Weeks of testimony and evidence bear down on JOHN EDWARDS jury as they try and separate the hoopla from the legal letter of the law to rend a unanimous verdict.
As the fifth day of jury deliberations ended in the case of the “United States vs. Johnny Reid Edwards”, jurors in the Greensboro, N.C. courthouse appear to be picking key exhibits apart with a fine tooth comb. They requested an additional 20 exhibits relating to late Dallas trial lawyer Fred Baron who served as Edwards' finance chairman, which suggests they've moved on beyond Bunny Mellon to the core of the matter.
The 12 “angry citizens” comprising the jury and 4 alternates have nearly four weeks of testimony to consider and a voluminous HU$H money trail whether to determine Edwards' guilt on conspiracy charges to funnel nearly $1 million in funds earmarked for his 2008 presidential campaign to hide pregnant mistress Rielle Hunter and pay off former loyalist Andrew Young to maintain the myth that he was the father of the lovechild.
In an exhaustive 5 year NATIONAL ENQUIRER investigation that sparked the indictment against the disgraced two-time Presidential loser (he was John Kerry’s VP running mate back in 2004) the jury must be certain of what Edwards knew and when he knew it.
(Just like the Watergate hearings back in 1974 that sent President Richard M. Nixon packing!)
One thing they can’t forget, the prosecutors’ final “witness” – John Edwards himself via video.
Prosecutors presented as their final exhibit, before closing statements, the searing imagery of Edwards lying through his teeth on national television denying paternity of his love child Frances Quinn while admitting to the affair — a mere two days after The ENQUIRER in a blockbuster world exclusive dropped the “spy photos” seen around the world on August 6, 2008 of Edwards holding his child in a secret meeting with Hunter.
Edwards stand accused of six criminal counts which, if found guilty, may find him behind bars for up to 30 years.
If convicted, expect the cagey former trial lawyer to appeal his case all the way up to the United States Supreme Court, say legal insiders.
As a courtesy, The ENQUIRER presents a link to key prosecution evidence and exhibits listed below.
