John Edwards guilty of worse things than campaign finance violations

May 4, 2012   •  By Sarah Lee
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Center for Competitive Politics’ Legal Director Allen Dickerson has authored another fine piece for Campaigns and Elections Magazine on why charging John Edwards with a campaign finance violation may have been a mistake with negative consequences for free campaign speech going forward.

I understand the desire to make an example of Edwards. The fact that a man with his capacity for deceit and betrayal was allowed anywhere near the presidency is a national failing. 

But by prosecuting him for a supposed violation of campaign finance laws, the Department of Justice has further confused what is and is not campaign activity. The inevitable result, as both judges and practitioners will attest, is the chilling of legal political activity. And that poses grave First Amendment concerns.

Sarah Lee

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