I despise most of the policies of John Edwards.
Having read the law and the facts, I can only can conclude that his indictment is a f***ing OUTRAGE! He has pissed off TPTB in the Feminist wing of the Democrats. They want their pound of flesh.
I PRAY he does not take a plea... he has a better than 50/50 shot at dismissal at trial, and a 99% chance of reversal of any conviction on appeal.
The sad fact is is that this is a lynching.
This is yet again another GLARING example of how our Grand Jury system is irretrievably broken. As the saying goes, a prosecutor could get a ham sandwich indicted... so what protection is being offered to the targets of investigations? How can you be nation of laws if the only way to avail yourself of their protection is if you have $5 million for legal fees?
This is an outrage.
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24 comments:
I have to agree with you on this one, unless stupid is a felony. What a waste of time, energy, resourses and brain power.
You guys are against enforcing election law?
Enforcing election law? Election law is never enforced against the winners, which makes it useless. The dead still vote in Chicago. Wisconsin bums can vote ten times each and get paid for doing so. Al Gore admitted he flouted those laws, but Mr. 'No controlling legal authority' suffered no repercussions. Obama accepted foreign contributions over the internet while campaigning for president.
These are all well-known violations of election law. A candidate shifting a few thou to his mistress (who was actually working for his campaign, so it was more of an overpayment) is hurting himself. That's not in the same league at all.
Enforce the laws equally, or not at all. I would prefer getting rid of all the election law mishmash in favor of rapid and total transparency. Put out who you're getting money from and spending money on within 3 days of doing it. Not doing so equals ten times the money as a fine. Shown, known, and if folks want to elect Senator Kantkeepitinhispants knowing that he spends a grand a night on hookers, then that's fine.
Ya with all the election fund fraud out there this does seem a bit silly. Of course it's also kinda poetic to see a liberal Dem champion of the feminist political engine get steam rolled by that very same engine. OK maybe he wasn't/isn't a champion but being a dem is enough :)
Personally I kinda think this is one area the US could adopt a European or English, I guess, law or tradition. We should give the candidates their money up front with a set campaign time and appearance schedule and limits to what can be done to campaign. I don't know if they still do it that way but I remember from an International relations class that it was reported to work that way.
That was a long time ago however.
John Edwards is a rat bastard because he had an affair while his wife had stage 4 cancer. People please. If your spouse has cancer stay home. It doesn't make any difference if you are a man or a woman. And sadly, the real losers in this will end up being John Edward's kids - losing a mother and having a father in jail is a pretty hard load for anyone even if you have a $50 million trust fund. But the prosecutors have choices in their cases - there are far worse criminals to be pursuing than this guy.
Anon and Anon:
Have you read the code that he was charged under? This is an outrage! All of our freedoms, speech, association, in particular are there to protect UNPOPULAR people from being hanged because they did or said something the majority object to.
And anon 6:07 pm: Some stage 4 cancer victims survive 10 years! If that happens to me, my wife has a pass to enjoy her life as best she can, if you catch my drift... no reason to blow up our family.
Anon @12:47 Where are your f***ing brains? Up your ass?? YOU are the reason our prisons overflow... you are the typical prosecutors juror. They count on people like you. Read the F***ing law. Tell me how Edwards violated it. He is being indicted with and "how DARE he". This is a message to the rest of the philandering world (which is just about everyone at some point in a lifetime): abort or get indicted.
What a f***ing waste our grand jury system is.
Kathy:
I am going to use your "unless stupid is a felony"... and BTW all... we are ALL "stupid" now and then... are we all felons?
.. are we all felons?
Depends on how much money you have to throw at it :)
I beg you good people to read deeper into this.
Edwards has been indicted not on black letter law, but on a little known judicial opinion/guideline. To say that this is AN INCREDIBLE REACH by the prosecutor is an understatement.
Edwards is being persecuted, not prosecuted, for pissing off his wife's feminist friends, not for breaking federal campaign finance law.
Him now, you next.
This is just more Kabuki theater - just a diversion to try and get people to not look at what is really going on. Are the courts broken? Yes, along with Congress, the Presidency, the bureaucracy, and the Fed. Most governments have not got a clue what is going on around them.
At best we are going to see more of these meaningless shows trotted out to amuse the masses.....
s4r
Edwards isn’t being nailed because he hosed some maiden on the down-low; that merely makes him a scoundrel, not a criminal. To be fair I should mention we don’t know his living arrangement with his wife or what their understanding of their relationship was; however her reaction to the betrayal does give more than a subtle hint, but I digress. What got Edwards on the fast track to ruin is the same thing that brought down Nixon and led to Clinton’s impeachment - the cover up. He could have supported her himself and avoided this or he could have asked his supporters to aid her directly without using the campaign fund as a conduit. He chose a failed attempt at secrecy over prudence and now he is in the dock. This is a known problem for politicians. There isn’t a Politian in America that shouldn’t know to stay away from cover-ups and plumbers.
Hell, it should be a known problem for everyone. It is what brought the Enron Execs down. It is not illegal to make piss poor decisions and blow your company sky high. It’s when they tried to cover it up with accounting fraud that they went astray of the law. Same intent different circumstances.
