Updated at 6:38 p.m.: The judge in the campaign finance corruption trial of former presidential candidate John Edwards indicated Tuesday that proceedings could stretch well into June after a second closed-door meeting with prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Analysis: John Edwards jury speaks with its silence

For the second straight court day — there was no session Monday because of the Memorial Day holiday — U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles closed the courtroom in Greensboro, N.C., for about 45 minutes Tuesday morning. Court officials told NBC News she was discussing a "juror issue" with attorneys in the case.

---

For several days, Eagles has taken extra care to remind jurors that all deliberations must take place in the jury room with all 12 jurors present and only there, raising speculation that one or more of the eight men and four women on the panel may have been discussing the case outside the courthouse. The judge said if jurors talk in small groups it can be divisive and make it more difficult for the group to reach a verdict.

• Full trial coverage on msnbc.com
• Full transcripts of closing arguments
• Analysis by Hampton Dellinger

The original 12 jurors were still in place Tuesday, however, and the strain they were under was obvious, said Hampton Dellinger, a legal analyst for NBC News and msnbc.com.

"They realize they've got a tremendous weight on them, and they don't know what to do with it," Dellinger said on MSNBC-TV's "Hardball."

Before breaking for lunch, Eagles referred to some juror scheduling conflicts, noting that it is "high school graduation season." She asked the jury members to pass along notes with their scheduling needs through the end of next week, suggesting deliberations could drag on well into June, raising the prospect that a trial that started in April could still be in process when summer begins on June 20.

Deliberations resume Wednesday morning.

Edwards, 58 — a former U.S. senator from North Carolina and the Democrats' 2004 vice presidential nominee — is charged with six felony counts of accepting about $1 million in illegal and unreported donations during his 2008 presidential campaign from two wealthy supporters at a time when individual donations were limited to $2,300.

If convicted on all counts, Edwards could face 30 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines. As he headed for lunch Tuesday, a confident-looking Edwards told Ben Thompson of NBC station WCNC in Charlotte, N.C., "I feel fine."

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• What caused naked face-chewing attack: Bath salts, LSD?
• Video: Beryl brings heavy rain, wind to Florida, Georgia
• Dallas crane standoff ends as man falls to death
• Video: Bear cools off in backyard pool
• Analysis: John Edwards jury speaks with its silence

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

Updated at 5 p.m. ET: Jurors in the campaign finance corruption trial for former presidential candidate John Edwards went home for the holiday weekend without having reached a verdict, but not before the judge closed the courtroom for a private meeting with prosecutors and defense attorneys.

• Full trial coverage on msnbc.com
• Full transcripts of closing arguments
• Analysis by Hampton Dellinger

U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles told the lawyers that she had "a jury matter to discuss" with them. Thirty-seven minutes later, she sent the jurors home for the weekend, giving them extra instructions about the importance of not talking about the case outside their official deliberations.

She reminded them that they mustn't discuss the case with anyone — "as you walk back to your cars" or "in small groups."  

---

Eagles said she could hold another closed session to talk "about this same juror issue" when deliberations resume at 9 a.m. ET Tuesday, after the Memorial Day holiday.

 

It will be the beginning of the second full week of deliberations in Edwards' trial in U.S. District Court in Greensboro, N.C., where he is charged with six felony counts of accepting about $1 million in illegal and unreported campaign donations from two wealthy supporters during his 2008 presidential campaign at a time when individual donations were limited to $2,300.

By Stacey Klein of NBC News in Greensboro, N.C., and M. Alex Johnson of msnbc.com.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• Police find mom of three children abandoned in Oregon
• Second Mile, charity that Jerry Sandusky founded, seeks to shut down
• Tsunami Harley-Davidson's next stop: US museum
• Recording may reveal new evidence in Manson murders
• Video: Former prep football star cleared of rape conviction

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

Updated at 4:49 p.m. ET: The jury in the campaign finance corruption trial of former presidential candidate John Edwards signaled Thursday that it may not be near a verdict.

As they broke for lunch on their fifth day of deliberations in U.S. District Court in Greensboro, N.C., jurors asked Judge Catherine Eagles for 20 more exhibits to produced for review. 

Most of the requested exhibits relate to money provided by the late Fred Baron, the finance chief of Edwards' 2008 presidential campaign, that was used to pay for hotel rooms, private jets and other transportation expenses rung up as campaign officials moved Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter, around the country in an attempt to conceal their affair from the public.

