John Edwards admits mistakes but ‘did not break the law’

John Edwards officially pled not guilty to charges he illegally used campaign funds to cover up an affair with a former campaign aide and made his first public remarks on the case, insisting he is innocent.

"There is no question I did wrong, and I take full responsibility for having done wrong," he told reporters outside a federal courthouse in Winston-Salem, N.C., where he was charged in the affair cover-up. "I will regret for the rest of my life the pain and harm that I have caused others. But I did not break the law, and I never ever thought I was breaking the law."

The former Democratic presidential candidate appeared in a federal court just hours after he was indicted by a grand jury on six charges, including conspiracy, four counts of illegal campaign contributions and a charge that he made false statements to federal officials. He was accompanied in the courtroom by his oldest daughter, Cate.

Outside the courthouse, Greg Craig, Edwards' attorney, slammed the government's case, insisting again the more than $900,000 two longtime Edwards political benefactors gave to the candidate during this 2008 campaign were personal gifts, not donations to his presidential effort. "This is an unprecedented prosecution," Craig declared. "He has broken no law."

If convicted, Edwards faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the six counts.

(Photo of Edwards: Jennifer Rotenizer/Winston-Salem Journal via AP)