Reuters: Politics: Arguments due in ex-US Senator Edwards' campaign finance case

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Arguments due in ex-US Senator Edwards' campaign finance case May 17th 2012, 11:36 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Lawyers for ex-Senator John Edwards rest case Wed, May 16 2012 Former Senator Edwards' defense starts its case Mon, May 14 2012 Edwards trial judge refuses to dismiss case Fri, May 11 2012 Government rests its case against ex-Senator Edwards Thu, May 10 2012 Government wraps up case against former Senator Edwards Thu, May 10 2012 Analysis & Opinion What happened to 'Yes we can'? 1 of 3. Former U.S. Senator John Edwards leaves the federal courthouse in Greensboro, North Carolina May 16, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Davis Turner By Colleen Jenkins GREENSBORO, North Carolina | Thu May 17, 2012 7:36am EDT GREENSBORO, North Carolina (Reuters) - Attorneys are scheduled to give their closing arguments on Thursday in former U.S. Senator John Edwards' federal campaign finance trial on charges he accepted excessive political funds to conceal his extramarital affair while he ran for president. The trial is winding down after 3 1/2 weeks of testimony in a case that legal experts have said could expand the scope of what qualifies as campaign contributions. Edwards' defense wrapped up its case in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Wednesday. The legal team for the two-time presidential hopeful and the Democrats' vice presidential nominee in 2004 called seven witnesses in an effort to poke holes in the prosecution. Defense attorneys considered putting Edwards, his ex-mistress and his oldest daughter on the stand, but in the end opted against having any of the three testify. U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles said closing arguments and jury instructions would be heard on Thursday, which means jurors likely will begin deliberating on Friday. The jury must decide if Edwards, 58, orchestrated a cover-up to keep voters from learning of his pregnant mistress during his 2008 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Prosecutors say the plot resulted in more than $900,000 from two wealthy donors being secretly funneled to Rielle Hunter and Edwards' aide Andrew Young, who during the campaign falsely admitted paternity for the baby Edwards had fathered. The defense says Edwards, who maintains his innocence, did not seek or accept the money. They say the payments were personal gifts meant to keep the affair and Hunter's pregnancy concealed from Edwards' cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth. The former senator for North Carolina faces a total of six counts on charges including conspiring to solicit the money, receiving more than the $2,300 allowed from any one donor and failing to report the payments as contributions. Each count carries a sentence of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. (Reporting By Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Vicki Allen) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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