Tag search result

The scandal of John Edwards hiding his pregnant mistress while running for president brought a common refrain of “What was he thinking?” And on Thursday, the trial that grew out of that tawdry scenario ended with a jury largely unable to agree on an answer. The jurors announced after nine days of deliberations that they were hopelessly divided on five of the six charges against Edwards, but in unanimous agreement that he was not guilty on one count.

Get full coverage here: columnist Rob Christensen describes the parable of John Edwards; how the Edwards case may affect campaign finance law; courtroom observers say prosecution's case was doomed from the start; in his statement after the trial Edwards says "I don't think God's through with me"; a timeline of Edwards' rise and fall; more reaction from political sphere; and a photo gallery from outside the courtroom. Also: three jurors tell NBC's Today show they thought Edwards was guilty.

Many more political headlines -- including General Assembly action -- below.

The State Board of Elections on Friday wrapped up an investigation into Pat McCrory’s 2008 gubernatorial campaign by referring five campaign donors for possible prosecution, including four members of a Charlotte family.

Elections official Kim Strach told the board that Kenneth Gill, president of CPI Security, may have reimbursed three members of his family and an employee for donations to McCrory’s campaign. Giving in the name of another, or so-called “straw donors,” is illegal under North Carolina law. The case was referred to Mecklenburg District Attorney Andrew Murray. Read more here.

With the primary days away, many other political stories are in the headlines:

--The first week of early voting set a record -- surpassing even the heated 2008 Democratic primary election. Read more about the numbers here.

--Five GOP candidates are vying for the state superintendent nomination. Here's a primer on the race.

--The Republican race for lieutenant governor is all about big ideas outside the bounds of the office's muted power -- and a desire for a partisan takeover of the state's top two posts.

The scandal that engulfed John Edwards shattered his image as a devoted family man and led to his indictment. But as the former Democratic presidential candidate and senator walked into a federal courthouse Thursday, he was a man surrounded by family.

Edwards, fighting allegations that he violated federal campaign finance laws during his failed 2008 bid for president, was flanked by his parents and his grown daughter Cate as jury selection began in his case. Read the full story here along with a photo gallery. And here's a good take on Edwards from The Washington Post.

In other headlines:

-- Get more on Gov. Bev Perdue's most public pronouncement of her opposition to the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and civil unions.

-- Columnist Burgetta Wheeler describes life lessons from Newt Gingrich -- a man whose personal side reviles many conservatives -- on the campaign trail.

From AP: Former presidential candidate John Edwards got his wish Thursday and is changing his defense team ahead of his criminal trial on charges of campaign finance violations, hiring the same attorneys who once helped his mistress in a lawsuit over the couple's alleged sex tape.

--The state's largest civil rights group, the NAACP, is asking voters to reject what it says is an invitation to discriminate. A prominent Raleigh minister, meanwhile, says that same invitation is an opportunity to strengthen the state's stance against relationships that go against the Bible.

These are just two examples of how well-known institutions with significant African-American followings are on opposite sides of a hot-button political and social question that all of North Carolina's voters will be asked to decide May 8: whether a ban on gay marriage and civil unions should be written into the state constitution. Read today's story about how black voters factor into the debate.

--Lawyers for John Edwards on Friday issued statements that said the hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenditures incurred last year by the campaign committee of the former presidential candidate were above board.

The statements were issued in a response to a widely distributed report by the Associated Press raising questions about $836,712 in expenditures reported for 2011 on a finance report filed last month. The money spent last year, the lawyers said, was related to expenses the committee incurred recovering campaign email messages that were subpoenaed by federal investigators or to flying campaign staffers from one coast to the other for investigative interviews related to the probe. Get more details here.

--Former House Speaker Richard Morgan looks at old photos of himself from when he weighed 265 pounds and sometimes cries. "I don't understand ... why I would ever let myself get in that shape," he said this week.

Morgan, 59, who is just under 6 feet tall, now weighs 164 pounds. He used to have trouble carrying his big briefcase - and himself - up a flight of stairs to his Raleigh apartment. Now he hops over fences at his farm near Pinehurst. Read the full story and see before and after photos here.

From AP: Federal election officials say John Edwards owes taxpayers more than $2.1 million in public matching funds improperly received after he dropped his 2008 run for the White House, yet disclosure reports show his failed campaign is still spending freely.

Edwards' hopes for the Democratic presidential nomination imploded in a sex scandal four years ago that left him facing criminal charges. But reports filed last week show his 2008 primary campaign spent $836,712 in 2011 on airfare, hotel rooms, cell phones and other expenses.

The campaign reported $2.1 million in cash remaining as of Dec. 31, a figure close to what the Federal Election Commission says the former North Carolina senator still owes the U.S. Treasury. Read more details here.

The federal judge overseeing the John Edwards case has scheduled a status conference with the lawyers for this afternoon in a Greensboro courtroom.

Catherine Eagles set the 2 p.m. hearing in the federal courthouse after a flurry of court filings from Edwards' attorneys and prosecutors that were sealed from public viewing.

Shortly before Christmas, Edwards' defense team asked for a delay in his trial, which is set to begin with jury selection Jan. 30. In seeking the delay, the attorneys cited an undisclosed medical condition afflicting the former U.S. presidential candidate that was hampering his abilities to prepare for trial.

The lawyers also cited the sheer volume of documents and other information gathered by prosecutors in the case as another reason to seek the delay. Check back later today for updates.

From the AP: A federal judge has set the trial of former presidential candidate John Edwards to begin Jan. 30, a week earlier than the date prosecutors and defense lawyers had sought.

U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Eagles signed an order Tuesday setting the schedule for Edwards' trial on charges of campaign finance violations at the federal courthouse in Greensboro.

Edwards is accused of asking two wealthy campaign donors to provide nearly $1 million in secret payments used to hide his pregnant mistress as he sought the Democratic Party's nomination for the White House in 2007 and 2008.

FEDS PULL TRIGGER: Ruffin Poole, a longtime senior aide to former Gov. Mike Easley, corrupted his office by taking trips, liquor, money and other gifts from people he helped with state government action, a federal grand jury charged Thursday.

In a wide-ranging indictment, Poole was charged with 51 counts that include extortion, bribery, racketeering, fraud, money laundering and engaging in transactions in "criminally derived" property. Many of the charges in the indictment from the grand jury flow from Poole's interference in environmental permits, in some cases for projects in which he had invested. (N&O)

EDWARDS OUT: On the day he acknowledged fathering a child with his mistress, John Edwards said through a spokeswoman that he has no intentions to return to public life. (N&O)

GOP BOOSTED BY RULING: The Supreme Court's decision to wipe out most campaign spending limits, coming on top of the Massachusetts Senate upset, may deal a major blow to Democrats and boost Republicans in the November congressional elections. (Tribune)

National Democratic Chairman Howard Dean took a swing through North Carolina Tuesday, holding fundraisers and meeting with his old presidential rival, John Edwards.

Dean held a luncheon in Charlotte and then attended a reception at the home of David Kirby, a Raleigh trial attorney and former Edwards law partner, reports Rob Christensen.

“He was just an incredibly nice, kind-spirited person,” Kirby said. “Howard Dean up-close-and personal is a gentler, kinder Howard Dean than what some of us have seen on television.”

Among the 30 people attending the Democratic National Committee fundraiser in Raleigh were Attorney General Roy Cooper and state Senate candidate Josh Stein. The cost of the event ranged from $500 to $5,000 per person.

Later, Dean had dinner with Edwards at Crook’s Corner Restaurant in Chapel Hill. Edwards and Dean were rival for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination.