John Edwards Acknowledges To Newspaper That He Is Being Investigated

May 3, 2009 12:13 p.m. EST

Washington, DC (AHN) - Former U.S. senator and Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards acknowledged to a North Carolina newspaper that federal investigators are looking into whether campaign funds were used to hush up an affair he was having with a videographer hired by his campaign.

Edwards told the Raleigh News & Observer that he has "made available to the United States both the people and the information necessary to help [investigators] get the issue resolved efficiently and in a timely manner." He would not discuss the issue with the newspaper.

Sheila Krumholz, the executive director of the campaign watchdog group Open Secrets, told the paper that many non-profit groups not subject to the same transparency rules for donating to candidates funded Edwards' campaign to be the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee, so sorting out his finances will be difficult.

Campaign records show Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter, was paid $114,000 by a political action committee close to Edwards to film and document his campaign stops. The videos were shown on his campaign Web site.

The investigation is being led by U.S. Attorney George Holding, who is based in Raleigh. A federal grand jury could be convened to weigh the evidence. Holding would not comment on the Edwards to the News & Observer.

The affair with Hunter shocked the nation because it was going on while Edwards' wife Elizabeth was beginning a public battle with breast cancer. She wrote about her reaction upon finding out in her yet-to-be-released memoir, "Resilience: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life's Adversaries."