It's an episode from John Edwards' previous run for president, before he was tapped to be a candidate for VP under John Kerry. But still, this is one of John Edwards' brethren in the law profession, conducting a straw donor scheme. And the perp? None other than famed lawyer Geoffrey Fieger, Jack Kervorkian's old attorney:

Attorney Geoffrey Fieger and one of his law partners have been indicted by the U.S. government, which accused the pair of making $127,000 in illegal campaign contributions to the 2004 presidential campaign of John Edwards. The indictment was unsealed today at the U.S. District Court in Detroit and accuses Fieger and Vernon Johnson of violating the $2,000 per election federal limit on individual contributions to presidential candidates. The indictment accuses them of soliciting 60 "straw donors" to also contribute the $2,000 maximum to Edwards and then reimbursing them for their contributions through funds from their Southfield-based Fieger, Fieger, Kenney & Johnson PC firm.

Oh, and true to form, Fieger accuses President Bush and Karl Rove of orchestrating this whole thing.

Fieger issued a written statement in which he assailed the indictment as a product of a President George W. Bush's Justice Department's effort to use the federal courts to target Democrats. He cited the firings of several U.S. attorneys by the Justice Department in some cases resulting from dissatisfaction with their lack of prosecution of Democrats.

He said U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales – with the encouragement of longtime Bush political adviser Karl Rove – began a campaign in 2005 to destroy the fundraising ability of Edwards.

Wow. Look at the charges: "conspiracy, making and causing conduit campaign contributions, causing false statements and obstruction of justice". It's a wonder Bush had any time left for governing! Ah, John Edwards. The company you keep...