Federal prosecutors drop case against Edwards
The US justice department has dropped the criminal case against former senator and two-time presidential hopeful John Edwards after his corruption trial ended last month in a deadlocked jury.
The former Democratic party star was acquitted on one count of accepting illegal campaign contributions by jurors in North Carolina, while they were deadlocked on five other felony counts. The judge declared a mistrial.
The prosecutors will not seek to retry Edwards on the five unresolved counts, a US Justice Department statement said.
Edwards, who turned 59 this week, was accused of masterminding a scheme to use about $1 million in secret payments from two wealthy political donors to hide his pregnant mistress from voters during his White House bid in 2008.
He would have faced up to 30 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines if convicted of the charges.
At the trial, the case rested largely on the testimony of Edwards' former close aide, Andrew Young, who initially claimed paternity of the baby and deposited most of the money in the case into his family's personal accounts.
However, Edwards' lawyers used inconsistencies from Young's earlier statements to pin him on his credibility and showed bank records that revealed Young and his wife siphoned off much of the money to help build their $1.6 million dream home.
Edwards' attorneys said they were grateful for the government's decision to dismiss the remaining charges. They reiterated their contention that Edwards did not violate campaign laws.
"We are confident that the outcome of any new trial would have been the same," Abbe Lowell, Allison Van Laningham and Alan Duncan, defence attorneys, said in a joint statement.
"We are very glad that, after living under this cloud for over three years, John and his family can have their lives back and enjoy the peace they deserve."
Source:United States News.Net
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