DETROIT, May 21 (UPI) -- Geoffrey Fieger testified Wednesday his law firm paid the taxes on bonuses he paid his employees who contributed to John Edwards' 2004 presidential campaign.
The Southfield, Mich., attorney and his law partner, Vernon Johnson, are accused of illegally reimbursing 64 employees and others with law firm funds after they contributed a total of $127,000 to Edwards' campaign, the Detroit Free Press reported.
During his second day on the witness stand in U.S. District Court in Detroit, Fieger said he had done nothing wrong in reimbursing employees for their political contributions.
"We have 15 lawyers," Fieger testified. "Not one would be willing to break the law and give up their licenses."
He noted that his firm paid an additional 17 1/2 percent for pension and profit-sharing for their employees.
Fieger also denied he tried to obstruct the federal investigation into the case.
The key issue is whether Fieger and Johnson knowingly broke campaign finance, The Detroit News reported.
The government ended its case Monday, the newspaper said.
