White House candidate John Edwards on funds charge

Former US Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards has been indicted for using nearly $1 million in illegal campaign funds to help cover up an extramarital affair during his White House bid.

In a fall from grace for a man once expected to go far in American politics, Edwards, 57, was charged with conspiracy, illegal campaign contributions and making false statements, according to the federal indictment.

"Mr. Edwards is alleged to have accepted more than $900,000 in an effort to conceal from the public facts that he believed would harm his candidacy," yesterday said Lanny Breuer, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's criminal division.

Each count carries a sentence of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

"John Edwards will tell the court he is innocent of all charges and will plead not guilty," his lawyer, Gregory Craig, said in a statement. "He will mount a vigorous defence."

The indictment accused Edwards of secretly obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars and using it to help cover up his extramarital affair with a campaign worker, Rielle Hunter, knowing that her subsequent pregnancy would destroy his 2008 presidential bid.

It is alleged the cash came from two donors, at a time when the limit on individual donatiosn was $2,300.