Gov't Watchdog Breaks Tradition, Asks Court to Drop Case Against John Edwards
Government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is pushing for the dismissal of indictments against former presidential candidate John Edwards. The nonprofit organization said the North Carolina Democrat is "loathsome," but not corrupt.
In an amicus – or friend-of-the-court – brief filed Wednesday, CREW asked the court to dismiss the June 3 indictments against Edwards for alleged violations of campaign finance laws.
"In the U.S., we don't prosecute people for being loathsome, we prosecute them for violating the law," said CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan in a statement. "This case suggests some in the Department of Justice may have lost sight of this principle."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The DOJ charges that Edwards conspired with Rachel Mellon and Fred Baron to evade campaign contribution limits and pay off Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter, and their love child. More than $900,000 was allegedly paid to cover Hunter's living and medical expenses while she was pregnant with Edwards' child. If convicted, Edwards faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count of the six counts against him.
The CREW brief agreed with Edwards' defense that Mellon's and Baron's contributions were not meant to be campaign contributions. CREW contended that the two "made these payments as gifts in furtherance of their friendship with Mr. Edwards."
Sloan also said the DOJ argument sets different standards for a politician who is perceived to be a family man than for a politician who is a known womanizer.
"Here, the government argues Ms. Mellon and Mr. Baron paid Ms. Hunter's expenses to allow Sen. Edwards to maintain his image as a 'family man' by hiding his affair from the American public," she said.
"So under this theory, paying the expenses of the mistress of a known philanderer wouldn't be a campaign contribution, while covering such costs for the girlfriend of someone who presents himself as a loyal husband is. That can't be right."
The brief is surprising since CREW, by its own admission, generally supports the DOJ in cases of where politicians have been charged with corruption. In fact, the nonprofit organization recently released a list of 10 Republicans and four Democrats it believes are the most corrupt congressional members.