---

The new request was so expansive that Eagles asked jurors whether it would simply be quicker to have all of the trial's exhibits — more than 500 documents — sent to the jury room. The foreman replied, "Sounds like a good idea," and Eagles agreed to provide all of them.

The jury headed home for the day without reaching a verdict Thursday afternoon. Deliberations resume Friday morning.

Edwards, a former U.S. senator from North Carolina who was the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee, is charged with six felony counts of accepting about $1 million in illegal and unreported campaign donations from Baron and billionaire heiress Rachel "Bunny" Mellon at a time when federal campaign donations were capped at $2,300.

• Full trial coverage on msnbc.com
• Full transcripts of closing arguments
• Analysis by Hampton Dellinger

Hampton Dellinger, a legal analyst for NBC news and msnbc.com, said the request made it clear that there's "no verdict in sight." 

Watch US News videos on msnbc.com

The four-week trial established that the Federal Election Commission — which cleared the contributions in its audit of Edwards' campaign — and the Justice Department were unable to agree on whether the donations from Mellon and Baron constituted campaign contributions subject to regulation under a 1971 election law. And the "jury can't yet, either," Dellinger said.

As the deliberations have stretched on, scores of reporters and camera crews outside the courthouse have taken to speculating on the significance of even minor clues.

Wednesday, one reporter was overheard asking whether it meant anything that three of the jurors had shown up wearing orange. 

And after Edwards showed up Thursday wearing what appeared to be the same green tie he's been wearing all week, a reporter asked him whether it was his "lucky tie."

Edwards responded, "I'm not saying."

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• Underground gay group makes waves at Christian college
• NJ man arrested in 1979 disappearance of Etan Patz
• NBC poll: Obama edges Romney in three key battleground states
• Female soldiers sue to lift combat ban on 'basis of sex'
• 'Stash house' raid nets 131 illegal immigrants
• Video: Parents outraged over bike ride suspensions

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

Jurors in the campaign finance corruption trial of former presidential candidate John Edwards were sent home for the day on Monday without having reached a verdict.

A third day of deliberations will begin Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. ET in U.S. District Court in Greensboro, N.C., where Edwards — a former U.S. senator and the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee — is charged with six felony counts of accepting about $1 million in illegal and unreported campaign donations from two wealthy supporters at a time when individual contributions were limited to $2,300.

---

Jurors appeared particularly interested in one of those donors, billionaire heiress Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, asking the judge for seven exhibits that appeared to be related to the roughly $750,000 she gave an aide to Edwards to help conceal Edwards' affair with Rielle Hunter, a videographer on his 2008 presidential campaign staff.

Analysis: Possible outcomes for John Edwards

Watch US News videos on msnbc.com

Mellon, who is 101 years old, didn't testify during the trial, but her attorney and financial adviser, Alex Forger, offered extensive testimony that Mellon knew that her donations were intended to fund the "Hunter problem" and weren't given as campaign contributions.

One of the exhibits they sought was a handwritten note from Mellon dated Sept. 17, 2007. Jurors requested a typed version, but U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles denied the request, saying one didn't exist, so they would have to do with the handwritten version. The contents of that note haven't been made public.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• Mississippi pastor-lawmaker denies endorsing the killing of gays
• Great-grandma: Ready to 'lose' my life protesting
• US war veterans return medals at NATO protest
• Father of 30, by 11 women, wants state child support
• Marijuana grows openly in California towns, not just for medicinal purposes
• Video: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg gets married

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

Updated at 6:51 p.m. ET: A jury of eight men and four women began deliberations Friday in the trial of former Sen. John Edwards and retired for the weekend after signaling that it could be some time before they reach a verdict.

The racially diverse jury, which includes three members with finance-related jobs, is considering whether Edwards, the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee, "knowingly and willfully" violated a 1971 campaign finance law by orchestrating a scheme in which two wealthy donors provided almost $1 million to hide his pregnant mistress, Rielle Hunter, while he sought the Democratic nomination for president in 2008.

---

Jurors got the case late Thursday afternoon and were sent home for the weekend Friday afternoon. Deliberations were scheduled to resume Monday at 9:30 a.m. ET in U.S. District Court in Greensboro, N.C.

Although hundreds of journalists from across the nation filled the square outside the courthouse and microphones were set up, Edwards didn't stop to talk to reporters as he returned to court for the end of the day's proceedings.

