'Struggling to be a mom doesn’t mean you break the law.'
Meghan McCain isn't in favor of leniency for Felicity Huffman.
During Monday's episode of The View, the co-hosts discussed the college admissions scandal. Huffman previously pleaded guilty after being accused of paying $15,000 to get her daughter with William H. Macy, 19-year-old Sophia, into an elite college by cheating on the SAT.
The discussion on The View came ahead of Huffman's scheduled Friday sentencing, which she addressed over the weekend with letters defending herself to the judge, which were written Macy, Eva Longoria, and Huffman herself. In Huffman's letter, in which she took responsibility "unequivocally," she wrote that she finds motherhood "bewildering," discussed the "serious learning disabilities" that her children have, and said she thought she was "giving my daughter a fair shot" by cheating on the SAT.
"Struggling to be a mom doesn’t mean you break the law," McCain said of Huffman's letter, which was obtained by ET. "... So, like, I’m the only person at this table who is not a mom. I have a lot of fears about possibly becoming a mother. I don’t think that makes you bribe someone to break the law. I don't understand the logical connection."
According to court docs, the U.S. Attorney requested that Huffman be sentenced to one month of incarceration, followed by 12 months of supervised release and a fine of $20,000. Meanwhile, Huffman is requesting that the court sentence her to one year of probation, 250 hours of community service as a special condition of probation, and the $20,000 fine called for by the plea agreement, per the court docs. Neither of those options seemed like enough punishment to McCain, though.
"They are the poster children for what everyone hates about white privilege, and she deserves to go to jail," McCain said. "I’m sorry, for a long period of time. For over a month."
Likewise, Sunny Hostin didn't think either sentencing option fit the crime.
"The prosecutors are recommending one month and she’s saying that that is too much time. That is not too much time, I think," Hostin said. "Because she's arguing, really, that this is a victimless crime and it isn't because another kid didn't get into that school. Her kid took a seat that another kid deserved and that's the problem. She changed the life of someone else that was more deserving of the spot and I think that's the problem."
"Judges know that and this judge has to send a message to the community that this is not right. She had wealth, privilege and platform and she didn't use it appropriately," she continued. "...You are a criminal. You've pled guilty... What kind of criminal are you? Shouldn't you be treated as any other criminal?"
While Joy Behar said Huffman is "rich, she's entitled and she tried to game the system" and Whoopi Goldberg spoke out against cheating as a whole, Abby Huntsman came to Huffman's defense a bit, saying she handled the situation better than Lori Loughlin, who was also allegedly involved in the scandal and has pleaded not guilty.
"At least Felicity has said, 'I made a mistake. I was wrong,'" Huntsman said. "I'm not here to defend her at all, but there's nothing else to say other than, 'I want to do everything I can to help my kid. It was wrong.'"
Last week, a source told ET that the 56-year-old actress is "preparing for whatever the sentence will be [next] Friday."
Although she is "very emotional," she is trying to stay strong for her family. The source said that Huffman and Macy have "a very strong relationship, and although they want this ordeal to be behind them, they fully understand and respect the legal process."
The source added that the couple has put total trust into their legal team, and is staying low key, close to home and spending their time with family.
RELATED CONTENT:
