John Edwards Verdict

Former Sen. John Edwards was found not guilty tody by a north carolina jury, on one of six counts in a campaign-finance trial, and declared itself deadlocked on the remaining charges, leading the judge to declare a mistrial on those counts. Edwards, a two-time presidential candidate, accused of soliciting nearly $1 million from wealthy backers to finance a cover up of his affair and illegitimate child was found not guilty on count 3 of the six-part indictment.

That count pertained only to whether Edwards illegally received several hundred thousand dollars in donations from wealthy heiress Rachel "Bunny" Mellon to cover up the affair in 2008. Edwards, who remained silent throughout the trial, gave an emotional speech on the courthouse steps,following thhe verdict. He acknowledged his moral shortcomings and thanked his children, pausing when mentioning the child he fathered with his mistress, Rielle Hunter,4-year old Frances Quinn. His oldest daughter, Cate (30)joined her father in court everyday. He said he took care of his two other children, Emma, (14), and Jack, (12) seeing them off to school daily. He got choked up,when it came to acknoledging Quin. "My precious Quinn," he said, "who I love more than any of you can ever imagine, who I am so close to, so, grateful for." Edwards acknowledged the affair he conducted while his wife, Elizabeth, was dying of cancer was "awful" and "wrong,but he didn't believe he did anything “illegal“ He said he alone was reponsible for his sins and nobody should be held responsible After nine days of deliberations,the courtroom was thrown into confusion this afternoon when it appeared the jury had reached a verdict on all counts. The jury informed the judge it had not reached a verdict and was charged again to go back to deliberating. The other counts pertained to Mellon's donations in 2007, donations in 2007 and 2008 from Fred Baron, another wealthy donor,a charge of making false statements and a conspiracy charge. The jury returned and declared itself hung on those five outstanding counts,less than an hour after the judge sent them back to deliberate. Several Department of Justice officials indicated it was unlikely that the department would seek a retrial on the deadlocked counts against Edwards. The decision will be reviewed by the prosecution team,Attorney General Eric holder, the Department of Justice Criminal Division and the Public Integrity Section. Edwards hugged his attorney, Abbe Lowell, his two elderly parents and his daughter, Cate, after the verdict. These family members were a constant presence throughout the trial and were subjected to most of the torrid details of Edwards' extra-marital affair. Wallace,Edwards father, pointed the smile on his face, and said: "This says it all." Edwards did not come away completely unscathed, despite the verdict. This is a huge victory for him, and big burden off his shoulders, but a hollow one given his astounding fall from grace."