John Edwards biography

In December 2006, Edwards, now retired from the U.S. Senate, announced his entry into the 2008 Presidential election. Building off his previous trial law experience, Edwards largely ran as a populist. Despite his name recognition, however, Edwards was still considered an underdog to win the White House.

After several disappointing finishes in the primaries and caucuses, Edwards suspended his campaign on Jan. 30,

2008. He endorsed Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois on May 14 during a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Family Life

Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, met as law students at Chapel Hill. They married in 1977 and had four children: Catharine, Emma Claire, and Jack. Their first child, Wade, died in 1996 in a car accident.

With her own personal appeal, Elizabeth, who retired from her own law practice after her son's death, proved to be an important political asset for Edwards. She could be charming, funny, and her personal story, which included being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, showed her to be a fighter.

For several years, Elizabeth's cancer was in remission. But in 2007 it returned. In spite of her diagnosis, Elizabeth continued to be a presence on her husband's campaign.

Personal Trouble

On August 8, 2008, Edwards admitted to repeatedly lying during his presidential campaign about having an extramarital affair with a former staffer. In an interview with ABC's Nightline, Edwards admitted he had an affair with 44-year-old campaign staffer Rielle Hunter. It was also revealed that Edwards fathered a daughter with Hunter, and attempted to hide the child's existence from his family and colleagues.

Edwards and Elizabeth split in 2010. On December 7 of that year, she passed away from cancer.

Edwards' dalliances with Hunter would come back to haunt him in 2011. In March of that year, voicemail messages obtained by the U.S. Department of Justice allegedly revealed Edwards' attempt to cover up the affair during the peak of his 2008 campaign for the White House. Through this and other evidence, the justice department revealed that Edwards spent nearly a million dollars of campaign money to keep his mistress in hiding. In May 2011, the United States Department of Justice decided to pursue criminal charges against Edwards, claiming that he violated campaign laws.

On June 3, 2011, a federal grand jury officially indicted Edwards on charges of conspiracy, false statements and four counts of illegal campaign contributions.

Edwards had to face these charges in late April 2012, when his trial began in Greensboro, North Carolina. More details of his affair with Rielle Hunter came to light during the testimony of several former aides and other associates. According to their statements, there was an effort to hide Hunter from the press once she became pregnant. She traveled by private plane and stayed in luxurious resorts in California, Florida and Colorado. All of these expenses were allegedly paid for using campaign funds.

On May 31, 2012, after nine days of deliberation by a jury, Edwards was found not guilty on one of four counts of illegal campaign contributions. Mistrials were declared on the five other counts against Edwards, which included conspiracy and false statements.

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