Charges May Be Near in John Edwards Sex Scandal

Prosecutors may soon bring criminal charges against former presidential candidate John Edwards, who is being investigated about possible misuse of campaign donations to cover up his affair and love child with Rielle Hunter.

Edwards could be indicted by a federal grand jury in days or weeks, NBC News reported today, citing anonymous sources close to the investigation. The Justice Department is still reviewing the case, sources told the network, but could allow prosecutors to bring charges against Edwards. WRAL-TV said prosecutors will say whether they have decided to indict Edwards in late February or early March but did not cite a source. The Justice Department did not immediately return a call for comment today by AOL News.

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The case hinges on the testimony of two key witnesses, Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, a donor, and Andrew Young, who served as an aide to Edwards during his 2008 campaign and initially said he fathered Hunter's daughter.

Paul Ryan, an attorney with the Campaign Legal Center and an expert on campaign finance law, said prosecutors will have to prove that Edwards knew the campaign donations were being used to hide his affair. "Did he knowingly violate campaign laws? That's the question," Ryan told AOL News in a phone interview today.

Fred Baron, Edwards' finance chairman, admitted before his death in 2008 that he helped hide a pregnant Hunter in California estates in 2007, but he said Edwards knew nothing about the campaign money being used to conceal the mistress. "John Edwards was not aware that assistance was provided to anyone involved in this matter," he said in August 2008.

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Young, who has since written a tell-all book about his work for Edwards and severed his relationship with the former Democratic presidential hopeful, has said Mellon donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Edwards through an interior decorator. Prosecutors have recorded the testimony of the 100-year-old heiress at her home in Virginia. Mellon's attorney, however, has said that the money was a personal gift.

Edwards' attorney, Wade Smith, has disputed the accusations. "We do not believe there is evidence that John has violated any election laws," he told The Associated Press last month.

The two-year investigation is being lead by George Holding, the U.S. attorney in Raleigh, N.C., and a Republican.

Edwards, 57, has three children with his estranged wife, Elizabeth Edwards, who died late last year, and a fourth child with Hunter.