Source: Prosecutors to Seek Up to 10 Months in Jail for Actress Felicity Huffman in College Admissions Scandal
BLITZER: We're learning now information tonight about what the actress Felicity Huffman could be facing for her role in the college admissions scandal. The law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation tells CNN prosecutors plan to seek a sentence of four to ten months of jail for the "Desperate Housewives" star. Huffman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud by paying $15,000 to bribe an administrator to inflate her daughter's SAT scores. Let's bring back our chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. Jeffrey, does four to ten months seem like appropriate in this case, especially someone who's pleading guilty and cooperating?</s>TOOBIN: It certainly seems in the ball park. But Felicity Huffman has done everything exactly right for a defendant who's trying to avoid jail. She pleaded guilty at the first opportunity. Her statement of contrition was absolute. It wasn't one of those "I'm sorry you were offended" kind of statements. I mean, she took all responsibility for her -- for her guilty conduct. Now, this request is only the government's request. It's not -- it doesn't mean the judge will accept it. Four to ten months could be zero to six months, and in terms of the federal sentencing guidelines. And it's entirely possible that she could get probation, not any sort of custodial jail sentence.</s>BLITZER: Meanwhile, the actress Lori Loughlin and her husband have pleaded not guilty to two conspiracy charges. Are they likely to face stiffer sentences if they're convicted?</s>TOOBIN: Absolutely, and by a lot. I mean, the government did what they often do in multi-defendant complex cases. They basically seems like they set a deadline. And they said, if you don't plead guilty by this date, we're going to add more charges. And that's when Felicity Huffman and a bunch of other parents and other people involved in the scandal pleaded guilty. The others, they rolled the dice. Now, you know, I think we need to acknowledge the possibility that they go to trial and they're acquitted, in which case any don't get any jail time. But if they do go to trial and get convicted they are certain to get at least a year in prison and even now if they decide to plead guilty, they will look much worse, especially since they spent a great deal more money than the Felicity Huffman family did to get their daughter into USC. So, you know, the individual facts matter. And Felicity Huffman's misconduct -- at least based on the indictment, seems -- I mean, it's bad obviously, but it's not as bad as some of the other families.</s>BLITZER: Is that common for prosecutors to add charges if someone decides to plead not guilty?</s>TOOBIN: Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, they are well within their rights as long as the charges are supported by the law to say, look, we are going to supersede, we're going to add more charges. We are giving you a chance to cut your losses and -- but if you don't, we're going to add. And that's what they did in adding money laundering accounts to this larger indictment.</s>BLITZER: Federal prosecutors, they've also now been sending out what they call target letters to people associated with the college admissions scandal, including some of the students and graduate -- graduates what is that intended to do?</s>TOOBIN: Well, it's designed to scare up some more guilty pleas and possibly lead to more indictments. It's a very dicey situation with the children. Obviously, if they are actually children under 18, I think it's unlikely that the government will move -- will indict them. However, you know, many of the kids applying were 18 or older. And, you know, in much less tony parts of the United States, 16, 17, 18-year-olds are indicted and incarcerated all the time. So, I don't think there is any automatic immunity for these kids if they knew that they were engaging in fraud. Felicity Huffman said her daughter was not aware. That's going to be a key factor, obviously, whether the kids knew.</s>BLITZER: We'll continue to watch the story unfold. It's dramatic indeed. Jeffrey Toobin, thank you very much. And to our viewers, thanks for watching. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @WolfBlitzer. Tweet the show @CNNsitroom. "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.