D’Souza spared prison, sentenced to 8 months in “community confinement center” http://t.co/jw6PCditkt

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) September 23, 2014

Dinesh D’Souza was spared prison time today when a federal judge sentenced him to five years probation for violating campaign finance laws.

For the first eight months of his probation term, D’Souza will have to live in a “community confinement center” in San Diego, ordered Judge Richard Berman, who also fined D’Souza $30,000 and directed him to undergo “therapeutic counseling.”

[…]

“I’m not sure, Mr. D’Souza, that you get it,” said Berman, who referred to D’Souza’s claim that he was a victim of selective prosecution.

During the sentencing hearing, Berman read from a blistering letter submitted to the court by D’Souza’s estranged wife. In the missive, Dixie D’Souza alleged that her ex-spouse forged her signature on one campaign contribution form, and that he had an “abusive nature.”

D’Souza, who was married to the defendant for 20 years, wrote, “In one instance, it was my husband who physically abused me in April 2012 when he, using his purple belt karate skills, kicked me in the head and shoulder, knocking me to the ground and creating injuries that pain me to this day.”