Ex-Speaker Hush Money Tied To ‘Sexual Misconduct’
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BREAKING, 2:50pmEDT – MSNBC reports that reporters for the Chicago Tribune have learned that former speaker Dennis Hastert was attempting to cover up “sexual misconduct.” A big get for the Trib:
Indicted former House Speaker Dennis Hastert was paying an individual from his past to conceal sexual misconduct, two federal law enforcement officials said Friday.
Federal prosecutors have announced bank-related charges against former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
One of the officials, who would not speak publicly about the federal charges in Chicago, said “Individual A,” as the person is described in Thursday’s federal indictment, was a man and that the alleged misconduct was unrelated to Hastert’s tenure in Congress. The actions date to Hastert’s time as a Yorkville, Ill., high school wrestling coach and teacher, the official said.
“It goes back a long way, back to then,” the source said. “It has nothing to do with public corruption or a corruption scandal. Or to his time in office.” Thursday’s indictment described the misconduct “against Individual A” as having “occurred years earlier.”
Asked why Hastert was making the payments, the official said it was to conceal Hastert’s past relationship with the male. “It was sex,’’ the source said. The other official confirmed that the misconduct involved sexual abuse.
Hastert and his attorneys could not be reached. Representatives of his lobbying firm declined to comment.
7:00amEDT – Ex-House Speaker Denny Hastert is charged with paying off a victim of “prior bad acts.”
In the indictment, Hastert is accused of agreeing to pay one individual $3.5 million.
Although the indictment does not specify the “bad acts,” sources said they could be from before Hastert, who is now a lobbyist in Washington, entered politics in 1980. The indictment does, however, claim that Hastert agreed to make the payments “[d]uring … 2010 meetings and subsequent discussions.” In at least one of those meetings, according to the indictment, Hastert and the individual “discussed past misconduct by [Hastert against the individual] that had occurred years earlier.”
According to the indictment, the FBI began, in 2013, investigating cash withdrawals allegedly made by Hastert “as possible structuring of currency transactions to evade the reporting requirements.”
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allison1050 May 29th, 2015 at 8:05 am
It sounds like it was terribly nasty.
anothertoothpick May 29th, 2015 at 8:24 am
It seems that the hush money was going to a person Hastert knew a long time ago.
Back when Hastert was a high school gym and wresting coach.
It must be pretty nasty for Hastert to be willing to part with $3.5 million.
Budda May 29th, 2015 at 8:30 am
Inquiring minds want to know what the ‘nasty’ was.
allison1050 May 29th, 2015 at 9:25 am
me to
dave-dr-gonzo May 29th, 2015 at 8:35 am
Sounds a whole lot like a “Mark Foley”-style problem, if you catch my drift. I hope not, because that sort of predation is insidious and horrific.
allison1050 May 29th, 2015 at 8:53 am
I’ve got one of those wild imagination’s so I’m wondering if it’s a former wrestling student. And where the hell would a wrestling coach get that kind of money?
anothertoothpick May 29th, 2015 at 8:58 am
Hastert is a highly paid lobbyist (was…he just quit his job recently)
theatlantic.com has an interesting take on all of this. It seems (maybe) that Hastert was being blackmailed.
allison1050 May 29th, 2015 at 9:07 am
There ya good!
Suzanne McFly May 29th, 2015 at 8:45 am
I hope it wasn’t one of his students.
dave-dr-gonzo May 29th, 2015 at 9:11 am
From our good friends at TPM:
“Legal experts say the fact that federal prosecutors noted Hastert’s tenure in Yorkville in the indictment’s first few sentences strongly suggests some connection between the allegations and that time and place.
“‘Notice the teacher and coach language,’ said Jeff Cramer, a former federal prosecutor and head of the Chicago office of the investigation firm Kroll. ‘Feds don’t put in language like that unless it’s relevant.'”
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/hastert-indictment-clues-misconduct-charges
dave-dr-gonzo May 29th, 2015 at 9:13 am
And another nugget from the same source: Hastert’s reason for the withdrawals:
“Investigators questioned Hastert on Dec. 8, 2014, and he lied about why he had been withdrawing so much money at a time, saying he did it because he didn’t trust the banking system, the indictment alleges.
“‘Yeah, … I kept the cash. That’s what I am doing,’ it quotes Hastert as saying.”
William May 29th, 2015 at 9:14 am
Isn’t he the guy who stepped in to replace Gingrich? You remember Gingrich. He’s the guy who resigned after his extra marital affairs came to light during the time that he was impeaching a president for extra marital affairs. Then I believe the GOP chose Bob Livingston to replace Newt, but that deal soured when Livingstons own extra marital affairs came to light in (of all places), Hustler magazine. Livingston retired and was replaced by *giggle* David Vitter.
This could easily be a mini series on HBO entitled
“The family values party”
anothertoothpick May 29th, 2015 at 10:00 am
And don’t forget he instigated the “Hastert rule”.
Legislation must have a republican majority before bring it to a vote. Totally leaving out the democrats.
This is why nothing gets done in congress today.
madashellnow May 29th, 2015 at 9:51 am
Pretty much explains where the Clinton got their training….
dave-dr-gonzo May 29th, 2015 at 9:56 am
Um, no. Where did you get your training? Free Republic, or homeschool?
CandideThirtythree May 30th, 2015 at 2:58 pm
Stormfront more than likely.