A quick verdict "would be surprising considering the complexity of the case," said Hampton Dellinger, a legal analyst for NBC News and msnbc.com. "I think a rush to judgment is not what they want."

• Full trial coverage on msnbc.com
• Full transcripts of closing arguments (.pdf)
• Analysis by Hampton Dellinger

Shortly after they retired to the jury room, the jurors indicated that they intended to take their time reviewing the four weeks of evidence. They asked U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles for a list of all exhibits published by the defense and the prosecution — which runs to hundreds of items — and eight specific exhibits.

• Full list of prosecution exhibits
• Full list of defense exhibits

The also requested "other notes from Bunny Mellon" — a reference to evidence related to nearly $750,000 contributed by billionaire Edwards supporter Rachel "Bunny" Mellon.

Mellon, who is 101 years old, didn't testify during the trial, but her attorney and financial adviser, Alex Forger, offered extensive testimony that Mellon knew that her donations were intended to fund the "Hunter problem" and weren't given as campaign contributions.

The jurors also requested a transcript of Forger's testimony, but Eagles refused to provide it. She said that if they still need it by the middle of next week, she would reconsider that ruling.

The jury comprises eight men and four women. Six of them are white, five are African-American and one is Hispanic.

Dellinger said the makeup probably suited Edwards. The majority of the jurors are from lower-middle and middle-class backgrounds — Edwards' main constituency when he served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina.

And he probably "wanted a jury with as many men as possible who might sympathize with his desire to keep the affair quiet from his wife," Dellinger said.

Edwards faces as long as 30 years in federal prison and fines up to $1.5 million if he is convicted on all counts.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• Nurses (yes, nurses) lead charge for Wall Street 'sin' tax
• Texan to Obama: Forget turkey, pardon writer O. Henry!
• Mysterious object nearly downed plane over Denver
• Highway murders: Suspect held in 'fake cop' case
• Video: Scientist bit by alligator: 'A little out of my size range'

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

Updated at 6:56 p.m. ET: John Edwards' fate could rest on what the word "the" means when his corruption trial enters its final phase Thursday morning. 

Closing statements in the former Democratic presidential candidate's trial begin Thursday at 9:15 a.m. ET in U.S. District Court in Greensboro, N.C. That's where Edwards — a former U.S. senator and the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee — is charged with six felony counts of accepting about $1 million in unreported campaign donations from two wealthy supporters at a time when federal election law limited individual political contributions to $2,300 per election cycle. 

Jury deliberations are expected to begin Friday.

---

The trial unexpectedly moved closer to a conclusion when Edwards' lawyers abruptly rested their case Wednesday morning without calling Edwards or his onetime mistress, Rielle Hunter.

 

• Full trial coverage on msnbc.com
• Analysis by Hampton Dellinger

After the jury was dismissed for the day, David Harbach, the chief prosecutor for the Justice Department, and Abbe Lowell, Edwards' lead attorney, haggled for more than two hours about the instructions U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles will read to the jury after closing statements. 

Perhaps the most contested issue centers on the language of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (.pdf), the statute Edwards is accused of having violated, which specifies that excess contributions are illegal if they are made "for the purpose of influencing any election for Federal office."

The most important word is "the." Edwards' lawyers argue that it means the jury must find that Edwards conspired to accept illegal contributions solely to help his presidential election campaign. 

The government, by contrast, essentially argued that it can be read to mean "a purpose," contending that the contributions were illegal if Edwards used the money to influence the election along with other purposes, such as sparing his wife, the late Elizabeth Edwards, the humiliation of the affair.

Eagles indicated late Wednesday afternoon that she will instruct jurors that the government doesn't have to prove that the payments by billionaire heiress Rachel "Bunny" Mellon and the late Fred Baron were for the "sole benefit" of influencing primary elections in January 2008. 

But she said she would also tell them that a guilty verdict should be based on something more than just a side benefit to the Edwards campaign. Specifically, Eagles suggested that the jurors should be told that if they find that the real purpose of the payments was personal, the money cannot be considered an unlawful contribution.

Eagles could still change her mind about some issues before she files the final instructions Wednesday evening. They won't be made public until Eagles gives them to the jury after closing arguments, which are expected to stretch well into Thursday afternoon.

