It was a political prosecution, and as such, anything associated with it should have been voided.
I think he pled because he was out of money. The shame is not in him protecting his family, IMO, it was the prosecution of him in the first place.
I don’t disagree about how shameful it was and yes, it was certainly political and it should be voided. My question is what happens to his son? If they even made such a threat (we do not know this for sure) all of it should not only be voided, but people should be disbarred or prosecuted themselves for such behavior.