John Edwards Finally (After Two Years of Sensationalism) Not Guilty On Only Determinable Count; Judge Rules Mistrial On Rest of Counts

Whew. The Republican (Jesse Helms' machine appointees funded by Scaife/Mellon/Koch/who knows the most current? money) stalking of John Edwards has been momentarily stymied.

I'm guessing if he never raises his head again (and particularly doesn't mention the words "inequality" or "poor people" again on a national stage) that he will probably be left alone, but having just seen him on the local news, his words indicate that he may be more difficult for them to get rid of than that.

So, join the ranks of Gary Hart, John Kerry and all the rest of the progressive candidates ground up under the vast right-wing money wheels of injustice, John.

John Edwards Not Guilty On One of Six Counts

By Dylan Stableford | The Ticket

After nearly two weeks of deliberations, the jury in the John Edwards corruption trial in Greensboro, N.C., said on Thursday that it could agree on a verdict for just one of six counts but remained deadlocked on the others--and U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles declared a mistrial.

Earlier Thursday, Eagles asked the 12-member jury to continue deliberations and come to a decision on the remaining five counts, but the jury returned without one.

The one count the jury agreed on, count three, was related to money given to Edwards by Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, a wealthy heiress. According to ABC News, the jury found Edwards not guilty of that count.

Edwards had been charged with conspiracy, four counts of receiving illegal campaign contributions and one count of making false statements for allegedly soliciting and secretly spending over $925,000 to cover up his affair with Rielle Hunter, a campaign videographer, during the 2008 presidential election. He faced up to 30 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines if he had been convicted on all counts.

 

The jury began deliberations on May 18 after a month of testimony that covered the sordid details of Edwards' affair with Hunter, the elaborate cover-up and campaign finance law.

Prosecutors said Edwards knew exactly what he was doing in 2008 when he used nearly $1 million in campaign funds to cover up his affair with Hunter.

Lawyers for the former presidential candidate claimed the payments from Mellon and trial lawyer Fred Baron were intended as personal gifts, not political contributions, to shield Edwards' wife from learning of Hunter's pregnancy with his child. Elizabeth Edwards, who was battling cancer at the time, died in 2010.

The defense argued that while he may have been a "bad husband," he did not violate any federal laws.

Edwards did not testify during the trial, nor did Hunter, who lives in Charlotte, N.C., with Frances Quinn, her four-year-old daughter with Edwards.