John Edwards Not Guilty On One Count, Mistrial On 5 Counts

[Hissyspit]

Last edited Thu May 31, 2012, 04:59 PM - Edit history (7)

Source: Reuters / TPM

TPMMuckraker

John Edwards Not Guilty On One Count, Mistrial On 5 Counts

Ryan J. Reilly May 31, 2012, 4:29 PM

Former Democratic presidential candidiate John Edwards was found not guilty on one count in his campaign finance trial on Thursday, while a mistrial was declared on five other counts against the former Democratic presidential candidate.

The Edwards trial, which spanned over a month, centered on the question of when Edwards knew about payments that wealthy donors gave to his mistress, Rielle Hunter, and whether those payments could be considered campaign donations that should have been reported to the Federal Election Commission.

Edwards was charged in June 2011 on six counts — one count of conspiracy to violate federal campaign finance laws, four counts of accepting illegal campaign contributions and one count of concealing those illegal donations from the FEC.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE84T1KA20120531?irpc=932

Edwards jury reaches verdict on only 1 of 6 counts

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA | Thu May 31, 2012 3:04pm EDT

GREENSBORO, North Carolina (Reuters) - The jury deliberating in the criminal trial of former U.S. Senator John Edwards has reached a unanimous verdict on only one of the six counts against the North Carolina politician, the jury foreman said on Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles said she would decide within minutes whether to order the jury to continue deliberating on the remaining counts. The two-time Democratic presidential candidate faces federal campaign finance charges stemming from his 2008 presidential bid.

(Reporting Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Daniel Trotta)


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE84T1KA20120531?irpc=932

---

@DavidShuster: Regardless of Edwards outcome (or Clemens) -- DOJ has yet to charge a single wall street banker for fraud over econ collapse. #DOJpriorities

[alfredo]

1. It's about time.

[Woody Woodpecker]

2. Predictions here..

Not guilty of all charges.

Edwards moves on with his life.

[radhika]

6. Not guilty, and Edwards and flirty alternate juror party hearty all weekend.....n/t

[yellowcanine]

11. I am guessing they might find him guilty on one charge.

Which will be immediately appealed and likely get overturned in about 3 years and several million dollars later.

[hlthe2b]

3. I hope he is fully acquitted. Not that he's not a total creep and cretin, he is..

but this is a political witch-hunt. When the FEC and DOJ don't even agree on the illegality, something is damned wrong.

[yellowcanine]

7. If being a jerk were a criminal offense the prisons would be even more overcrowded.

Just with the politicians alone.

[ChiciB1]

26. Couldn't Agree More!!

What he did was wrong, but it boggles my mind how much hate that has been spewed when so many others have done far worse!

[freshwest]

39. +1

[Hissyspit]

14. GOP prosecutor in North Carolina. You are correct.

[Ian David]

4. Jury finds the defendant, "Handsome." n/t

[MinneapolisMatt]

5. LMFAO!

[Wind Dancer]

10. Good one!

[lumberjack_jeff]

13. "Spongeworthy" n/t

[mahatmakanejeeves]

25. Good one. Thanks.

.

[truebrit71]

8. Place your bets, place your bets...

They waited this long, they were either REALLY diligent, or there were one or two hold-outs. Methinks that Johnnie Boy is going down for the count. And that is a tragedy. Not because it was selective (some might say vindictive) prosecution of a man that has so totally destroyed his reputation for all eternity, but because his motherless children (except for the bastard of course) will have now lost their mother AND their father in a very public manner...

And THAT should be John Edward's biggest shame...

[elleng]

9. The jury instructions, which explain 'rules,' law, charges, etc.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2012/05/jury-instructions-at-john-edwards-trial-123887.html

[DURHAM D]

12. The local news is interviewing the former head of the FBI for NC.

He is working overtime to make the case that it was not politically motivated.

smarmy jerk

[DURHAM D]

15. Ok - they have reached a verdict on Count #3 only.

The judge sent them back to discuss the other 5 counts.

[elleng]

16. BIZARRE! ONLY received verdict on

Count 3, unanimous, accepted and received, verdict not announced,
and jury told to leave courtroom, and may be going back to jury room to deliberate.

More later???

[maddezmom]

17. watching CNN now and agree with Toobin

this is a mess.

[elleng]

21. Watching msnbc; no Toobin,

and Pete Williams can't explain!

[hamsterjill]

35. This is a mess!

There will be plenty of grounds for appeal if the verdict or verdicts (if the jury ever concludes on the remaining 5)go against Edwards.

Personally, I think he's detestable, but I don't see it benefitting society in any way by having him in jail.

[DURHAM D]

18. Edwards attorney has asked the Judge to accept

and announce the verdict on Count 3 and a mistrial on the other 5 counts. Judge has called a 5 minute recess. Prosecution has asked that they continue deliberating.


Edit: Count 3 is "illegal campaign contributions"

2nd Edit: Count 3 is a 2008 event for just $200,000.

