(August 27, 2009 - Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images North America)
If he would have had his way, he’d be sitting in the White House making plans for a re-election campaign. Instead, he’ll be sitting in a lawyer’s office trying to figure out how to stay out of prison.
The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in North Carolina, says the illegal contributions paid for Hunter’s living and medical expenses, along with travel needed to shield her from reporters. Prosecutors said this violated federal election laws that limit individual contributions to a campaign and require reporting of donations.
“We will not permit candidates for high office to abuse their special ability to access the coffers of their political supporters to circumvent our election laws,’’ said Lanny A. Breuer, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Our campaign finance system is designed to preserve the integrity of democratic elections — for the presidency and all other elected offices — and we will vigorously pursue abuses of the kind alleged today.”
I don’t really have much to add here. He’s presumed innocent until proven otherwise, so I guess we’ll have to play the old wait-and-see on that one; but it sure looks like the Former Senator is in a whole heap of trouble. I’m sure you’ve heard the old throwaway line that “you can indict a ham sandwich” – well this is indicting a really big friggin sandwich. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that Edwards’s stature made the indictment harder to obtain. If anything, the very public story made that outcome more likely. What I am saying is that if this Justice Department is willing to pick up this case; I’d be willing to speculate that the evidence is pretty damning.
Either way, I can’t say I have any sympathy for Senator Edwards. I only hope for the sake of his children that this story comes and goes expeditiously and without the sideshow of sensationalism that has accompanied much of the fallout around this scandal. Elizabeth Edwards will find no “justice” seeing the father of her children behind bars. I hope those on all sides of the political debate will remember that this is a case about campaign finance – not about infidelity.
Oh, it’ll be a sideshow, all right. (Poor kids. Like they haven’t endured enough.)
So… a second straight weekend of penis-related headlines. Great. I may ignore the news until Monday.
Ha. No doubt. I’m thoroughly happy to say that my Saturday will be spent watching the US National team destroy Spain and not following the Edwards saga..
[...] this guy would smile like that in a mug shot… He’s either really really really confident [...]