Prosecutors face tough task in Edwards case

The six-count indictment accuses Edwards of conspiracy, taking illegal campaign contributions, and making false statements. On Friday, appearing both defiant and contrite, he insisted he did not break the law.

Some legal specialists tend to agree.

At Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which typically criticizes the Justice Department for not pursuing enough cases against public officials, executive director Melanie Sloan questioned why federal officials were spending resources on this one. She said it is unlikely prosecutors can prove that participants of the scheme intended for the money to aid Edwards’s candidacy, and Sloan said it was a stretch to argue that private plane flights provided to mistress Rielle Hunter should somehow be considered campaign contributions.

“This is a really broad definition of campaign contribution,’’ said Sloan, a former federal prosecutor. She predicted a judge will toss the case before it goes to trial.

The federal investigation focused particularly on money coming from two Edwards supporters — former campaign finance chairman Fred Baron and Rachel “Bunny’’ Mellon, the widow of banking heir Paul Mellon. Combined, they provided $925,000 used to help hide Hunter, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors contend that the money was intended to aid Edwards’s campaign by preventing public disclosure of the affair, which would have destroyed his candidacy. But prosecutors could have difficulty proving intent, given that Baron died in 2008 shortly after the scandal surfaced and Mellon is now 100 years old.

Andrew Young, a former Edwards aide who initially claimed paternity of Hunter’s baby and helped keep her in hiding, probably will be a key government witness. Edwards’s lawyers have already tried to portray him as being motivated by financial gain.