No Edwards or Hunter
It was a subdued ending to the defense phase of the trial, disappointing scores of people who had lined up  two hours before court opened, anticipating they might get an opportunity to hear from Edwards, Hunter and Edwards' daughter Cate Edwards Upham.

Legal analysts had predicted that Upham would certainly testify Wednesday and that Edwards was likely to.

But Lowell rested the defense case after Eagles denied another attempt to introduce evidence that Donald McGahn, a member of the Federal Election Commission, disagrees with the government's theory that the payments for Hunter constituted illegal campaign contributions.

Watch US News videos on msnbc.com

Lowell tried to introduce an audiotape of McGahn saying at a July 2011 FEC meeting that, even assuming everything the government claims is true, the payments were contributions that should have been reported.

The audio is available here from the FEC's website.

But Eagles said, "I don't think the opinions of others ... are particularly helpful to this jury" — essentially the same reasoning she gave last week in ruling out testimony from former FEC members who had been expected to say they also thought the contributions were legal.

The jury was left with the final testimony of Jim Walsh, a former FBI agent hired by the defense who traced the money trail.

Walsh testified Tuesday that Baron, finance director for his presidential campaign, gave Hunter monthly payments totaling $74,000 in the second half of 2008 — well after the campaign had ended and some of it even after Edwards publicly admitted the affair.

"The only logical reason for making these payments at the time they were made was exactly what John Edwards has been saying: 'I'm trying to protect my wife from finding out that I'm the father of Rielle Hunter's baby,'" said Kieran Shanahan, a former federal prosecutor.

Another major point of the defense argument is that Edwards didn't know what the money from Baron and Mellon was being used for, a contention that was supported Tuesday by John Moylan, who worked in both of Edwards' presidential campaigns.

Moylan testified that Edwards was shocked to learn in August 2008 — several months after the fact — that Mellon had been paying to help support Hunter and keep her from the public eye. The money was given through checks falsely labeled as furniture purchases through Andrew Young, who was once a top aide to Edwards and is now his chief accuser.

Referring to Young as "that damn Andrew," Edwards told Mellon, "Bunny, you should not be sending money to anyone," Moylan testified.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• US has 55 daily encounters with 'suspected terrorists'
• Video: Dad of sole plane crash survivor: It's a miracle
• Catholic college drops health insurance, cites birth control mandate
• Cities struggle to keep Memorial Day, Fourth of July celebrations
• F-22 flights restricted due to oxygen system complaints

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

Updated at 6:55 p.m. ET: John Edwards' defense lawyers said Tuesday they might call both Edwards and Rielle Hunter, his mistress and the mother of his youngest daughter, to the stand Wednesday in his campaign finance corruption trial.

Both have been on the defense's potential witness list from the beginning, as has Edwards' eldest daughter, Cate Edwards Upham. But speculation had swirled around the trial in Greensboro, N.C., that it might be too risky for the defense to call any of them to the stand.

Their names were on an updated list of possible witnesses that Edwards' lawyers gave the judge late Tuesday. Their appearance on the list doesn't mean they'll definitely testify; crafty defense lawyers have been known to list possible witnesses whom they have no intention of calling to throw prosecutors off the trail.

---

Tuesday, a large crowd gathered at the federal courthouse anticipating Upham's testimony, but a parade of other witnesses pushed her appearance on the stand back a day. She is likely to be one of the first witnesses called Wednesday.

Upham is expected to say that despite the lies and betrayal, her father still cared for her mother, Elizabeth, and was trying to protect the family.

"Taking the stand, talking about her father, how much family mattered — I think it could be powerful evidence for John Edwards," said Hampton Dellinger, a legal analyst for NBC News and msnbc.com.

The focus instead was on the money trail Tuesday, as a longtime friend and former campaign aide testified that Edwards was surprised to learn that billionaire oil heiress "Rachel "Bunny" Mellon had given almost $750,000 to help conceal the affair with Hunter.

• Full trial coverage on msnbc.com
• Analysis by Hampton Dellinger

Edwards, a former U.S. senator from North Carolina who was the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee, is on trial in U.S. District Court on six felony counts of accepting about $1 million in illegal and unreported campaign donations from Mellon and the late Fred Baron, finance chief for his 2008 presidential campaign.

A major point of the defense argument is that Edwards didn't know what the money from Mellon and Baron was being used for, a contention that was supported Tuesday by John Moylan, who worked in both of Edwards' presidential campaigns.

