A key prosecution witness in the criminal trial of former presidential candidate John Edwards contacted other witnesses in the case to ask about their planned testimony, a possible violation of federal law, a judge said Monday. 
 
 Former presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. John Edwards, center, arrives outside federal court with his daughter Cate, left, in Greensboro, N.C., for his trial on charges of violating federal campaign... (Associated Press) 
 
 Abbe Lowell, attorney for former U.S. Sen. and presidential candidate John Edwards, arrives at federal court in Greensboro, N.C., Monday, April 23, 2012. At left is attorney Alan Duncan. Prosecutors and... (Associated Press) 
 
 Former U.S. Sen. and presidential candidate John Edwards and daughter Cate arrive at federal court in Greensboro, N.C., Monday, April 23, 2012. Prosecutors and defense lawyers will begin making their... (Associated Press) 
 
 Former presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. John Edwards, right, arrives outside federal court with his daughter Cate, left, in Greensboro, N.C., for his trial on charges of violating federal campaign... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In an Oct. 27, 2011 file photo, former U.S. Sen. and presidential candidate John Edwards, left, speaks to the media with attorney Abbe Lowell, right, as he leaves the federal court in Greensboro,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Former U.S. Sen. and presidential candidate John Edwards arrives at federal court in Greensboro, N.C., Monday, April 23, 2012. Prosecutors and defense lawyers will begin making their case to jurors on... (Associated Press) 
 
 Former presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. John Edwards arrives outside federal court in Greensboro, N.C., Monday, April 23, 2012. for his trial on charges of violating federal campaign finance laws.... (Associated Press) 
 
 U.S. District Court Judge Catherine C. Eagles said that former Edwards aide Andrew Young called the three other witnesses in the last two weeks. Eagles ruled that lawyers for Edwards could mention the improper contact to jurors in opening statements Monday, but barred them from using the term "witness tampering" or telling the jury that Young had a one-night stand with one of the other witnesses in 2007. 
 
 Young once falsely claimed paternity of the child Edwards fathered with his then-mistress Rielle Hunter in 2007. The former aide is potentially the government's most important witness as prosecutors seek to prove the then-married Democratic candidate masterminded a scheme to use nearly $1 million provided by two wealthy campaign donors to help hide his pregnant mistress as he sought the White House in 2008. 
 
 Edwards, 58, has pleaded not guilty to six criminal counts related to alleged violations of federal campaign finance laws. 
 
 The former candidate sat silently in the courtroom Monday morning as the lead federal prosecutor called him a man who would say or do anything to get elected president, including violating the law to hide his affair and keep his campaign viable. 
 
 "It wasn't just a marriage on the line," prosecutor David Harbach said. "If the affair went public it would destroy his chance of becoming president, and he knew it. ...He made a choice to break the law." 
 
 The judge seated 12 jurors and four alternates Monday morning. The panel is made up of nine men and seven women drawn from central North Carolina, the state that elected Edwards to serve one term in the U.S. Senate. 
 
 A defense lawyer for Edwards told the jury that most of the money at issue in the case went not to support Hunter, but was siphoned off by Young and his wife to build a $1.5 million "dream home" near Chapel Hill. Edwards' lawyers contend the payments were gifts from friends intent on keeping the candidate's wife from finding out about the affair. Elizabeth Edwards died in December 2010 after battling cancer. 
 
 A key issue will be whether Edwards knew about the payments made on his behalf by his national campaign finance chairman, the late Texas lawyer Fred Baron, and campaign donor Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, a now-101-year-old heiress and socialite. Each had already given Edwards' campaign the maximum $2,300 individual contribution allowed by federal law. 
 
 Edwards denies having known about the money, which paid for private jets, luxury hotels and Hunter's medical care. Prosecutors will seek to prove he sought and directed the payments to cover up his affair, protect his public image as a "family man" and keep his presidential hopes viable. 
 
 Young and his wife invited the pregnant Hunter to live in their home near Chapel Hill and later embarked with her on a cross-country odyssey as they sought to elude tabloid reporters trying to expose the candidate's extramarital affair. 
 
 Young later fell out with Edwards and wrote an unflattering tell-all book, "The Politician." Young and Hunter recently ended a two-year legal battle over ownership of a sex tape the mistress recorded with Edwards during the campaign, agreeing to a settlement that dictates that copies of the video will be destroyed. 
 
 Young is expected to be a witness for the prosecution, while the defense is likely to call Hunter to testify. Two of the lawyers who represented Hunter in her civil suit against the former aide joined Edwards' legal team last month. After years of adamant public denials, Edwards acknowledged paternity of Hunter's daughter, Frances Quinn Hunter, in 2010. The girl, now 4, lives with her mother in Charlotte. 
 
 It has not yet been decided whether Edwards, a former trial lawyer once renowned for his ability to charm jurors, will testify in his own defense. 
 
 Eagles, who was appointed in 2010 by President Barack Obama, said she expects the proceedings to last about six weeks. 
 
 Eagles last week ordered a former speech writer for Edwards to turn over any drafts of books or articles involving him and other key players in his case. Edwards' lawyers are seeking an extensive list of documents from Wendy Button, a 2008 campaign staffer expected to testify. 
 
