Defense lawyer Abe Lowell urged jurors to focus on Young's role in the case, saying he was a biased and unreliable witness with a financial and legal interest in the outcome.

Young, the author of a tell-all book about the Edwards scandal, testified under an agreement with the government in hopes that he will not be prosecuted.

"There is nothing he won't lie about, nothing," Lowell said of Young.

Prosecutors agreed that Young made several mistakes over the years, including keeping some of the money, failing to confront Edwards earlier about his behavior and falsely claiming paternity for Edwards' child with Hunter.

But David Harbach of the U.S. Justice Department's public integrity section told jurors in a rebuttal argument that Lowell was merely trying to distract jurors from focusing on the charges against Edwards.

"The defense is overplaying their hand," Harbach said.