Robert Edward Edmondson was born 1872 in Dayton, Ohio. His career as a reporter, editor, author, and publisher in economics spand 40 years. While working in New York in the early 1930s, Edmondson began an independent news outlet (the Edmondson Economic Service), through which he published material on what he believed to be the Jewish manipulation of America's economy. One of his main concerns was President Roosevelt's New Deal, under the influence of Jewish leaders, was moving the country towards Communism. In 1936, Edmondson was indicted and charged with "libeling all persons of the Jewish Religion." Charges were dropped in 1938 when a judge cited that there is no group libel law. In the 1940s, Edmondson was one of 33 accused of violations of the Smith Act. The trial became known as "The Great Sedition Trial of 1944" and was declared a mistrial the same year. Edmondson died in 1959 in Oregon.