Election Law & Government Ethics Co-Chair Quoted on Campaign Finance Violation Charges against Sen. Edwards

Michael Toner, co-chair of Wiley Rein’s Election Law & Government Ethics Practice, was quoted in several publications commenting on whether former North Carolina Senator John Edwards violated campaign finance laws. Sen. Edwards has been accused of using campaign donations to cover an up an affair with a former campaign aide. Election law experts have said that the case could be difficult to prosecute. “I think it’s a stretch to try to prosecute this matter,” Mr. Toner said. “The governing standard is whether expenses were incurred for the purpose of influencing a federal election. That’s highly debatable here,” he said. “Any time the government is relying on an obscure 11-year old FEC advisory opinion to support a criminal prosecution, it's uphill,” Mr. Toner concluded.