 The judge ruled that Button did not have to turn over all communications with third parties including the media regarding Edwards, Hunter and Young from 2009 to the present. Button also doesn't have to produce correspondence or proposals involving books and articles involving Edwards and key players in the case, or turn over postings on Facebook or other social media sites regarding Edwards during that time period. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Follow AP writer Michael Biesecker at: http://www.twitter.com/mbieseck 

 Former U.S. Senator John Edwards (R) arrives with his daughter Cate Edwards at the federal courthouse in Greensboro, North Carolina April 23, 2012. 
 
 GREENSBORO, North Carolina (Reuters) - Prosecutors in the criminal campaign finance case against former U.S. Senator John Edwards described him on Monday as a manipulative politician who refused to let his affair or his mistress' pregnancy sideline his presidential ambitions. 
 
 But Edwards' defense asked jurors to "follow the money," saying the nearly $1 million in illegal campaign funds he is accused of secretly accepting as he sought the 2008 Democratic nomination instead went to a former campaign aide who used the money to pay for his $1.5 million house. 
 
 Attorneys gave opening statements at the federal courthouse in Greensboro, North Carolina, the state where Edwards grew up and was elected as a U.S. Senator in 1998. The two-time presidential hopeful was the Democrats' vice-presidential nominee in 2004. 
 
 He was indicted in North Carolina last year on six counts, including charges of conspiracy, taking illegal campaign contributions and making false statements. Each count carries a sentence of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. 
 
 Attorneys on Monday picked a racially diverse jury of seven women and nine men to hear the case. Dozens of journalists from national and local media organizations crammed into the courtroom to watch the start of the trial. Edwards' parents and eldest daughter, Cate, also attended. 
 
 Prosecutors say Edwards, 58, was aware of the payments from the wealthy donors and that the money was meant to influence the federal election. Had it been publicly revealed that Edwards had an affair with a campaign worker who became pregnant, Edwards knew his presidential candidacy and his marriage would be doomed, prosecutor David Harbach said. 
 
 Harbach said the affair began in February 2006 when Edwards met Rielle Hunter in a New York City bar. 
 
 At the time, Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, was battling the cancer that ultimately killed her in 2010. 
 
 "This affair was a gamble with exceedingly high stakes," Harbach told jurors. "He made a choice to break the law." 
 
 Harbach said Edwards directed his loyal campaign aide, Andrew Young, to seek money from heiress Rachel "Bunny" Mellon and campaign finance chairman Fred Baron to help pay for Hunter's living and medical expenses and to keep her out of the public eye. 
 
 Hunter briefly worked as a videographer for Edwards' campaign, but Elizabeth Edwards ordered her husband to fire Hunter, Harbach said. 
 
 Edwards later asked Young to claim paternity of the child, the prosecutor said. 
 
 "Anything to preserve his chances to be president," Harbach said. 
 
 Edwards' attorneys say the former candidate did not know about the money, never instructed Young to get it and never received any of it. 
 
 "John Edwards is a man who has committed many sins but no crimes," said defense attorney Allison Van Laningham. "John Edwards is not afraid of the truth. He welcomes it." 
 
 Van Laningham said the donors' payments were not meant as political contributions but rather as personal gifts to help a friend. Mellon and Baron were trying to prevent Edwards from being publicly humiliated, not to influence the federal election, she said. 
 
 Both of the donors paid gift taxes on the money, the attorney said. 
 
 Van Laningham said though some of the cash went to Hunter, most of it landed in the pockets of Young and his wife, Cheri. In addition to paying for their new home, the couple used the money to buy jewelry, electronics and vacations, the attorney said. 
 
 Andrew Young, who was granted immunity by the government, is expected to testify for the prosecution. He wrote a tell-all book about Edwards' failed presidential run and, in the past two weeks, he contacted three witnesses in the case to discuss their testimony, Van Laningham said. 
 
 "Since he can no longer make money being for John Edwards, he wants to make money being against him," Van Laningham said. "Follow the money and find the truth." 
 
 (Reporting by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Jackie Frank)
– A former campaign aide took center stage in the first day of John Edwards' campaign finance trial today, Reuters reports. During opening statements in Greensboro, North Carolina, Edwards' attorneys said the nearly $1 million Edwards is accused of accepting in illegal funds actually went toward a $1.5 million house for Andrew Young, now a key witness for the prosecution. "Since he can no longer make money being for John Edwards, he wants to make money being against him," a defense attorney said. "Follow the money and find the truth." In a bizarre twist, Judge Catherine Eagles said Young may have violated federal law by calling three other witnesses over the last two weeks, the AP reports. Eagles ruled that Edwards' lawyers could refer to Young's conduct but not use the phrase "witness tampering"—or mention Young's one-stand with another witness. Young's involvement in the case runs deep, for he once claimed paternity of Edwards' child with Rielle Hunter, then wrote a nasty tell-all about Edwards, and wrangled with Hunter over ownership of a sex tape with her and Edwards. (Luckily for us, they settled and the tape was destroyed.)