DANIEL BICE

Bice: Candidate Danielle Shelton removes endorsement video with Felicity Huffman after indictment

Daniel Bice
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Milwaukee County judicial candidate Danielle Shelton touts her support from TV actress Felicity Huffman

Danielle Shelton had one big-ticket celebrity endorsement in her bid to become a Milwaukee County Circuit judge. 

Normally, that would be a good thing in a low-profile race.

Not this time. And not in a judicial race.

That's because the endorsement came from Felicity Huffman

Yes, the former "Desperate Housewives" star who was just charged criminally as part of a college admissions bribery scheme. 

Back in October, Shelton posted on Facebook a short, self-shot video of the judicial candidate and Huffman, who offered her support for the first-time candidate. 

Danielle Shelton

Shelton's campaign said the pair had met at an unspecified event in Milwaukee around the time of the Facebok post. Shelton is running against Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Andrew Jones on April 2. 

On Oct. 20, Huffman was in town as part of the Milwaukee Film Festival to participate in a public conversation on the creative process with John Ridley, the Academy Award-winning writer/director/producer based in Milwaukee. 

A day later, Shelton posted the video endorsement. 

But Shelton's campaign quietly took down the post on Wednesday, a day after Huffman was charged as part of the sweeping indictment. 

Instead, the Facebook page now says, "Sorry, this content isn't available right now."

Shelton's campaign acknowledged Thursday pulling the video, saying Shelton is "disappointed" with Huffman. The candidate had no further comment. 

Actress Lori Loughlin and Huffman were among dozens of well-heeled parents who paid sometimes millions of dollars to get their children into elite universities.  

In this Oct. 4, 2017 file photo, actress Lori Loughlin arrives at the 5th annual People Magazine "Ones To Watch" party in Los Angeles.

Prosecutors said parents paid a college test prep firm to help students cheat, either by having stand-ins take the tests for the teenagers or by arranging for proctors to correct answers. College coaches were also paid to pretend some applicants were recruits. 

In Huffman's case, she and her husband — actor William H. Macy — are accused of paying $15,000 to a fake charity so their daughter could get help on her college entrance exam, according to the indictment. 

It says a cooperating witness, William Singer, told Huffman and Macy that he “controlled” a testing center and could have somebody secretly change their daughter Sofia’s answers. Singer told investigators the couple agreed to the plan.

"Ultimately, Huffman’s daughter received a score of 1420 on the SAT, an improvement of approximately 400 points over her PSAT," the indictment said. 

Felicity Huffman arrives at the 76th Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton on an 6, 2019. Huffman was charged with fraud and conspiracy on March 12, 2019, along with dozens of others in a scheme that according to federal prosecutors saw wealthy parents pay bribes to get their children into some of the nation’s top colleges.

The couple considered using the same system to cheat on their younger daughter's college entrance just last month. 

Macy attended his wife’s initial court appearance. He has not been charged.

Huffman, who has not yet entered a plea, was released on a $250,000 bond and had to surrender her passport after her arrest Tuesday night.

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 224-2135 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.