Eagles also gave her first response Wednesday to a motion filed by a coalition of 10 media outlets, including The Associated Press. The news organizations asked the judge to make public the names and addresses of the jurors at the end of the trial. Eagles said she will rule after a verdict.

Edwards faces six felony charges in a case involving nearly $1 million provided by two wealthy political donors to help hide the Democrat’s pregnant mistress as he sought the White House in 2008.

To determine Edwards’ guilt or innocence, the jury must sift through notes from 17 days of testimony and review about 500 trial exhibits, many of them voluminous phone and financial records. They must not only determine whether the candidate knew about the secret payments, which he has denied, but whether he realized he was violating federal law by allowing them.

Edwards faces a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison if convicted on all counts, though legal experts say he is likely to serve no more than 5 years if convicted.

The deliberations have fed speculation about what the jury is thinking. As the four alternate jurors left the courtroom for what may be the last time, a smile disappeared from Eagles’ face.

“At least we have four happy people,’’ the judge said.

–– Follow AP writer Michael Biesecker at twitter.com/mbieseck