CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -
John Edwards was found not guilty on one count of violating campaign-finance laws and the judge declared a mistrial on five other counts.
The jury reached a unanimous not guilty decision on count three but could not reach a decision on the remaining five counts, leading the judge to declare a mistrial on them.
Count three accuses Edwards of accepting campaign contributions over the felony limit in 2008 from heiress Rachel "Bunny" Mellon.
"All I can say is thank goodness we live in a country that has the kind of system that it has and I think those jurors are exemplars for what jurors are supposed to do. They're very very impressive," Edwards said.
The ninth day of deliberations Thursday took a confusing turn after the judge mistakenly believed the jurors had reached a verdict on all six counts. She sent them back to deliberate some more.
In about an hour they came back and said they couldn't reach a decision on the other charges. Edwards was accused of using money from wealthy donors to hide his pregnant mistress as he ran for president in 2008.
Edwards was accused of masterminding a plan to use money from wealthy donors to hide his pregnant mistress during his presidential campaign in 2008.
Defense attorneys say Edwards did not knowingly break campaign finance laws. They also claim the payments to hide his mistress Rielle Hunter were gifts, not campaign contributions.
The former U.S. Senator says he sinned, but did not break the law.
"This is about me. I want to make sure everyone hears from me from my voice that while I do not believe that I did anything illegal or ever thought I was doing anything illegal, I did an awful, awful lot that was wrong, and there is no one else responsible for my sins. None of the people that came to the court and testified are responsible. Nobody working for the government is responsible. I am responsible."
A knowledgeable law enforcement official says it is unlikely that the Justice Department will retry John Edwards.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity about the case regarding an issue that will undergo much review inside the government in the coming days.
Edwards choked up when referring to his 4-year-old daughter, conceived with Hunter. He called her `precious' and said he plans to dedicate the rest of his life to being the best dad he can be.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
(Courtesy John Edwards 2008 / Creative Commons Attribution, Share Alike)