Moylan testified that Edwards was shocked to learn in August 2008 — several months after the fact — that Mellon had been paying to help support Hunter and keep her from the public eye. The money was given through checks falsely labeled as furniture purchases through Andrew Young, who was once a top aide to Edwards and is now his chief accuser.

Referring to Young as "that damn Andrew," Edwards told Mellon, "Bunny, you should not be sending money to anyone," Moylan testified.

Edwards' lawyers also called former FBI agent Jim Walsh to provide an analysis of Edwards' and Hunter's finances that appeared to show that most of the money from Mellon and Baron stayed in the hands of Young and his wife, while "Rielle Hunter saw little" of it, Dellinger said.

Financial records showed that the Youngs got about $1 million from Baron and Mellon in 2007 and 2008, but tax returns suggested they gave Hunter only $191,000 of it.

Other records showed that rather than deal with Young, Baron paid Hunter through direct deposits into her checking account. That money accounted for $74,000 over seven months.

Other defense witnesses also questioned the credibility of Young, calling him "untrustworthy" and "dishonest."

That could be Edwards' best angle after U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles ruled out a major part of the defense case Monday, saying jurors wouldn't be allowed to hear about a federal audit that concluded that the money for the Hunter operation didn't amount to campaign contributions subject to federal regulation.

Scott Thomas, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, had been ready to testify about the audit of Edwards' 2008 campaign, which found that the contributions were legal. But Eagles ruled that evidence inadmissible because there was no way to determine what FEC auditors knew or were told at the time.

Thomas was allowed to testify Tuesday morning, but only in general terms. He said the commission had never before considered a case like Edwards'.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• Catholic college drops student health insurance, cites birth control mandate
• Cities struggle to keep Memorial Day, Fourth of July celebrations
• F-22 flights restricted because of oxygen system complaints
• Video: Brutal violence escalates in Mexico drug wars
• Marines sold stolen combat weapons to gangs, China
• Fire captain demoted for Trayvon Martin Facebook post

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

Updated at 5:50 p.m. ET: Jurors in the campaign finance trial of former Sen. John Edwards won't hear about a federal audit that concluded that almost $1 million used to help conceal his affair with Rielle Hunter did not amount to campaign contributions subject to federal regulation, the judge ruled Monday.

Edwards, 58, a former U.S. senator from North Carolina and the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2004, is on trial in U.S. District Court in Greensboro, N.C., where he is charged with six felony counts of accepting about $1 million in illegal and unreported campaign donations from two wealthy supporters during his 2008 presidential campaign.

---

The ruling came after prosecutors objected to testimony from Lora Haggard, who, as the campaign's chief financial officer, was in charge of compliance with FEC regulations. Haggard said the FEC had declared that it didn't consider the money to be campaign contributions.

Haggard testified that she didn't even bother to amend campaign filings to report the payments because the money wasn't used to urge the public to vote for Edwards.

After a long discussion with lawyers for both sides — outside the presence of the jury — U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles ruled that evidence about the FEC audit was inadmissible because it couldn't be determined exactly what the FEC knew or was told at the time.

Edwards' lawyers had been ready to call Scott Thomas, a former chairman of the FEC, who was to have testified about the audit of Edwards' 2008 campaign. His testimony would have been crucial to the defense, said Hampton Dellinger, a legal analyst for NBC News and msnbc.com.

That's because "it would be compelling evidence that, no matter what else you think about John Edwards, there is no reason for him to think that the coverup of the affair was an election law crime," Dellinger said before the ruling was announced.

After the ruling, the defense moved on, calling Harrison Hickman, Edwards' campaign pollster, who strongly denied prosecutors' contention that Edwards was the driving force behind the coverup.

Hickman testified that it was the idea of the late Fred Baron — the campaign's finance chief and one of the two donors who provided the money — to hide Hunter from the public. 

Former Edwards aide Andrew Young testified earlier in the trial that Edwards knew the money was intended to support Hunter in seclusion, but Hickman called Young "a liar."

