John Edwards Ordered to Repay $2.3 Million in Campaign Funds
The Federal Election Commission ordered John Edwards to pay $2.3 million back to the U.S. Treasury from his candidacy in the 2008 presidential primaries. In a routine audit, the FEC says the campaign received $2.1 million more in federal matching funds than it was entitled to, which it now must repay, as well as $141,000 in what The Wall Street Journal calls "stale-dated checks." The Edwards campaign committee still had $2.6 million in its coffers as of June 30. A lawyer for Edwards is disputing the ruling.
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The latest developments with the FEC are unrelated to the felony charges Edwards face for using campaign funds to cover up an extramarital affair. Edwards has pleaded not guilty to accepting over $900,000 in contributions, part of which went to conceal his affair with Rielle Hunter, with whom he had a daughter. Edwards will stand trial for those crimes in October.
