This is it right here:
he did not know it might be illegal
Anybody who thinks that it's OK to use campaign contributions to hide his mistress deserves the slammer.
I think one of the items of contention is that these were not campaign funds. These were funds specifically dedicated to the Hunter issue and paid directly by the donor (because they certainly knew you couldn’t pay it out of campaign coffers).
Edwards is obviously the worst kind of human being, but I think the prosecution here is misguided. They could certainly argue that the money was used to influence the election (the Hunter scandal would certainly have a detrimental impact on the campaign), but Edwards can legitimately argue that the purpose was to hide it from his wife.
Of course, the emotion surrounding the whole thing leaves me very skeptical of a proper outcome. I find the whole thing sordid but not offensive; I haven’t fallen into the “Saint Elizabeth Edwards” camp.