The jury in the trial of John Edwards completed its third day of deliberations without returning a verdict. However, just before recessing for the evening, jurors requested two additional pieces of evidence from the prosecution for review.
As with items requested earlier, the jury's latest requests are related to Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, the heiress who provided much of the funds that allegedly helped keep Edwards' pregnant mistress during his 2008 run for the White House.
Tuesday's requests include a July 27, 2006 letter from Mellon's estate lawyer Alex Forger to Edwards campaign aide Andrew Young. In the letter, Forger mentions that he is chairman of The Interfaith Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group that promotes religious freedom.
"I thought the Senator might be interested in the work we are doing for election purposes," Forger writes.
The jury requested another letter Forger sent directly to Mellon on Oct. 25, 2006, describing a meeting he had with Edwards to discuss a $1 million gift Mellon had pledged to his anti-poverty Center for Promise and Opportunity.
"He said that he would like to consider how to allocate the million -- and has now said he would like $650,000 to go to his Center now and hold off sending the balance to a later date when he decides where he would like it directed," Forger writes.
The jury emerged only twice Tuesday -- to break for lunch and to go home for the evening.
In the quiet courtroom, a sketch artist drew pictures of reporters napping, as they awaited a verdict, a request or anything from the jury.
Deliberations are scheduled to resume Wednesday morning.
Edwards could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted on all counts.
His lawyers say that he may have sinned but didn't commit any crime. They argue that the money given to his mistress doesn't fall under campaign finance laws that regulate the amount of money donors can give to candidates.
