Regardless of one's opinion of Edwards, Maddow did a great service last night with her story [View all]

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I live in Raleigh NC, which is where the US attorney who pursued this case, served. He is now running to be a Congressman from the Raleigh area in a newly drawn GOP friendly district (he would replace Brad Miller if he were to win). One of his biggest arguments to vote for him, his prosecution of Edwards and other Democratic office holders (yes Edwards isn't the first). He previously went after our governor on a whole host of things and ended up with a plea for some mickey mouse reporting requirement. He also prosecuted an agriculture secretary and a Congressman. All Democrats fancy that.

Now we have Edwards. The criminal case here is that two wealthy donors to Edwards used 900,000 to support Reille and Young in order to further his campaign instead of to merely help out a friend. The first reason makes it an illegal campaign contribution (which wouldn't be illegal now BTW) the second makes it a perfectly legal gift. Let me repeat this, if they gifted the 900k to Edwards because they liked him and wanted to help him keep this woman away to say save his marriage, then it is a legal gift. In every other case of illegal campaign contributions where there is literally no evidence whatsoever of a quid pro quo, the campaign pays a fine and makes it a day. Yet in this one case, out of literally thousands and thousands, which just happens to be of the most famous adulterer in the land, and just happens to have fallen into the lap of a man who wants to be a US Congressman, this case makes it to court. Maybe you are so mad at Edwards you don't give a damn about how federal law is and isn't enforced in NC, but I live here, and I do care. Maddow, thank you for telling the nation, our story.