Tag: John Edwards Trial

Update: No verdict today and the jury may still be discussing the Bunny Money.

The jury will resume deliberations in the John Edwards trial today. MSNBC has graciously provided the full transcripts of closing arguments. The Judge's final jury instructions are here. Attorney and trial watcher for MSNBC Hampton Dellinger explains the possible outcomes here.

Update: No verdict today, the jurors asked for some exhibits and a board to write and markers. Their requests pertained to the Bunny Mellon contributions.

Update: Here are the final instructions given to the jury in the John Edwards trial.

I really want to write something positive today, to give Team Edwards support and let them know that, outside of North Carolina, there are people like me and TalkLeft readers who think John Edwards has gotten the short end of the stick in this trial.

[More]

By now it's hardly a surprise, just a major disappointment, that the Judge in John Edwards' trial continues to restrict his defense and rule against his legal arguments, while giving the Government everything it wants.

The latest: The Judge is going with the Government's position on the meaning of "the" in the statute that prevents candidates from accepting donations over $2,300.00 if they are "for the purpose of influencing the election."

Although Eagles said she tried to balance the wishes of prosecutors and the defense in drafting her instructions, she delivered a clear victory for the government by saying she would tell the jury that money doesn't have to be for "the sole purpose" of influencing an election to be considered a campaign contribution.

[More...]

John Edwards concluded his defense today. Neither he, his daughter Cate nor Rielle Hunter testified.

The Government apparently did not call rebuttal witnesses. Jury instructions will be argued this afternoon and closing arguments will be tomorrow. The jury will likely begin deliberating Friday.

I think Edwards absolutely made the right decision. He has no burden to prove anything. Had he testified, the Government would have hammered him with his previous lies, over and over. Was he lying then or is he lying now? If he testified and was convicted, the Government would have been able to seek an increase in his sentencing guidelines for obstruction, claiming he testified falsely. He had little to gain and a lot to lose. [More...]

John Edwards was probably singing the Boomtown Rats, “I don’t like Mondays” to himself yesterday. His bad luck began in the morning when first the Judge got snippy with Abbe Lowell about Lowell deciding to put his expert witness on when she still hasn’t ruled on whether she’ll allow it. " Come back later in the and we’ll discuss it."

Lowell calls his next witness, Lora Haggard, former CFO of his John Edwards for President Campaign. More bad news for John Edwards. The Judge, outside the presence of the jury severely curtailed what she could say. She was not allowed to tell the jury that an FEC audit completed just last month, which knew all about the Indictment and monies from Fred Baron and Bunny Mellon, approved without objection his campaign's financial reports that did not include the Baron/Mellon funds,. [More...]

Update #1: The FEC concluded an audit last month and found the funds from Baron and Mellon were not campaign contributions, but the Judge wouldn't let the witness testify to that.

U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles refused to allow Haggard to testify that the FEC determined last July that the money from the two donors wasn't campaign contributions. Prosecutor Jeffrey Tsai argued outside of the jury's presence that the stance of one FEC commissioner was irrelevant to the criminal case.

Haggard was allowed to testify that FEC auditors never asked her to amend campaign finance reports to include the money from Mellon and Baron, even after Edwards was indicted last summer. The audit of the campaign, which was required because Edwards accepted federal campaign matching funds, was finally completed last month, she said.

And the judge still hasn't ruled on whether Edwards' expert can testify. [More...]

NBC's Today Show has a new video on whether John Edwards should testify at trial. It includes interviews with two legal analysts who opine that John Edwards should testify. One even said "It's up to John Edwards to look the jury in the eye and convince them he did not violate the campaign finance laws."

That's absolutely not the law. That the analyst obviously knows this is not the law and may just be making the point that in his view, as a practical matter, jurors will expect Edwards to convince them of his innocence, does not excuse his perpetuating such a false notion. It's really an irresponsible comment.

John Edwards does not have to convince this jury of a single thing. He has zero burden of proof. The burden of proof is completely on the Government. It is the Government that bears the burden of proving each and every element of each crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt.

I can think of no good reason for John Edwards to take the stand and I predict he won't. [More...]

John Edwards will begin presenting his defense Monday. The Court has published the list of witnesses for the day, in no particular order. They include:

• Scott Thomas (Former FEC Commissioner and proposed expert witness)
• Lora Haggard: One of his campaign's finance officers from Georgia and Treasurer for the Center for Promise and Opportunity Foundation (to which Bunny Mellon contributed millions before even met Rielle Hunter).
• Tim Reilly
• Scott McLean: Builder of Andrew Young's House
  Harrison Hickman: Friend and Adviser to Edwards, a pollster from MD
• Robert Lester
• Wade Smith: Edwards' lawyer who had discussions with Mellon's lawyer Alexander Forger

Where is Rielle Hunter these days? Out and about with daughter Frances Quinn.[More...]

The Judge in the John Edwards trial heard two hours of argument today on the defense motion for judgment of acquittal and denied the motion.

She ruled there was enough evidence to let the case be decided by the jury. She did express reservations about whether the Government had proved venue in Middle District of North Carolina.

If the defense chooses to present witnesses, it will do so beginning Monday. As I wrote last night, the Government is now seeking a jury instruction on "Sympathy" which leads me to believe it is concerned the defense will present at least one witness whose testimony might evoke sympathy for John Edwards. I can't think of anyone other than Cate Edwards who might fit in that category.

Right before the Government rested today, it was allowed to play the entire 2008 interview John Edwards gave to 20/20, in which he acknowledged having a brief affair with Rielle Hunter that had ended a long time ago, and in which he said Elizabeth knew all about it. Also in the interview, Edwards said:

"I have never asked anybody to pay a dime of money. Never been told that any money has been paid. Nothing has been done at my request."

Even if all three of those statements were a lie, John Edwards would be not guilty if the funds provided by Baron and Mellon were not "campaign contributions" as defined by the federal campaign finance statutes. [More..]

The Government will rest its case against John Edwards today. According to the Charlotte Observer, the final three witnesses will be law enforcement officers. According to another account, one of the final witnesses will be Leo H. Hindery, Jr., a Democratic power player and former cable magnate who became the Edwards campaign's senior economic policy advisor in June, 2007. Hindery switched his support to Obama after Edwards dropped out,

What would he testify to? Possibly that Edwards' was interested in being Attorney General if Obama won the election. From Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin (Saint Elizabeth and the Ego Monster): [More...]

Update: The Government won't call Rielle Hunter at all. It will rest tomorrow.

The judge in the John Edwards trial read today's list of witnesses in court this morning. There are six, not including speechwriter Wendy Button who resumed testifying this morning. Rielle Hunter was not on the list. The Government has said it expects to wrap up its case tomorrow.

The Government could, of course, call Hunter tomorrow -- even close its case with her . There would be a certain symmetry to that -- opening with Andrew Young and closing with Rielle Hunter.

I think it's too dangerous for the Government. I gave my theories here which I think are still valid. [More...]

Bunny Mellon's lawyer, Alexander Forger, put some serious dents in the Government's case today.

"She liked him as an individual, as a person. It wasn't because he was running for president," he testified. "If he wanted to be president of Duke University, she would have supported that...."One of her basic values is loyalty as a friend," he continued.

[More...]

At the end of court Friday, the Government said it expected to wrap its case up by next Thursday. It provided the names of the next six witnesses it would call, and Rielle Hunter wasn't one of them.

Alexander Forger, Bunny Mellon's lawyer, will be back on the stand Monday morning, to face cross-examination by Team Edwards.

Why would the Government not call Rielle Hunter? First, even though she has immunity from prosecution, she seems to be helping Edwards. Two of Edwards lawyers at trial represented her in the civil suit against Andrew Young. She filed a waiver of conflict of interest, saying she had no objection to them representing Edwards. The Government may think it has a better shot with her if they can cross-examine her as a witness when John Edwards puts her on. I'm not convinced John Edwards will call her either. Would you want her affecting the jury that decided your case? [More...}

After Alex Forger, Bunny Mellon's lawyer finishes ross-examination, the next witness may be Nick Baldick. He was a grand jury witness who was told he was not a target.

Baldick,put Andrew Young on the payroll of private companies under his control after Edwards directed Andrew Young be removed from working on the campaign. It was at this time Andrew's duties changed to babysitting Hunter while they tried to hide out from the media. [More...]