The daughter of the former governor of Virginia has blamed her mother for her father's corruption charges.
Robert McDonnell's daughter, Jennifer McDonnell Zubowsky, submitted a letter of support for her father to a federal judge ahead of his Jan. 6 sentencing, Fox News reported.
McDonnell and his wife Maureen were convicted in September on a range of charges in connection with gifts and loans that the couple accepted from a wealthy businessman.
Zubowsky said in her letter that her mother was most concerned with getting discounts and free items.
She said her mother hid these connections with people from her father because she knew her father would not approve.
However, Zubowsky said she believed her mother suffered from mental illness for years.
The federal judge ruling on the McDonnells' case received 440 letters in support of Robert McDonnell, according to Philadelphia Daily News.
Robert McDonnell's lawyers are seeking leniency at his Jan. 6 sentencing, and Zubowsky asked the judge to spare her father jail time as she is due to give birth to his first grandchild in January.
McDonnell's other daughter, Cailin Young, wrote a letter to the federal judge as well saying that imprisonment would only harm their family even more.
In addition to letters from close family members, McDonnell's attorneys received others from high-ranked policy-makers, such as former House speaker Eric Cantor and Sen. Timothy M. Kaine (D., Va.).
McDonnell's lawyers want a community service sentence for their client, but U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer says the probation officer's recommendation of more than 10 years in prison fits better.
McDonnell served as governor of Virginia from 2010 until January 2014.
