John Edwards not guilty of illegal campaign contributions

Jurors have found John Edwards not guilty of accepting illegal campaign contributions, according to CNN affiliate WRAL.

That was the sole count the jury had indicated earlier that they had reached a unanimous verdict on.

The jury was still deadlocked on the other charges.  The judge has declared a mistrial on the other five counts.

John Edwards - "I did not break the law"

But he did cheat on his wife.

And he doesn't believe in marriage equality while he cheated on his wife.

So sorry if I don't buy it.

John Edwards indicted on misuse of campaign funds

A federal grand jury has charged John Edwards with breaking campaign finance laws by using political funds to cover up his affair and out-of-wedlock child with Rielle Hunter while he was running for president in 2008.

He was indicted Friday in North Carolina on six counts, including conspiracy, four counts of illegal campaign contributions and one count of false statements. Edwards is expected to make a court appearance Friday afternoon in Winston Salem Middle District Courthouse.

Edwards's wife Elizabeth stood by her husband for three years after the allegations of an affair first surfaced, but they split for good in January 2010. Elizabeth Edwards died in December after a six-year battle with cancer.
(more at People.com)

John Edwards may be indicted on misuse of campaign funds to cover up affair

The Justice Department plans to move ahead with criminal charges against the former senator and presidential candidate John Edwards, contending that he misused campaign funds to cover up an affair with his mistress, a person close to Mr. Edwards said Wednesday morning.

“DOJ has made its decision to move forward with charges,” the person said in an e-mail.

Mr. Edwards, 57, has been the subject of a two-year investigation into whether he used more than $1 million in political donations to hide his affair with Rielle Hunter, his campaign videographer, while he ran for president in 2008. Hunter was an aide in Edwards' 2008 presidential campaign.

Edwards has denied any misuse of campaign funds.

If Mr. Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina and trial lawyer, makes a plea arrangement, he could admit to wrongdoing and avoid a costly trial.

A former top aide, Andrew Young, told a federal grand jury during nine hours of testimony in 2009 that Edwards had directed a well-funded campaign to keep the media away from Hunter -- and hide the fact that Hunter had given birth to a daughter. Young initially had claimed he was father of Hunter's child, but Edwards later admitted that he fathered the girl.

Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, died last year of cancer.