• Full trial coverage from NBC News and msnbc.com
• Analysis: Denial of dismissal bid is anything but routine

It remained unknown Monday whether Edwards will testify in his own defense or whether his attorneys will call Hunter to the stand — something the prosecution chose not to do. But the defense announced late Monday that Edwards' daughter Cate — who fled the courtroom in tears at one point during the prosecution's case — could testify as early as Tuesday.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• California faces higher taxes to cut huge deficit
• Gov. Christie's pension issue: Double-dipping in New Jersey
• Edwards case: Dismissal denial anything but routine
• Video: Obama, Romney play up gay marriage split
• Four heading to Christian youth rally killed in plane crash
• Father: 'Miracle' as woman fights flesh-eating bacteria

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

Updated at 6:59 p.m. ET: The judge in John Edwards' federal campaign finance trial rejected a defense motion to dismiss the charges against him Friday, a day after the prosecution rested its case.

Edwards' defense team argued that prosecutors hadn't proven their case — an assessment many legal analysts agreed with, noting that many of the prosecution witnesses had actually bolstered Edwards' contention that nothing he did in accepting donations from prominent backers to support his mistress was actually a crime.

---

But dismissal motions are a long shot, and U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Eagles said "we will let the jury decide" in a ruling that NBC News and msnbc.com legal analyst Hampton Dellinger said brought home the "risk of taking this case to trial for John Edwards."

• Full trial coverage on msnbc.com
• Analysis by Hampton Dellinger

Edwards' lawyers are scheduled to begin presenting their case Monday.

Edwards — the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee and a former senator from North Carolina — is charged in U.S. District Court in Greensboro with six felony counts of accepting about $1 million in illegal and unreported campaign donations from two wealthy supporters.

The prosecution chose not to call Rielle Hunter, the campaign videographer with whom Edwards fathered a daughter, and Edwards' lawyers haven't said whether they intend to question her on the stand. They also haven't said whether Edwards himself might testify.

The first phase of the controversial case came to a close after two weeks without testimony from a key witness — Hunter, the mother of Edwards' daughter Quinn.

Prosecutors instead introduced a mountain of paper evidence to establish the two points they must prove to convict Edwards — that he knew the money from billionaire heiress Rachel "Bunny" Mellon and the late Fred Baron was being diverted to the "Hunter problem" and that he knew doing so was a violation of the law.

Edwards denies he knew what his former top aide and chief accuser, Andrew Young, was up to, and his lawyers argue that every step of the way, the campaign was careful to keep the money separate from political funds.

Prosecutors called a parade of witnesses they hoped would impeach Edwards' integrity by depicting him as a politician blinded by ambition and hubris.

Even as rumors of the affair swirled in tabloid media, Edwards remained in the 2008 presidential race and was lobbying behind the scenes for a position in the administration of the eventual Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, said Leo Hindery, a former Edwards campaign adviser.

The testimony showed that even as his career was crumbling around him, "John Edwards persisted in his efforts, if not to become president, to become vice president, attorney general and maybe even a Supreme Court justice," said Stephen Friedland, law professor at Elon University in Elon, N.C.

Other evidence from federal agents outlined lavish shopping spending by Hunter on shopping sprees and trips to Florida, Colorado and California, all bankrolled by Mellon and Baron.

Prosecutors closed their case Thursday by showing Edwards' interview with ABC News in August 2008, in which he flatly denied having fathered Quinn or that he ever asked for money for a coverup.

Edwards' campaign spokeswoman, Jennifer Palmieri — now the White House deputy communications director — testified this week that she intentionally scheduled the interview during the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games because she knew Edwards would lie.

"The jury has seen John Edwards on video, they've heard his voice on voice mails, they've seen emails from John Edwards, so Edwards is not just seen as the defendant, but he's been very much part of the testimony," Dellinger said of the prosecution's case.

"I think that puts more pressure on Edwards to take the stand when the defense presents their part of the case," he said.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• Tornado hits high school, topples train in Texas
• Suspected kidnapper dead, 2 girls found unharmed
• Video: Pier collapses during prom photo shoot
• Obama who? Gay marriage foes seek to extend gains
• US priests reportedly behind crackdown on nuns
• Cyclist spots stolen bike on Craigslist, steals it back

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

Updated at 6:40 p.m. ET: President Barack Obama's deputy communications director testified Wednesday that she knew former Sen. John Edwards was lying about his affair when she served as his presidential campaign spokeswoman.

The aide, Jennifer Palmieri, told jurors that she intentionally scheduled Edwards' interview with ABC News in August 2008 during the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympic Games to limit the potential audience for what she feared would be Edwards' intentional misstatements.

Palmieri's testimony — a rare appearance by a sitting White House official in a criminal trial — came on the 13th day of Edwards' trial in U.S. District Court in Greensboro, N.C., where he is charged with six felony counts of accepting about $1 million in illegal and unreported campaign donations from two wealthy supporters.

