RALEIGH, N.C. - Prosecutors announced that all federal charges for campaign finance fraud were dropped against the former senator John Edwards Wednesday after a jury acquitted him for the same charges last month.
In a statement released by Edwards' lawyers, Abbe Lowell, Allison Van Laningham and Alan W. Ducan, they said of the Justice Department's decision:
"While John has repeatedly admitted to his sins, he has also consistently asserted, as we demonstrated at the trial, that he did not violate any campaign law nor even imagined that any campaign laws could apply...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," as reported by reported by the Boston Globe.
The Justice Department released a statement of its own through the department's Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer: "Last month, the government put forward its best case against Mr. Edwards, and I am proud of the skilled and professional way in which our prosecutors .... Conducted this trial," as reported by the New York Times.
After a protracted deliberation, the jury finally ruled former John Edwards not-guilty on using campaign finances to hide his then pregnant mistress from the media eye on May 31. Judge Catherine Eagles declared a mistrial for the remaining five counts.
The former presidential candidate had been indicted in October for using campaign funds of more than $1 million to hide his then pregnant mistress, Reielle Hunter, from the media and public eye during his 2008 presidential campaign.
Edwards turned 59 last week. Hunter will be releasing a tell-all book, 'What Really Happened: John Edwards Our Daughter and Me," this week.
