Enough?

One thing is clear from the John Edwards trial, a second thing is much less clear and a third will play out over time.
 
What is clear, after days of mind-numbing retelling of the sordid tale, is that Edwards did terrible things. And so did several other characters. The prosecutors did a fine job of beating us over the head with that.
 
Less clear is whether all this amounts to a violation of campaign finance law. Regardless of the jury’s verdict, the appeals will go on.
 
One more thing isn’t clear: Are we in for more and more of these campaign-finance prosecutions?
 
One TAPster, an attorney whose opinion I respect, suggested that enough is enough, that it’s time for state and federal prosecutors to stop criminalizing potential violations.
 
To which some Democrats might respond: “Not yet.  Now that Republicans are in power – and raising a lot of money – they need to feel the sting of the law’s lash.”
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Gary Pearce

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Enough?

One thing is clear from the John Edwards trial, a second thing is much less clear and a third will play out over time.
 
What is clear, after days of mind-numbing retelling of the sordid tale, is that Edwards did terrible things. And so did several other characters. The prosecutors did a fine job of beating us over the head with that.
 
Less clear is whether all this amounts to a violation of campaign finance law. Regardless of the jury’s verdict, the appeals will go on.
 
One more thing isn’t clear: Are we in for more and more of these campaign-finance prosecutions?
 
One TAPster, an attorney whose opinion I respect, suggested that enough is enough, that it’s time for state and federal prosecutors to stop criminalizing potential violations.
 
To which some Democrats might respond: “Not yet.  Now that Republicans are in power – and raising a lot of money – they need to feel the sting of the law’s lash.”
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Gary Pearce

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