---

• Full trial coverage on msnbc.com
• Analysis by Hampton Dellinger

Palmieri related a heated exchange in an Iowa hotel room in 2007 during which Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, confronted the campaign's finance chairman, the late Fred Baron, over his payments to Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter. Baron and billionaire heiress Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, spent about $1 million to help Edwards cover up his affair.

Palmieri said "Elizabeth was very upset" when she learned that Baron and his wife, Lisa Blue, were in contact with Hunter. Blue had even taken Hunter to Los Angeles on a shopping trip. 

Elizabeth Edwards was worried that spending time and money on Hunter "makes John look even more guilty." 

"Lisa was saying 'you gotta hold your friends close and your enemies even closer,'" Palmieri said, and that "Rielle was a loose cannon" who might go to the press.

"It was a very emotional scene," she said. 

Palmieri broke down in tears on the stand recounting the death in December 2010 of Elizabeth Edwards, her close friend. She recalled that when the Edwardses split, Elizabeth Edwards was worried that when she died, there would be no man there to love her.

John Edwards was at his wife's side when she died and was in court to hear Palmieri's emotional story. But his daughter, Cate, had left the courthouse.

Prosecutors were nearing the end of their witness list and could wrap up their case as early as Thursday. so far, they have given no indication that they intend to call Hunter to testify.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• Piglets twirled, pigs kicked by farm workers, activist video shows
• Conservative author drops claim of two Pulitzer nominations
• Viewing child porn 'legal' in New York, court finds
• Principal: Errors get Nevada high school ranked 13th in US
• Video: More girls suffering sports-related concussions
• Half of Americans support gay marriage in new poll

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

Updated at 6:50 p.m. ET: A donor to former Sen. John Edwards' 2008 presidential campaign testified Tuesday that he steered Barack Obama's campaign away from considering Edwards as a potential running mate or Cabinet member because of Edwards' affair with Rielle Hunter.

The donor, Tim Toben, a prominent developer in Chapel Hill, N.C., said he called the Obama campaign in June 2008 after Edwards told him that he might be Obama's running mate. Toben said he warned Obama advisers because he feared that Edwards' affair would have "destroyed" Democratic chances in the general election.

---

Edwards is on trial in U.S. District Court in Greensboro, N.C., where he is charged with six felony counts of accepting about $1 million in illegal and unreported campaign donations from two wealthy supporters.

Toben was called as a prosecution witness because he was identified as the intermediary who spirited Hunter away in the middle of the night to a waiting jet after The National Enquirer reported her identity. He said he did it as a "big favor" to Edwards.

• Full trial coverage on msnbc.com
• Analysis by Hampton Dellinger

Toben testified Monday that he broke ranks with Edwards after the candidate forced him to choose to remain loyal to him or to Andrew Young, the former Edwards aide who falsely claimed paternity for Hunter's daughter and is now Edwards' chief accuser.

Toben said he chose Young, saying Edwards had betrayed the trust of "the people he spoke for." He said he thought Young was unwisely "taking a bullet for the team" and encouraged him to write the book because "this charade was ridiculous."

Tuesday afternoon, Wendy Button, a former speechwriter for Edwards, testified she helped Edwards draft a 2009 speech admitting the affair and acknowledging that he knew that money provided by the late Fred Baron was intended to deal with the Hunter problem.

That's one of the two key points prosecutors are trying to prove — that the money was handled as campaign contributions to his campaign and that Edwards knew what it was for.

In the 2009 draft speech — which he never delivered — Edwards intended to confirm that "I stood by while my friend (Baron) supported my daughter and will reimburse his wife for all he had done," Button said.

Mellon's lawyer testified Monday that Mellon considered her donations to be a gift to Edwards, not a campaign contribution. 

Hampton Dellinger, a legal analyst for NBC News and msnbc.com, said her testimony could help jurors connect the dots between the former senator's actions and the crime he is accused of committing.

"This is an admission that John Edwards said he knew all along that Fred Baron was paying to cover up his affair," Dellinger said. 

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• Bullied gay student who fired stun gun is expelled
• Insider thwarted underwear bomb plot, US officials say
• Gay marriage advocates fear setback in North Carolina
• Video: Fallen soldier's two wives meet at funeral
• Cops shoot mom, knife-wielding son in New York City

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook