Mistrial Declared In John Edwards Case

I'm no fan of John Edwards, but I've thought all along that the government's prosecution of him on dubious campaign finance charges arising out the case of the campaign advisor/mistress with whom he fathered a daughter was a horrible abuse of prosecutorial discretion. Today, the federal judge in his case declared a mistrial after the jurors remained hopelessly deadlocked after nine days of deliberations. The jury reached a unanimous decision for acquittal on just one of the six charges against him. Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign committed multiple violations of federal election laws, including raising tens of millions of dollars illegally from foreign sources, not to mention the bribes he accepted from political fixer Tony Rezko, all of which have been completely ignored by Eric Holder's corrupt Justice Department. If Obama can get by with murder, then John Edwards should go free. Shame on the government if it wastes any more valuable resources on this case.

John Edwards Indicted

John Edwards apparently hasn't suffered enough defeat and humiliation. The Obama Justice Department has brought a 6-count indictment against him for conspiracy, illegal campaign contributions and making false statements. Bill Clinton committed far worse crimes trying to use the power of the presidency to cover up the serial extramarital affairs in which he engaged. I'm no fan of Edwards, but it bothers me that the power of the federal government is being used in this way against a guy who held no public office that he abused to subvert the judicial system. Should there be legal consequences as far as his ability to practice law? Certainly. Should he be criminally prosecuted? I think not. If the Justice Department had investigated the campaign finance law violations by the 2008 Obama presidential campaign with the vigor it pursued this investigation, you can bet there would be far more serious criminal wrongdoing uncovered than what this investigation produced. I'm more concerned about how foreign money poured into the Obama campaign to influence an American election than whether a candidate used campaign resources to cover up an extramarital affair.

UPDATE: I couldn't help but notice the hypocrisy in the reaction of a former big supporter of John Edwards, State Rep. Ed DeLaney, as reported by WISH-TV political reporter Jim Shella:

John Edwards campaigned in Indiana during both of his Presidential campaigns and had considerable support here. He’s a former trial lawyer and he got a lot of backing from trial lawyers here in Indiana, both Republicans and Democrats, as well as support from Democratic Party leaders.

For example, in March of 2007, Edwards held a fundraiser at the Ruth’s Chris downtown where he collected $75,000 for his campaign. At the time he was the first of the Democrats running for President in the 2008 cycle to come to Indiana.

His wife, Elizabeth Edwards, had already been diagnosed with incurable cancer but Edwards told reporters that day that he would push forward.

State Representative Ed DeLaney was one of the sponsors of that event. We caught up with him following the news of indictments this morning and DeLaney said he’s angry. “Politics is serious and he (Edwards) did something that is seriously wrong,” said Rep. DeLaney. “Notice I’m not using the word mistake, he didn’t commit a mistake. He did something that is wrong, you know, immoral, how’s that?

Representative DeLaney went on to say that he feels betrayed and that Edwards has taken politics to new and lower levels.

DeLaney and his wife, Ann, stood loyally behind Bill Clinton throughout the Monica Lewinsky scandal and condemned those calling for Clinton's impeachment. I guess you can only feel betrayed by someone who is incapable of dispensing political favors to you.

UPDATE II: It looks like there is an Indianapolis connection to the Edwards' sex scandal. The Daily Mail is reporting the he and his lover, Rielle Hunter, made a sex tape in an Indianapolis hotel room during a campaign stop in the state:

Mr Edwards and Miss Hunter supposedly filmed the raunchy tape in a hotel room in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 2007. 

It was filmed during his campaign and Miss Hunter was several months pregnant at the time.   

The video ended up in the possession of Andrew Young, Mr Edwards's once loyal aide who says he found the tape discarded in a guest room once occupied by Miss Hunter.

Hunter has sued Young in a North Carolina court in an effort to get the videotape returned to her.

John Edwards A Victim Of Obama Dirty Tricks?

When rumors first surfaced about John Edwards' alleged extra-marital relationship during the 2008 campaign, most observers suspected the campaign of Hillary Clinton was responsible for the stories that surfaced in the gossip magazine, National Enquirer. When the allegations first surfaced, it was John Edward and not Barack Obama who posed the greatest challenge to Clinton. Many had expected Edwards to win the Iowa caucus, which would give him a bounce going into the nation's first presidential primary, New Hampshire. The tabloid story surfaced and Obama wound up edging out Edwards for a victory in Iowa. The rest is history.

Today, the Obama Justice Department has given the go ahead to federal prosecutors to bring criminal charges against Edwards for misusing campaign funds to cover up his affair and love child with Rielle Hunter, who had served as a media adviser to his presidential campaign. The key witness against Edwards is former campaign aide, Andrew Young, who pretended to be the father of Edwards' love child with Hunter and helped Edwards cover up the affair. Young also claims to have a videotape and pictures of Edwards having sex with Hunter, which Young used to secure a book and film deal. Edwards is suing Young to prevent the release of the pictures and videotape. What I found interesting in this story is a report by the New York Times that Young's agent is none other than Ari Emanuel, who is the brother of Rahm Emanuel, Obama's former White House Chief of Staff and newly-elected mayor of Chicago. Ari Gold's ruthless character in the hit TV show, Entourage, is based on Ari Emanuel, and Ari has been very helpful in political fundraising activities in Hollywood for both Obama and Emanuel. A coincidence? I think not. These Chicago goons are pure evil and will destroy anyone who gets in the way of their political ambitions.

The story broken by the National Enquirer led to Edwards' political downfall. It could not have come at a worse time, as his wife was dying from breast cancer. Elizabeth died last December, leaving behind the couple's two youngest children for Edwards to raise alone. The Justice Department could offer a plea agreement with Edwards according to the Times, but "federal investigators might want to press the case to send a message to other candidates that the misuse of campaign funds is a serious crime and that it should not be dismissed," the Times says. During the 2008 presidential campaign, there was widespread evidence of the Obama campaign illegally raising millions of dollars from foreigners. The FEC reportedly is looking at the complaints that have been filed by public interest groups, but it remains doubtful anyone will be held to account for potentially massive campaign finance fraud by the 2008 Obama campaign. It's quite interesting that the Obama Justice Department is being so aggressive against Edwards, who has already been destroyed, while ignoring questions about not only the President's campaign finance irregularities, but additional questions about whether he has misrepresented his natural born citizenship status to gain control of the highest office in the land.

I also find it interesting that a Democratic-run Justice Department is so interested in pursuing criminal charges against Edwards, who doesn't even hold office, when the Democrats clamored during the impeachment trial of former President Bill Clinton that it was unfair to seek his removal for the obstruction of justice and perjury crimes he committed while trying to cover up his extramarital relations. It just goes to show how unevenly the laws of our land are enforced depending on whose ox is getting gored. While the Omedia seems more than happy to look into the private lives of anyone else seeking the presidency, including the New York Times reporter's recent visit to Boone County recently to rummage through Mitch Daniels' old divorce records, they aren't the least bit concerned about learning of Obama's alleged extramarital relations with other men. It's accepted vetting when it's anyone else. Ask any questions about Obama and you're just a racist. At least in the case of Edwards, nobody died. Obama's goons had Larry Sinclair illegally arrested and someone executed Donald Young for simply talking, even if the media wasn't interested in their stories.