Gindy51 May 29th, 2015 at 3:03 pm
Oooh look a Clinton troll, how cute it is.
Pick6 May 29th, 2015 at 3:48 pm
Another RW bot full of BS. Blech.
Larry Schmitt May 30th, 2015 at 2:16 pm
Your post has absolutely nothing to do with this story. But we’re used to that.
Talibandrew Breitbot May 29th, 2015 at 10:00 am
Seems Denny has a little problem on the Turkish front, too:
“Edmonds has given confidential testimony inside a secure Sensitive Compartmented Information facility on several occasions: to congressional staffers, to investigators from the O.I.G., and to the staff from the 9/11 commission. Sources familiar with this testimony say that, in addition to her allegations about the Dickersons, she reported hearing Turkish wiretap targets boast that they had a covert relationship with a very senior politician indeed—Dennis Hastert, Republican congressman from Illinois and Speaker of the House since 1999. The targets reportedly discussed giving Hastert tens of thousands of dollars in surreptitious payments in exchange for political favors and information. ‘The Dickersons,’ says one official familiar with the case, ‘are only the tip of the iceberg.'”
— David Rose, “An Inconvenient Patriot,” Vanity Fair, August 2005
allison1050 May 29th, 2015 at 10:58 am
Rachel Maddow mentioned this just last night.
bobby1122 May 29th, 2015 at 11:35 am
Does Elliot Spitzer ( client #9 in hooker lingo) expect to be indicted also?
rational_thinking_one May 29th, 2015 at 11:55 am
How is that situation anything like this one? Especially when no one knows much of the facts. The one fact we do know is that he gave someone cash well beyond the IRS gift allowance without filing a gift tax return.
bobby1122 May 29th, 2015 at 3:40 pm
Spitzer -former Attorney General of NY and Gov. illegally used wire transfers to move money to his hookers. I want to see all the scum in jail regardless of political party.
Pick6 May 29th, 2015 at 3:44 pm
No you don’t. You just want to bring up a false example to make the “both sides do it” troll claim.
anothertoothpick May 29th, 2015 at 4:14 pm
Let’s talk about that religious right wing homophobe finger banging his four young sisters
causeican May 29th, 2015 at 3:33 pm
You mean sitting Republican senator David Vitter and his DC madam?
nola878 May 29th, 2015 at 6:30 pm
Sadly, it seems the man will be our next governor.
causeican May 29th, 2015 at 6:58 pm
I can’t say much. I have Rick Scott.
CandideThirtythree May 30th, 2015 at 2:43 pm
Sorry, he will be your next governor, I am getting the hell out of Dodge!
anothertoothpick May 29th, 2015 at 4:09 pm
That ever popular republicans moral high ground.
Hear no evil…..see no evil….speak no evil when the pedophile republicans are caught.
Talibandrew Breitbot May 29th, 2015 at 4:16 pm
The topic is Hastert, not Spitzer. Another crotch-sniffing Teabagger with ADHDwho forgot to take his Ritalin.
Foundryman May 29th, 2015 at 11:55 am
I remember Hastert was supposed to be the good guy coming in after the corrupt Gingrich years. It seems even the ‘honest’ republicans are lying crooks.
Bunya May 29th, 2015 at 1:39 pm
Illinois always knew Hastert was a crook. He should be sitting in jail right next to that shyster George Ryan.
bobby1122 May 29th, 2015 at 3:42 pm
along with the latest past Illinois Governor. Rod ( I won’t spill the beans on Obama)
Pick6 May 29th, 2015 at 3:46 pm
Pathetic that you can’t focus on the topic at hand, Oh, wait . . . you’re a RW bot with an implanted chip filled with memes to toss. Just can’t help yourself, eh bot?
Snick1946 May 29th, 2015 at 4:04 pm
Weren’t there two other IL governors who went to prison, Blago of course but also I think Kerner in the 70’s. I think two others in the last century were charged but beat the system.
Talibandrew Breitbot May 29th, 2015 at 4:15 pm
The topic is Hastert, not Blagojevic or Obama. ADHD much? Now go take your Ritalin and get off Mommy’s iPad.
rg9rts May 29th, 2015 at 5:32 pm
Wake up and die right
CandideThirtythree May 30th, 2015 at 2:41 pm
There is not enough bandwidth on the whole internet to mention all the rightwingers who have gone to jail in scandal after scandal …I guess that is why you have to lie about democrats.
rg9rts May 30th, 2015 at 3:16 pm
We are now in 11 10 is closed…
CandideThirtythree May 30th, 2015 at 8:09 pm
See you there
Larry Schmitt May 30th, 2015 at 2:46 pm
You don’t have any beans to spill.
Talibandrew Breitbot May 29th, 2015 at 4:13 pm
Color me only a little surprised. i thought it might have been tied to rumors that stand to this day that he’d been doing favors for the Turkish government, who it had been thought had the goods on him.
rg9rts May 29th, 2015 at 5:31 pm
So another gopee stalwart can’t keep his pecker in his pants
Larry Schmitt May 30th, 2015 at 1:11 pm
I work for a bank, and people who are doing barely legal or actually illegal things with large amounts of cash might know about the govt requirement for banks to report cash transactions over $10,000, but they think they’re being clever by keeping it under 10k. That is just as big a tipoff, and the bank will report those transactions (they get in trouble if they don’t), and that triggers an investigation, as it did this time.