posted on May, 31 2012 @ 02:14 PM
And the verdict is ..........
Not Guilty on the allegations arising from 2008 donations from Bunny Mellon!!!
The jury reached a unanimous agreement on Count 3, the "Bunny Mellon" count for accepting illegal 2008 contributions. The judge declared a mistrial
when they couldn't agree on thel other counts.
After nearly 9 days of deliberations, the jury in the federal campaign finance and conspiracy trial ended their deliberations just before the lunch
hour. They agreed on the allegations related to 2008 donations of over $700,000; but cannot agree on 5 others.
The Court Ordered declared a mistrial when they couldn't agree on the remaining counts.
Edwards, his parents and adult daughter were present for the verdict; Rielle and his "other" daughter were not.
Many have criticized the US Attorney for over-charging, and for treating these allegations as criminal, when they are normally a civil matter.
The potential penalties could have been as much as 30 years in prison and millions in restitution.
It seems that the public (*those who give a damn) are evenly split between seeing this as a witch-hunt and as the retribution of a politician who
believed he was above the law.
Regardless of this outcome, this is going to be a matter of discussion in politics and campaign finance for quite some time.
jw
edit on 31-5-2012 by jdub297 because: (no reason given)
edit on 31-5-2012 by jdub297 because: (no reason
given)
edit on 31-5-2012 by jdub297 because: (no reason given)