Conservative author Dinesh D'Souza pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a charge alleging he used straw donors to contribute $20,000 to Republican Senate candidate Wendy Long in 2012, POLITICO reported.
D'Souza's unexpected plea was entered on the same day his trial was set to begin in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
Though the charge he admitted to carries a maximum prison sentence of two years, a deal his lawyers made with the government will lead to a sentence between 10 to 16 months.
Additionally, the deal called for a dismissal of a second charge D'Souza would have faced if he went to trial -- causing Long to file a false report with the Federal Election Commission, which could have placed up behind bars for up to five years.
"We are hopeful that Judge Berman will recognize Mr. D'Souza to be a fundamentally honorable man who should not be imprisoned for what was an isolated instance of wrongdoing in an otherwise productive and responsible life," his attorney Benjamin Brafman said in an emailed statement to reporters.
Many Republican lawmakers were critical of the case against D'Souza and claimed he was singled out for his conservative political views.
"Dinesh D'Souza, who did a very big movie criticizing the president, is now being prosecuted by this Administration," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said in a CBS interview in January. "Can you image the reaction if the Bush administration had went, gone and prosecuted Michael Moore and Alec Baldwin and Sean Penn?"
In addition to Cruz, three other Republican Senators -- Mike Lee of Utah, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and Jeff Sessions of Alabama -- sent a letter to FBI Director James Comey requesting more information on the case.
However, D'Souza acknowledged his wrongdoing in court on Tuesday.
"I knew that causing a campaign contribution to be made in the name of another was wrong and something the law forbids," D'Souza said, according to Newsday. "I deeply regret my conduct."
Berman scheduled his sentencing for September 23, according to POLITICO.
