- Jun 6, 2007
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The Justice Department plans to submit the John Edwards case, that is John's attempt to keep his affair during the 2008 presidential campaign with a contractor for his campaign Ms. Hunter non-public, to a Grand Jury to try to get an indictment. This is an extremely stupid, foolish and wasteful effort. These are essentially the critical facts, John has an affair with Ms. Hunter while he is running for the democrat nomination for President and Ms. Hunter becomes pregnant with John's child and John tries to keep it from becoming non-public by utilizing the assistance of two key political supporters who are also great personal friends with John. These two key political supporters are a Ms. Mellon, an extremely rich women, and a Mr. Baron a wealthy successful lawyer who also is a high level staff person on John's campaign. What these friends did for John was gave hundreds of thousand of dollars out of their own personal finances to try to keep the affair from becoming public; the money went for housing and living expenses for Ms. Hunter and to help another staffer of John's campaign who for this assistance would and did claim that the child Ms. Hunter was pregnant with was his.
It is a given that John Edwards displayed extremely bad character in having this affair and pursuing a presidential campaign bid under the circumstances; the important questions are did John in doing what he did in this matter break the law and is it worth it for the government to be pursuing a criminal prosecution in this matter.
The answer to these questions should be a loud and clear "No"! On the first question, the American people don't want a technical reading of campaign finance law. Campaign finance law has to deal with money that donors give to a political campaign to run advertisements, pay staffers conduct marketing efforts - not what is involved here. This whole romantic affair was a personal matter, candidates for public office should be able to have private and personal lives if romantic affairs aren't personal matters what are and political candidates should be able to seek the assistance of their personal friends in helping out on a personal matter. Think of the ramifications of what the government is doing here, if they call this financial assistance John received political campaign contributions than whenever a politician has an extramarital affair which results in a pregnancy and human nature being what it is there will be many that candidate will be prohibited from seeking the assistance of personal friends to help in the matter unless the candidate is prepared to make act of marriage infidelity public, this is bad public policy, it is wrong and it is not what the American people want.
Also, pursuing a criminal prosecution of this matter by the Federal government does not serve the American people's interest. If there is a criminal prosecution, it will probably take the better part of two years before the trial and sentencing are fully over and one can guarantee the media will cover it in extreme detail and for the actual trial every day the nation's news program will cover it exhaustively. America doesn't need this waste of time it doesn't need this throwing away public focus on America's real problems that make a difference in people's lives, like high unemployment, high gas prices, high food prices, children not obtaining the education they need etc., etc., etc.. Good prosecution involves not only involves an analysis of if the law was technically violated but also does it serve the American people's interest to bring a prosecution over the matter. In the John Edwards matter it doesn't, America's moved on from John Edwards don't reverse this!
It is a given that John Edwards displayed extremely bad character in having this affair and pursuing a presidential campaign bid under the circumstances; the important questions are did John in doing what he did in this matter break the law and is it worth it for the government to be pursuing a criminal prosecution in this matter.
The answer to these questions should be a loud and clear "No"! On the first question, the American people don't want a technical reading of campaign finance law. Campaign finance law has to deal with money that donors give to a political campaign to run advertisements, pay staffers conduct marketing efforts - not what is involved here. This whole romantic affair was a personal matter, candidates for public office should be able to have private and personal lives if romantic affairs aren't personal matters what are and political candidates should be able to seek the assistance of their personal friends in helping out on a personal matter. Think of the ramifications of what the government is doing here, if they call this financial assistance John received political campaign contributions than whenever a politician has an extramarital affair which results in a pregnancy and human nature being what it is there will be many that candidate will be prohibited from seeking the assistance of personal friends to help in the matter unless the candidate is prepared to make act of marriage infidelity public, this is bad public policy, it is wrong and it is not what the American people want.
Also, pursuing a criminal prosecution of this matter by the Federal government does not serve the American people's interest. If there is a criminal prosecution, it will probably take the better part of two years before the trial and sentencing are fully over and one can guarantee the media will cover it in extreme detail and for the actual trial every day the nation's news program will cover it exhaustively. America doesn't need this waste of time it doesn't need this throwing away public focus on America's real problems that make a difference in people's lives, like high unemployment, high gas prices, high food prices, children not obtaining the education they need etc., etc., etc.. Good prosecution involves not only involves an analysis of if the law was technically violated but also does it serve the American people's interest to bring a prosecution over the matter. In the John Edwards matter it doesn't, America's moved on from John Edwards don't reverse this!
