Edwards found not guilty on one count; mistrial on others

Jurors acquitted US Senator John Edwards on one count of taking illegal campaign contributions on Thursday and the judge declared a mistrial on the remaining five counts.

The mistrial ruling came after the jury said it could not reach a verdict on the other five charges on the ninth day of deliberations at the federal courthouse in Greensboro, North Carolina, the state Edwards represented in the US Senate from 1999 to 2005.

The jury found him not guilty of accepting illegal campaign contributions from supporter Rachel "Bunny" Mellon in 2008. Prosecutors argued he used the funds to hide his pregnant mistress as he sought the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.