John Edwards may soon be indicted for using money from his presidential campaign to payoff his mistress. At this point, the Justice Department hasn't approved any charges against the two-timing presidential candidate, but prosecutors are confident that they have a good case against Edwards.

If given the green light, prosecutors will investigate the money used by Edwards to pay both his mistress, Rielle Hunter, and Andrew Young, an aid convinced to take public responsibility for fathering Hunter's child. The two were believed to have been paid with money raised by the now-deceased Fred Baron and 100 year-old Rachel "Bunny" Mellon. The question is whether these payoffs should be considered campaign contributions, "since keeping her away from the press was crucial to Edwards remaining a viable candidate," write Lisa Myers and Michael Austin at NBC. The other key issue is whether or not Edwards knew the money was being used to hide his affair. Though he denies he had any knowledge that Hunter and Young were being payed off, Young claims, in his book about the scandal, that Edwards was fully involved in soliciting and dispensing money for the cover up.

Meanwhile, Hunter is suing Young and his wife for stealing a sex tape of the two, as well as a photo of the baby, and using them to gain publicity for his own projects. United Press International reported yesterday that Edwards had testified in this separate case and that though the details of what he said are unknown, his comments could be relevant to his potential indictment on the payoff matter.

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Caitlin Dickson