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."
Showing posts with label John Edwards trial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Edwards trial. Show all posts
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