[elleng]

23. Where'd you hear these details?

[DURHAM D]

27. Local news in NC.

[Renew Deal]

34. Does that mean that Edwards people think their case is strong?

And a mistrial means that they can retry the case right?

[DURHAM D]

36. No indication of what the Edwards team thinks.

If the jury hangs on the other 5 counts I doubt the prosecution will try again.

[Bolo Boffin]

19. Oh, for fuck's sake.

They're hung on all but one count, Count 3, which is unknown. Judge has sent them back for more deliberation.

[itsrobert]

22. Guilty?

What is your source?

[Bolo Boffin]

28. I saw it on Twitter.

But I'm not seeing the verdict anywhere else and my feed is moving really quickly. So the likelihood that Twitter is crazy is what? 98%?

[maddezmom]

24. no even knows if it's guilty on Count 3 yet

[Bolo Boffin]

29. Yes, I believe I'm crazy on that count.

Oh, well.

[librechik]

20. False Alarm--Jurors sent back to sequestration after returning only 1 verdict

not six.

[Renew Deal]

30. Does anyone know anything about Count 3?

Was the case strong or weak on that count? Considering they have no verdict on the others, I think it could be not-guilty. Or maybe it's a guilty verdict that the jurors thought would get them out the door.

[DURHAM D]

31. See post 18 above.

[sinkingfeeling]

32. CNN.com 'blog' reporting that judge has issued an 'Allen charge' to

the jury.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/31/verdict-reached-in-john-edwards-trial/?hpt=hp_t1

[Updated at 3:08 p.m. ET] The judge in former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards' federal corruption trial has ordered jurors to continue deliberations after they announced they had reached a verdict on only one of six counts.

The judge has issued an "Allen charge," which is essentially a request from the court for the jury to go back into deliberations and try again to reach a unanimous verdict on all counts.

[cindyperry2010]

33. That looks like

an utter mess of a trial he is a sleaze ball but it looks like a mess

[EFerrari]

38. John Edwards is on trial but Donald Rumsfeld was on Charlie Rose last night

talking about citizen participation in this great country.

[freshwest]

40. And that criminal has yet to face any consequences from the lapdog media.

[cindyperry2010]

44. i know where is the sense of

karma in that one?

[freshwest]

46. Karma may be telling us to look inside ourselves and see what wonderful things Rummy did for us.

Like using his position with Nixon to abuse the system and continuing to get the masses to agree to whatever was done ever since. Then to teach us just how bad it can get if we refuse to accept that what he's done is part of all of us, a part that we don't want to admit.

I have difficulty with the way some people (not you or others here) apply their meanings to the laws of karma. Some sound like the desert religion and their view of punishment, but I'm guessing that one is what one is. That existence is its own reward or punishment.

I'm sure Rummy, Darth and Shrub believe they have done the right thing when they did things that caused the death of so many people. That's what's so disturbing, to be on the other side of the equation they made.

[cindyperry2010]

48. yeah icam with what you are saying

the skewed thinking that can make that mess okay in their own heads and hearts is pure evil

[obamanut2012]

37. Accept Count three and declare a mistrial

I'm betting that'll happen... nine days of deliberations. Count Three is probably not guilty as per local NC news.

Edwards is a sleazeball, but this is a witch hunt. I don't see, say Christine O'Donnell up on charges.

[yellowcanine]

41. If the one count is not guilty, Edwards will walk. No way will they retry him on the remaining

counts. This is what happens when you have what amounts to a political prosecution. One would think we would have learned that by now.

[penndragon69]

42. Unanimous verdict:

BAD HAIR ![b

[Hissyspit]

43. Another note to the judge

[JDPriestly]

45. Meanwhile, the whole world is burning up.

CO2 levels way beyond acceptable.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014132620

Edwards' accepting money from a friend to hide from his dying wife the fact that he cheated on her is a serious matter requiring our government to spend millions trying the bad boy, but rendering our planet uninhabitable?

Who cares? No crime there.

[2Design]

47. Good - never should have come to trial - witch hunt against a democrat

[OmahaBlueDog]

49. Breaking: Yahoo: has posted a link to an ABC video saying that JE found "Not Guilty" 1 count

http://www.yahoo.com/_ylt=AtfXDGcnNe5yRdaTGW6bTJubvZx4/SIG=12smqm1eg/EXP=1338583299/**http%3A//news.yahoo.com/video/abcplus-22309221/abc-news-live-22309266.html


Video - no text (sorry)

[apocalypsehow]

50. A lot of wasted taxpayer dollars over what basically amounts to being tried for adultery.

The Feds thought they could play to the emotions of the jury because the vast majority of people think Edward's actions were those of a scumbag. So they stretched the law to cover the charges, because there was no crime committed in this case, just some ambitious Fed attorneys bound and determined to "make their bones" by putting an high profile defendant in jail.

A total waste of time and taxpayer money.