April 30, 2012

SandBoxBlogs: LA Times "After sensational start to John Edwards trial, an uphill push for prosecutors"

Richard Simon:
"Jurors in the federal criminal trial of John Edwards were clearly not given a primer on the intricacies of the campaign finance laws he is accused of violating. Instead, they listened to Andrew Young, the former presidential candidate's once-trusted aide, describe how Edwards called his mistress a "crazy slut," used a secret "Bat phone" to call her, and accepted money from rich friends to pay her expenses.

Although Young's salacious testimony seemed to keep jurors awake, he may not have been as strong a lead witness as the prosecution had hoped. Having laid out the detailed narrative of the tawdry affair in their opening week, prosecutors face a tough road proving that Edwards accepted illegal campaign contributions to conceal his affair to save his 2008 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

"I'm not sure that the prosecution accomplished very much … in terms of showing that Edwards had knowledge of the intricacies of the law and that he intended to break it," said Jerry H. Goldfeder, a New York campaign finance lawyer who also teaches election law. "This case is not about sex. It's not about lying.... It's about what [Edwards] knew and what were his intentions.''...."  (Read more? Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

8 comments:

hammerandnails said...

not sure if you'll toss this one or not nanny. 22 my man, was thinking back on the fred baron and lisa blue project up in starwood on the way up this morning. saw some buzz on an entertainment news show about the john edwards trial. that project was a doozy. one of the last ones joe zanin did. one of the worst projects ever from our standpoint the painters really messed up that entire thing from the get-go. if I remember right melanie already had jimmy ryan bagged, tagged and near fired. little lake lodge and horvitz too had him flushed and tagged. thought the only good thing about the baron project was getting to meet you when that news from zanin gave him his heart attack. oh, the memories. just sayin where's all the press coverage from the baron end of the edwards scandal and why aren't we seeing that up on the box? big story that has a lot more to do with aspen and politics than what the surface says.

SandBoxBlogs said...

I appreciate your emailing it in and giving me the choice.

I see no reason at all to block your comment, nails. We are all the products of our own choices.

I haven't been putting the plethora of coverage up regarding the trial because the Cheri Young and her children's roles portion of it is upsetting. To say the least.

She testifies again today. I'm sure there will be heavy media piled on top of the poor woman. Most likely I'll choose to do something at the end of it all. The roles played by Fred Baron and Lisa Blue are major roles, their position in the Valley is great and I am finding, based on my impressions of the whole project I met them on after getting thrown to the wolves up there from not my own making, that I'm truly upset over the whole Edwards mess.

You know me well, read this and I think you'll understand my concerns:

http://powerwall.msnbc.msn.com/#!wallState=0__%2Fpolitics%2Fcheri-young-rivets-the-jury-1717453.story

For now, coverage will stay very limited here on SandBox.

hammerandnails said...

tx, dear. knew there had to be something given the tie to aspen baron has.

Anonymous said...

The John Edwards and Baron connection was heavy enough to think about it at the time it all happened. Reading this link and some others that are out there today over Young's testimony is damning.

MR said...

Anybody who knows history on that house knows it's the testament to power and greed. Wasn't just the original build, it's the years of going back pre-democrat functions, secret service, pitkin sheriff and putting up with the extremes and the demands. Reading Cheri Young's testimony about Hunter and her's and Fred and Lisa's demands in news reports would flash anybody back. Come to think of it, there was a photo floating around during Dalessandri's last campaign against Lou that showed him with Clinton. I think that was up at Barons in the library. How many candidates and presidents have party played up at Barons? Got to agree that the extremes Young's pushing are a lot bolder then I ever saw Fred push. Even when he was millions over budget on the house. Damning's an understatement. Makes it pretty hard to keep in mind that defense hasn't brought their side yet. I can see why you're holding back posts, Nanny.

jbend said...

bagged, tagged, near fired and fried. not sure there are too many people still left in the valley who don't think everybody would've been better off if an angel hadn't stepped in. that's the way I feel, nanny. and anybody who's ever worked with jimmy ryan knows what he is. baron's was a nightmare thanks to him and a couple other trades. that heating and cooling system was state of the art back then and tough on everybody. only had time to look at a page or two of that link she posted. can't believe it makes you almost feel like you're back in the pit of h*** everytime they'd snap their fingers. wonder who they've hired to be their lawyers.

Anonymous said...

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/05/04/interior-designer-to-retake-stand-at-edwards-trial/

and

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/john-edwards-trial-cheri-young-cross-examined-16258941

http://www.talkleft.com/story/2012/5/1/201055/8487

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/05/01/cheri-young-tells-the-edwards-jury-of-her-ordeal.html

Anybody in any service trade that's worked for them couldn't possibly be surprised at Young's testimony. Power drips, it is upsetting and it is intimidating. I'll wait until defense has a chance but at this point would be very, very surprised if Aspen ties show up in that defense.

Anonymous said...

Blows the mind how powerful true power players with unlimited funds can be. Fred Baron does not show up anywhere yet except in hearsay. Surely, even he had to be accountable to prosecutors. One can hope power did not run that deep.