The Department of Justice has dropped all charges against John Edwards, please all gods Allah through Zeus putting an end to this farce once and for all.
Background, quoting myself from the start of the trial:
Edwards slept with and impregnated Hunter during the early days of his 2008 White House bid, when she was hired to produce webisodes of Edwards on the campaign trail, all while Edwards' then-wife Elizabeth battled a second bout of cancer. Oh, and there was a sex-tape, too. And the National Enquirer. And a 101 year old heiress named Bunny. And a zany cross country road trip. And an aide who took the fall by claiming paternity of the love child and who then relented in a tell-all memoir...
Edwards' affair with Hunter shocked the political world in 2008, as he had RUN FOR FREAKING PRESIDENT while carrying on an illicit affair; had Edwards attained the 2008 Democratic nomination and come under more severe scrutiny, the affair almost certainly would have been found out and the ensuing scandal would have doomed the Dems' 2008 chances. Edwards also centered his campaign on the moral strength of his family, using the story of the wife he was currently betraying to bolster his bid for the nomination. (Elizabeth Edwards, who defended her husband publicly even while knowing of the affair, died in 2010.)
And all that's before we get to the trial that involved Edwards flirting with a juror and the jury misunderstanding their duties and calling everybody back into the courtroom to give one verdict of six, initiating the mistrail.
Anyhoo, it sounds like Edwards was a scumbag but not a criminal, and it sounds like even the DoJ is done with this mess. Edwards was found not guilty on one count, a mistrial was declared on all others, and he's free to go. What does John Edwards do now? I really hope we don't care.
Until then, once again quoting myself:
Edwards was set to become the Al Gore of poverty, somebody who revolutionized the way we think about the issue, the priority and attention we give it and the moral seriousness with which we approach the solutions. Given the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, which punished the lower and middle class with widespread unemployment, and the subsequent austerity movement that shifted the burden of our now-ameliorated budgets onto those most in need of social services, the absence of a strong voice speaking up for the millions who live below the poverty line has been striking. Edwards was primed to be that voice.
Instead, we got a circus trial about rich people, million of wasted dollars, and irresponsibility.
Also, this all relates back to a Jay McInernernerney novel, which is my favorite part.
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Related: John Edwards Stands Trial To Remind Everybody That He's A Philandering Twerp
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