This action by the Obama Department of Justice is similar to what the President and the Democratic majority in the last Congress did, when they passed and enacted “ObamaCare.” This massive law represents a gross expansion of the Constitution’s so-called “commerce clause,” to reach activity never intended to be reached by federal legislation.

Without question Edwards, a lawyer, former United States Senator and Democratic Party nominee for vice president, has admitted to some reprehensible actions; including carrying on an affair and fathering a child while his now-deceased wife, Elizabeth, was suffering from terminal breast cancer.

No doubt many view his recent indictment for breaking campaign finance regulations, as poetic justice for his past behavior. But that is not the purpose of a criminal prosecution; and here, prosecutors are clearly misapplying the law by broadening the definition of a “campaign contribution.”

The Department of Justice alleges that Edwards “received” $925,000 from two donors — far more than the $2,300 from individual contributors allowed by federal law — in an effort to conceal his affair while he was casting himself to voters as a devoted husband and father. The money did not go to Edwards, but rather to his former mistress for living and child-rearing expenses. The funds were never disclosed on federal campaign finance forms because neither the two donors nor Edwards considered them to be “campaign contributions.” In this presumption, they were absolutely correct; at least until now in the eyes of the Justice Department.

The government correctly alleges that because Edwards was a candidate, he was subject to the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (as amended); and that donations to his campaign for the benefit of the campaign were subject to the strict reporting and amount limitations set forth in the massive federal election campaign laws and regulations. Beyond that, however, the government veers off in an extreme deviation from common sense and previous interpretation of the campaign finance laws.