Jurors confer, Edwards waits

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- A jury deliberated for about five hours Friday in John Edwards' campaign corruption trial involving money from wealthy donors that was used to hide his pregnant mistress during his 2008 White House bid.

Jurors will resume deliberations Monday, but they have already made several requests for evidence and office supplies, a sign they may be settling in for detailed discussions.

They heard about 17 days of testimony, a lot of it focusing on the details of the lurid sex scandal between the Democratic candidate, his mistress Rielle Hunter and his once-trusted aide Andrew Young, who initially claimed he was the father of his boss's baby. But they also reviewed phone and financial records from a period of about two years.

The trial has renewed national attention to a scandal that destroyed Edwards' promising political career, built on his now-shattered image as a youthful, committed family man and defender of America's working class.

Edwards is charged with six criminal counts, including conspiracy to violate the Federal Election Campaign Act, accepting contributions that exceeded campaign finance limits and causing his campaign to file a false financial-disclosure report. He faces up to 30 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines if convicted of all charges.

Jurors asked for eight exhibits and all the notes from a wealthy heiress who provided about half the money at issue. They also wanted a transcript of the heiress's lawyer's testimony, but the judge told them to rely on their memory. They said they need markers and a board to write on, too.

Jurors will have to weigh whether to believe Edwards, who argued he didn't knowingly break the law, or Young, who said Edwards recruited him to solicit secret donations in excess of the legal limit, then $2,300, for campaign contributions.

The jury's choice comes down to which liar to believe.

Young, the prosecution's star witness, falsely claimed paternity of his boss's baby in December 2007 after tabloid reporters tracked a visibly pregnant Hunter to a doctor's appointment.

Edwards repeatedly denied having a relationship with Hunter, only to go on national television in August 2008 to admit having a brief affair with her, but saying it was physically impossible he fathered her baby girl.

In fact, his relationship with Hunter had lasted more than a year.

A recording of that interview was played for the jury last week as the prosecution rested its case.

The bulk of the alleged illegal campaign contributions flowed to Young, including $725,000 in cheques from heiress Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, who is now 101 years old.

Young spent some of the money to care for Hunter, but financial records introduced at the trial showed the aide siphoned off most of it to help build his family's $1.6-million dream home.

Another $400,000 in cash, luxury hotels, private-jet rides and a $20,000-a-month rental mansion in Santa Barbara, Calif., were provided by wealthy Texas lawyer Fred Baron to help conceal the affair. Baron was Edwards' campaign finance chairman.

Prosecutors say Edwards knew about the money and directed the coverup, showing the jury phone records indicating he was in constant contact with Hunter and Young while they were in hiding.

The defence countered that it is Young who should be on trial, not Edwards, accusing the aide of using Edwards' name without his knowledge to bamboozle Mellon out of hundreds of thousands of dollars for his personal use. Young received immunity from prosecutors.

During closing arguments Thursday, lead defence lawyer Abbe Lowell admitted Edwards lied to his wife and the American people, but didn't violate federal campaign finance regulations.

"This is a case that should define the difference between a wrong and a crime... between a sin and a felony," Lowell told the jury. "John Edwards has confessed his sins. He will serve a life sentence for those. But he has pleaded not guilty to violating the law."

-- The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 19, 2012 A28