Hastert reaches plea deal in hush money case. News Source

An attorney for Dennis Hastert told a federal judge Thursday that the former House speaker intends to plead guilty in a federal hush-money case linked to allegations of sexual misconduct from decades ago. The Los Angeles Times was first to report that “misconduct” may have been sexual in nature, dating from when Hastert was a teacher and wrestling coach in Yorkville, Illinois.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys did not say what charge Hastert, the Republican speaker from 1999 to 2007, would plead guilty to, or whether he would serve time in prison. From June 2010 through April 2012, he made 15 $50,000 bank withdrawals. Banks are required to report and look into any cash withdrawals in excess of $10,000; evading that requirement by using smaller withdrawals (“structuring”), as Hastert allegedly did, is a federal felony. “The charges allege Mr. Hastert moved money around in structured withdrawals to avoid detection by authorities”. The indictment states that $1.7 million was paid to “Individual A”.

Since the details of the plea deal were not announced in court on Thursday, it’s unclear specifically what he will plead to.

McNeive expressed concern for Hastert and his wife, