Davis Turner / Reuters, file
Former U.S. senator and presidential candidate John Edwards makes a statement outside the U.S. District Court after pleading not guilty to six federal criminal felony charges in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in June 2011.
By msnbc.com staff
John Edwards’ defunct presidential campaign must repay the U.S. Treasury $2.1 million within 30 days, the Federal Election Commission said in a report released Friday.
The report says that in his pursuit of the 2008 campaign Democratic nomination, Edwards received a total of $ 12,882,878 in matching funds from the United States Treasury -- $2,136,507 more than his entitlement.
The commission rejected arguments made by Edwards’ lawyers who said that problems with the commission led to an incorrect finding on the amount of the entitlement.
"After careful consideration, the commission determines that none of these arguments has merit," the commissioners wrote in the document.
Lawyers for Edwards' campaign committee said they won't contest the commission's decision, according to a report on Philly.com.
"While the committee disagrees with the commission's determination, it will not pursue this matter further," said Patricia Fiori, one of the lawyers representing Edwards, according to the news site.
Edwards political career took a nosedive after 2008 revelations of an extramarital affair with Rielle Hunter, a campaign videographer who later gave birth to his child.
The FEC case is separate from a pending criminal trial, in which Edwards pleaded not guilty to charges of violating campaign-finance laws in a bid to cover up that affair.
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