A judge in actress Lori Loughlin’s college admissions case called allegations made against prosecutors “serious and disturbing.”
U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton claimed the allegations didn’t merit the case being thrown out, but demanded the prosecution address them, according to a report published by People magazine.
Judge overseeing Lori Loughlin’s college admissions scandal case says he was disturbed by allegations that federal investigators pressured a cooperating witness to entrap parents. https://t.co/m8hCAN5yXC
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 18, 2020
“In those notes Singer describes a troubling conversation,” Gorton wrote in a memo Friday, which was obtained by People. “The court considers the allegations in Singer’s October notes to be serious and disturbing. While government agents are permitted to coach cooperating witnesses during the course of an investigation, they are not permitted to suborn the commission of a crime.”
The motion to dismiss was filed by Loughlin’s lawyers last month. The lawyers accused prosecutors of bullying ring leader Rick Singer into lying about Loughlin’s involvement in the college admissions scandal. (RELATED: Prosectors Deny Lori Loughlin’s Claims In Dismissal Motion For College Admissions Bribery Case)
“The extraordinary government misconduct presented in this case threatens grave harm to defendants and the integrity of this proceeding,” Loughlin’s lawyers wrote in the original dismissal filing. “That misconduct cannot be ignored.”
Prosecutors responded to the filing shortly after.
“Just because neither [scam ring leader Rick] Singer nor the defendants actually used the word ‘bribe’ to describe the purported donations doesn’t mean that they were legitimate,” prosecutors claimed in response.