The 86-year-old's federal felony conviction keeps him from running for state elected offices, but not for a congressional seat.
[Editor's Note: IND photographer Robin May is in Baton Rouge for what is expected to be the "big announcement." We will have more on this story later today.]
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards had an appearance set in Baton Rouge amid speculation that he will run again for a political office - despite his age and his criminal record.
Photo courtesy WDSU
His Monday speech is set for noon before the Press Club of Baton Rouge.
The 86-year-old's federal felony conviction keeps him from running for state elected offices, but not for a congressional seat.
Edwards, a lifelong Democrat, served two terms as governor in the 1970s. He was re-elected in 1983 and made another comeback for a fourth term in 1991. A felony conviction arising from the licensing of riverboat casinos in his fourth term led to eight years in prison.
Edwards was the dominant figure in Louisiana politics for much of the late 20th century despite a series of scandals that resulted in numerous investigations and four federal trials, one of which resulted in conviction. He retired from politics in 1996, before it became clear that he was again under investigation in the case that would result in his imprisonment.
Before and after his prison term, he consistently defended himself as a victim of an unfair federal judge in Baton Rouge, perjured testimony by former friends who had sought casino licenses and an overzealous federal government. Federal prosecutors have denied all of those accusations.
He regained the public eye soon after leaving prison in 2011, marrying a woman five decades his junior, starring with her in a short-lived reality TV series. Trina Edwards, his third wife, gave birth to their child, Eli Wallace Edwards, last August.