AND THE VERDICT IS… N&O. “The jury in the John Edwards trial on Thursday found the former presidential candidate not guilty on one of six counts in his campaign finance trial and announced it could not agree on the five remaining counts.”
ANOTHER TRIAL? LA Times. “Several legal experts said a retrial seemed unlikely.”
DON’T RETRY. The Post. “The Federal Election Commission (FEC), auditing the Edwards campaign after the revelation of nearly $1 million in payments from heiress Rachel ‘Bunny’ Mellon and the late trial lawyer Fred Baron, did not determine that the payments should have been reported on Mr. Edwards’s campaign filings.”
PLENTY THERE. Althouse. “It seems that there’s plenty there for a retrial.”
EDWARDS AND THE FUTURE OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE. CSM. “More broadly, though, the prosecution’s loss – combined with the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, which allowed freer flow of campaign funds in the political system – appears to set a high bar for what constitutes illegal behavior in the realm of campaign funding.”
ADVISORY OPINION COVERAGE. Tulsa World. “The Federal Election Commission cannot agree on whether television ads for Republican 2nd Congressional District candidate Markwayne Mullin’s plumbing company violate campaign laws, his advisers said Wednesday.”
MULLIN MULLING. More here.
LATEST PRESIDENTIAL DISCLOSURE TODAY. Story here. “The financial statement, which last year ran to 28 pages, is expected to show that Romney sold ‘nearly all’ his holdings in individual stocks since last year.”
MATCHING FUNDS NEWS. Here. “The Federal Election Commission has approved Gary Johnson’s request for primary season matching funds.”
DRUGMAKERS AND HEALTHCARE LAW. Story here. “Drugmakers led by Pfizer [(PFE)] Inc. agreed to run a ‘very significant public campaign’ bankrolling political support for the 2010 health-care law, including TV ads, while the Obama administration promised to block provisions opposed by drugmakers, documents released by Republicans show.”
CT ARREST. Story here. “Federal authorities have charged the finance director for state House Speaker Christopher Donovan’s congressional campaign with trying to hide campaign contributions following an FBI undercover investigation of alleged influence-buying at the state Capitol.”
FL VOTER LAW IN COURT. Story here. “A federal judge on Thursday blocked key provisions of a Florida law regulating groups that organize voter-registration drives, escalating a debate over newly restrictive voter-access laws that have become a major issue in the presidential campaign.”
IL SUPER PAC UPDATE. Story here. “State limits on campaign donations to candidates would be lifted if wealthy super political action committees pour money into legislative or statewide political races under a measure the Senate put on the governor’s desk today.”
REZKO ON PAY TO PLAY. Story here. “Tony Rezko, the consummate political fixer who helped launch the careers of Barack Obama and Rod Blagojevich, is finally talking.”
RECORD KY LOBBYING. Story here. “Business interests and advocacy groups spent $8.8 million lobbying the Kentucky legislature in 2012, a new record.”
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.