GREENSBORO, North Carolina (CNN) – The judge sent the jury in the John Edwards federal corruption trial back into deliberations Thursday after jurors announced they had reached a verdict on only one of six counts against him.
Lawyers for the former senator and two-time Democratic presidential hopeful had asked U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles to declare a mistrial, while prosecutors said they want the jury to continue deliberations.
Jurors said Thursday afternoon — their ninth day of deliberations — that they had reached a unanimous verdict on one of the illegal campaign contribution charges Edwards faces. They did not reveal the verdict.
Eagles ordered the jury to keep trying to reach a verdict on the other charges, reading them a set of instructions urging them to reconsider their positions. The instructions, formally known as an Allen charge, direct jurors to consider the time and expense of mounting another trial and the prospects that another jury would be faced with making the same decision.
Edwards is charged with four counts of accepting illegal campaign contributions, one count of falsifying documents and one of conspiring to receive and conceal the contributions. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine.
Jurors last week asked to review all the exhibits, indicating they were in it for the long haul.
Prosecutors said Edwards “knowingly and willingly” accepted almost $1 million from two wealthy donors to hide former mistress Rielle Hunter and her pregnancy, then concealed the donations by filing false and misleading campaign disclosure reports.
Defense attorneys argued that Edwards was guilty of nothing but being a bad husband to his wife, Elizabeth, who died in 2010. They also argued that former Edwards aide Andrew Young used the money for his own gain and to pay for Hunter’s medical expenses to hide the affair from Edwards’ wife.
Neither Edwards nor Hunter testified during the trial. The affair occurred as Edwards was gearing up for a second White House bid in 2008, and he knew his political ambitions depended on keeping his affair with Hunter a secret, Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Higdon told jurors in closing arguments.
“There is no question it would destroy the campaign of John Edwards,” Higdon said.
