The panel, which had been deliberating since May 18, acquitted the former North Carolina senator on count three, an accusation that he took funny money in 2008 from sugar momma donor Rachel “Bunny” Mellon.
After US District Court Judge Catherine Eagles declared a mistrial on all remaining counts, a relieved Edwards -- who wore his lucky green tie to court today -- put his index finger to his lip, hugged daughter Cate and then embraced his parents.
Edwards' parents were relieved by the news that the former vice presidential candidate was found not guilty.
"This says it all," Edwards' father Wallace said.
The pol's mother, Bobbie, added "I'm too emotional right now."
The former senator was accused of orchestrating a million-dollar scheme to use illegal funds to cover up his affair and love child with a loopy campaign groupie Rielle Hunter.
Edwards was on trial for one count of conspiracy and a single count of filing a false report. He faced two more counts of taking bad money from a long-time supporter, the late Frederick Baron.
Jurors were deadlocked on all those counts and one additional count tied to Mellon.
The 101-year-old banking heiress Mellon, who was too ill to travel to the trial, had said Edwards reminded her a young John F. Kennedy.
Each charge had a maximum of five years behind bars.
Federal prosecutors will now have to decide whether they want to put Edwards through another trial, on the unsettled charges.
The trial’s abrupt ending came hours after jurors launched a wild scramble in Eagles’ courtroom.
Trial watchers practically tripped on themselves to rush into court, when it appeared jurors have reached verdicts on all counts this afternoon.
There was a gasp in court when jurors said they had, in fact, only come to unanimous agreement on count three.
Judge Eagles didn’t immediately take the verdict, and instead sent jurors back into deliberations.
Less than two hours later, jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked on the other five counts.
That’s when Judge Eagles took the not guilty verdict on count three, and declared a mistrial on remaining charges.
Eagles seemed disappointed full verdicts could not be reached, but she told exhausted jurors to be proud of their service.
“You can hold your head up,” the judge said.
Even though Edwards is skating for now, this trial took a punishing toll on the defendant and rehashed one of the most embarrassing political implosions in recent memory.
Edwards fell from his lofty perch as the 2004 Democratic vice-presidential nominee to delusional, win-at-all-cost horndog by 2008.
The government’s case hinged largely on the credibility of former Edwards confidante Andrew Young, who testified that the White House wannabe told him that keeping Hunter off the public radar was the aide’s “most important job in the campaign.”
Young had even once claimed paternity of Edwards’ love child, in a pathetic attempt to cover up for his boss.
Even though he’s skating for now, the trial still took a huge toll on Edwards, who was forced to hear, all over again, how he cheated on dying, cancer-stricken wife Elizabeth Edwards.
Former campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri delivered the witness stand’s most emotional moment, when she described Elizabeth’s final months after she had separated from Sen. Edwards.
"But before [she died, Elizabeth] expressed concerns because she didn't want to be alone," said Palmieri, who now works in the Obama White House.
"When she and John separated… she was concerned there would not be a man around to love her and I said: 'I would be there.' "
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