Hastert hush-money case returns to United States court in Chicago

Eventually, Hastert was questioned by federal agents.

Before the indictment was handed down in May, Hastert was remarkable for being a little-known state lawmaker from suburban Chicago who rose to the third-highest office in the nation.

Lawyers confirmed Thursday in court that Hastert will plead guilty on October 28. Hastert has not been charged with any sex crimes, and the identity of the person he is accused of paying remains unknown.

Hastert, the longest-serving GOP speaker in history, was indicted in May on charges that he lied to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and made illegally structured bank payments totaling more than $1.7 million as part of a plan to pay hush money for unspecified past misconduct to someone only identified as “Individual A”.

Hastert lives just west of Chicago, near Yorkville, where he was a teacher and coached high school wrestling until 1981.

Hastert pleaded not guilty in June to structuring bank withdrawals to avoid triggering federal reporting requirements and lying to the FBI about those withdrawals.

When the Federal Bureau of Investigation asked if the point of the withdrawals was “to store cash because he did not feel safe with the banking system, as he previously indicated”, Hastert allegedly replied, “Yeah …”

1999: Hastert voted speaker of the House of Representatives. Hastert, an easygoing and popular figure who was known on Capitol Hill as “the coach”, was adept at corralling members of his caucus and pushing the Republican agenda. He did not seek re-election in 2008.

During a July hearing, Green said media reports about Hastert’s alleged past sexual misconduct were the “800-pound gorilla” in the case.

Politico reported Wednesday that Hastert’s plea deal would likely call for him to spend more than a year in prison, citing anonymous sources close to the case.

Both sides were scheduled to appear at 9 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin, who has said he hoped to set either a trial date for March or April or an earlier date for Hastert to plead guilty.