Free Republic

Mississippi lawyer Paul Minor, a major contributor last year to U.S. Sen. John Edwards' political action committee, was indicted last week in a judicial corruption scandal.Minor contributed $75,000 in so-called "soft money" to Edwards' PAC, the New American Optimists. Edwards used the organization to boost his visibility in the year leading up to the launch of the presidential race. A conservative organization, the American Tort Reform Association, has called on Edwards to return Minor's money. But Edwards' spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri said that's not possible. "The New American Optimists is no longer operational, and all the funds from the organization have...

SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said on Wednesday he would return a $50,000 campaign contribution from Oracle Corp. to prevent the appearance of conflict of interest as he probes a controversial contract the state signed with the software giant. "Full, fair, nonpartisan and nonpolitical investigations have always been the standard for this office," Lockyer said in a statement. "Returning the campaign contributions from Oracle will help ensure that partisans don't undermine public confidence" in the Oracle probe, he said. Lockyer, a Democrat, has come under attack from some Republicans for the $50,000 donation, which he said was...