Best,
Dan
Dan:
You didn't read the indictment:
Edwards did not use any campaign account as a conduit!
And again, it does not matter what you think of Edwards (or anybody else whose behavior you find reprehensible). He did not lie to a grand jury. He took money from friends so that his wife would not find out about the affair. HTF is that a campaign contribution?
The only reason this guy has any liability at trial is because of the quality of our jury pool.
ANd the only reason he is going to trial is because of the power of the Feminist wing in the Democratic party. They have undue influence and they are enraged and motivated.
You think they are enraged over an affair??!! NAFC! They no the score this. They philander as much as male politicians.
They are enraged over the child.
The administration is seeing to their base. They are willing to kill one of their own to satisfy this constituent...
This is fascinating to watch... and disturbing how poorly the American people interpret the motivations of their government.
And, No this is not Kubuki theater?
Having the presidency or Congress broken is not the same to the individual as having the justice system broken. The first 2 can only harm you economically outside of war.
The courts can take your life from you.
My apologies, Mr. Jeffers. The facts are that two friends of Edwards supported and hid his mistress (in fine style) during his campaign. That expenditure is being listed and prosecuted as campaign contributions, which really stretches the definition of what a campaign contribution is.
Edwards did plead not guilty and should win, but sans a large chunk of dough.
The indictment lays out a laundry list of big expenditures for Reille Hunter.
$9,708.23 for a chartered jet to and from Raleigh, N.C. to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Dec. 18, 2007.
$8,186.49 for a stay at the Westin Diplomat Resort in Hollywood, Fla., Dec. 24. 2007
$29,259.85 for a chartered flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Aspen, Colo., Dec. 24, 2007
$14,787.85 for a chartered flight from Aspen to San Diego, Dec. 27, 2007
Anon:
What's your F***ing point?
No one is denying that he spent a million trying to keep this from his wife. So what?
Isn't that what he should have done, given the option?
Gregg,
Unless this is a spoof, I read the indictment. My thought right at paragraph 1 was this is a witch hunt and an outrage. However the meat starts on paragraph 16 and 17, every politician ought to know the limits on campaign contributions and both $725K and $200K are well in excess of the$ 2.3K cap. Now additional information is required to know if Edwards intentionally broke the law here. Most likely checks are instantly deposited as they come in and it would be the accountant’s job to deal with (return) contributions over the limit and he wouldn’t even be aware of small issues, e.g. a $2.5K check. However $200K isn’t a small issue and the principal would certainly be made aware of it and it is the most likely point for the process getting short circuited.
Paragraph 18 is obviously BS as the contributions go into a common pool of money and an individual donor is not connected with an individual expenditure. However paragraph 19 is another serious allegation. This is important because this is a common patter throughout the indictment, and this indictment was obviously written by a saboteur that does not want to prosecute.
One serious thing that no one seems to appreciate is the leverage available when someone compromises themselves this way. While it is a secret anyone who knows about it from the parties involved to foreign inelegance services has tremendous leverage over the compromised individual.
Best,
Dan
Oh Wow, this did not go through the campaign fund. Totally missed paragraph 24, was busy tickling little toes on the first read through :) You’re right this isn’t illegal merely sleazy.
Best,
Dan
Dan:
Thanks for taking the time to read it.
Unfortunately, people like Anonymous are in the jury pool, and they have already decided that "sleezeballs" should spend eternity rotting in prison.
Greg,
The point is that this country is supposed to be run by the rule of law. Those are the charges. They revolve around campaign finance. Are you disputing the Feds constitutional right to form and enforce campaign finance laws? Thats a losing argument.
He'll have his day in court. Thats what the rule of law ensures. If this is indeed a witch hunt then the prosecution will fail to prove anything and he'll be acquitted.
I personally, believe in the rule of law. I can't stand it when things are let go due to lack of enforcement. Two wrongs do not make a right. I'd like to see more prosecutions. But one is certainly better than none.
If your right then he has nothing to worry about from the law. Its the press he has to worry about. But if your wrong then throw his azz in jail and make an example of him. Hopefully, that will give others pause in the future.
Anon:
I'd like to say something nice... but its impossible. You are an evil retard. You missed your time and place in history. You would have fit in well in the Third Reich.
People that have not broken the law as it was written by the f***ing Legislature (black letter law) should not run the risk of a trial. Especially someone that people HATE (for doing something most of them have done... hypocrisy knows no bounds).
The Indictment IS an outrage precisely because the founders established a grand jury system to prevent just such incidents.
PLEASE, crawl back up under your rock. I cannot waste another minute of my life with a Borderline such as you.
Greg,
Your argument is that weak that you must resort to such discourse?
A side of you I have not seen before. You obviously woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
Your entire argument rests on the idea that "they hate him". A bit of information that is opinion and can not be proven true or false. Sure it makes sense but just because it makes sense does not mean its true. And being indicted does not make for Nazi Germany. Such silly comparisons is common in weak and or heavily opinionated arguments.
Good day..
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