Felicity Huffman[1]'s about to dodge a huge bullet in the college admissions bribery scandal ... that is, if the judge follows federal prosecutors' recommendation.
The U.S. Attorney filed docs Friday saying the actress should do one month in federal prison and pay $20,000 in fines. That's a great deal for Felicity because, back in May, prosecutors were recommending she do somewhere between 4 to 10 months in prison.
As for why the feds softened, prosecutors say in docs, "Some period of incarceration is the only meaningful sanction for these crimes. Not because the defendants' relative wealth has generated public resentment, but because jail is a particularly meaningful response to this kind of offense. For wrongdoing that is predicated on wealth and rationalized by a sense of privilege, incarceration is the only leveler: in prison everyone is treated the same, dressed the same, and intermingle regardless of affluence, position or fame."
Translation: the government wants to scare the rich, privileged and celebs ... so they know misdeeds will result in them going to prison -- even for a little while.
It's interesting ... although the sentencing recommendation is light, the prosecutors' language is tough -- "Huffman's conduct was deliberate and manifestly criminal: it was wrong, she knew it was wrong, and she actively participated in manipulating her daughter's guidance counselor, the testing services and the schools to which her daughter applied."
The prosecutor goes on ... "Her efforts weren't driven by need or desperation, by a sense of entitlement, or at least moral cluelessness, facilitated by wealth and insularity."
And then, the zinger ... "Millions of parents send their kids to college every