Lori Loughlin, Mossimo Giannulli: Is the government hiding evidence of their innocence?
FOX Business' David Asman, Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano, FOX Business contributor Gary Kaltbaum and investor Zachary Karabell discuss actress Lori Loughlin and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli's statement saying the government is concealing evidence of their innocence.
Lori Loughlin, husband Mossimo Giannulli and several other parents still battling charges in the college admissions scandal are being accused of withholding discovery evidence despite requests from the government.
Federal prosecutors filed a joint interim report on Jan. 10 calling on all of the parents to finally turn over their discovery evidence ahead of a conference hearing in Boston federal court Friday.
According to the file obtained by Fox News, prosecutors say that only two defendants in the college admissions scandal, William McGlashan and Robert Zangrillo, have turned over necessary discovery evidence. The government, meanwhile, asserts it turned over a swath of evidence starting in May that included emails, phone logs, bank records and more.
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"The Defendants believe that it is premature to do so at this time," the new court filing reads. "The Government disagrees with the Defendants’ assertion that it is 'premature' to provide their own discovery."
It continues: "The Defendants have now had approximately eight months to review the Government’s discovery, confer with their clients, and strategize regarding potential defenses. It is not premature to provide discovery, which they can later supplement, to the Government as required by the rules."
Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, are being accused of withholding discovery evidence in the college admissions scandal. (Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
In a motion filed last month, federal prosecutors were asked by Loughlin and Giannulli for access to FBI interview statements from scam mastermind William “Rick” Singer that they believe will strengthen their case and help prove their innocence.
They hope the content of the interviews will convince a jury that they had no clue a portion of the money they paid Singer to help get their daughters admitted at USC would go toward bribery rather than legitimate channels to the university itself. However, prosecutors previously deemed the interview documents irrelevant and immaterial, and they do not seem to have reversed that stance.
As a result, the famous couple and other parents are holding out on presenting discovery evidence.
Loughlin and Giannulli previously pleaded not guilty to expanded charges of bribery brought against them in October along with 11 other parents swept up in the scandal. The duo has been accused of arranging a total collective payment of $500,000 to Singer to get their daughters, OIivia Jade and Isabella, recruited to USC as athletes on the crew team, despite never having participated in the sport.
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The charge of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery carries a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The couple was previously hit with charges of money laundering and conspiracy that could land them behind bars for 40 years if convicted on all of them.
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