009 |access-date=May 13, 2009 |work=CNN |series=Political Ticker}}</ref> In August 2009, Rielle Hunter appeared before the [[grand jury]] investigating this matter.<ref>{{cite news |author=Mandy Locke |date=August 6, 2009 |title=Edwards' ex-girlfriend at courthouse |url=http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1636731.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090809092010/http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1636731.html |archive-date=August 9, 2009 |access-date=August 6, 2009 |publisher=[[Charlotte News & Observer]]}}</ref> On March 15, 2010, Hunter broke her silence during an interview with ''[[GQ]]'' magazine and provided new details about the affair.<ref>{{cite web |last=DePaulo |first=Lisa |date=March 15, 2010 |title=Hello, America, My Name Is Rielle Hunter |url=https://www.gq.com/story/rielle-hunter-john-edwards-exclusive-interview |access-date=2019-11-03 |website=GQ}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Phillips |first=Kate |date=March 15, 2010 |title=Mistress of Edwards Ends Silence on Affair |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/us/politics/16edwards.html |access-date=May 6, 2010 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> In March 2011, voicemail messages allegedly left by John Edwards were obtained, which Young says prove that Edwards arranged the cover-up of his affair with Hunter.<ref>{{cite news |last=Daniels |first=Steve |date=March 2, 2011 |title=Voicemails detail Edwards affair |url=https://abc11.com/archive/7990480/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305022919/http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news%2Fabc11_investigates&id=7990480 |archive-date=March 5, 2011 |access-date=March 3, 2011 |publisher=[[WTVD]]}}</ref>

On May 24, 2011, [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] and the ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' reported that the [[United States Department of Justice|U.S Department of Justice]]'s [[Public Integrity Section]] had conducted a two-year investigation into whether Edwards had used more than $1 million in political donations to hide his affair and planned to pursue criminal charges for alleged violations of [[campaign finance]] laws.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/26/us/26edwards.html |title=John Edwards to Face Criminal Charges - NYTimes.com |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date= 2011-02-13 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120131001831/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/26/us/26edwards.html |archive-date= January 31, 2012 |df=mdy }} On June 3, 2011, Edwards was indicted and charged with four counts of illegal campaign contributions and one count of false statements.</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/03/john-edwards-indicted_n_867406.html |work= Huffington Post |first= Elyse |last= Siegel |title= John Edwards Indicted |date= June 3, 2011}}</ref><ref>Hill, James. (May 24, 2011) [https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/john-edwards-prosecuted-alleged-campaign-law-violations-tied/story?id=13680079 John Edwards: US Green-Lights Prosecution for Alleged Campaign Law Violations Tied to Affair Cover-Up ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160715002641/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/john-edwards-prosecuted-alleged-campaign-law-violations-tied/story?id=13680079 |date= July 15, 2016 }}. Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved on June 3, 2011.</ref>

On June 3, 2011, Edwards was indicted by a [[federal grand jury]] in North Carolina on six felony charges, including four counts of collecting illegal campaign contributions, one count of conspiracy, and one count of making false statements.<ref>[http://famousdockets.com/Famous_Dockets_Ind_Edwards_John_Court_Doc_Indictment_2011.htm Indictment of Edwards. FamousDockets.com. Retrieved 7/8/2011] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091052/http://famousdockets.com/Famous_Dockets_Ind_Edwards_John_Court_Doc_Indictment_2011.htm |date= March 4, 2016 }}</ref>

After postponing the start of the trial while Edwards was treated for a heart condition in February 2012, Judge [[Catherine Eagles]] of the [[U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina]] scheduled jury selection to begin on April 12, 2012.<ref>{{cite news |last=Biesecker |first=Michael |title=Edwards trial to start in April|url=http://www.news-record.com/content/2012/03/01/article/edwards_trial_to_start_in_april |access-date=June 18, 2012 |newspaper=Greensboro News & Record |date=March 1, 2012 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Edwards's trial began on April 23, 2012, as he faced up to 30 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine.<ref name="Associated Press">{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna43260386 |title=Edwards arrives in NC court to face felony charges |date=June 3, 2011 |access-date=June 3, 2011 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

In a related development, on March 13, 2012, the [[Federal Election Commission]] ruled that Edwards's campaign must repay $2.1 million in matching federal funds. Edwards's lawyers claimed the money was used, and that the campaign did not receive all the funds to which it was entitled, but the Commission rejected the arguments.<ref name=FECRules>{{cite news |last1=Geiger |first1=Kim |title=FEC: John Edwards must pay back $2.3 million in campaign funds |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2011-jul-21-la-pn-edwards-fec-20110721-story.html |access-date=11 April 2015 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=21 July 2011}}</ref>

Twelve jurors and four alternates were seated, and opening arguments began April 23, 2012.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20120424/NEWS/304240035/Judge-Edwards-trial-witness-called-others |title=Judge: Edwards trial witness called others |last=Biesecker |first=Michael |work=[[Asheville Citizen-Times]] |agency=Associated Press |date=April 23, 2012 |access-date=April 25, 2012}}</ref> Closing arguments took place May 17, and the case went to the jury the next day.<ref name=Deliberate>{{cite news |last1=Zucchino |first1=David |title=Closing arguments in John Edwards trial |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-xpm-2012-may-18-la-na-john-edwards-20120518-story.html |access-date=11 April 2015 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=18 May 2012 |location=Greensboro, NC}}</ref>

On May 31, 2012, Edwards was found not guilty on Count 3, illegal use of campaign funding (contributions from [[Rachel Lambert Mellon|Rachel "Bunny" Mellon]]), while mistrials were declared on all other counts against him.<ref name=Mistrial>{{cite news |last1=Severson |first1=Kim |last2=Schwartz |first2=John |title= Edwards Not Guilty on One Count; Mistrial on Five Others |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/01/us/edwards-jury-returns-not-guilty-verdict-on-one-count.html |access-date= 11 April 2015 |work= The New York Times |date= 31 May 2012 |location= Greensboro, NC}}</ref> On June 13, 2012, the Justice Department announced that it dropped the charges and would not attempt to retry Edwards.<ref name="WashingtonPost061312" />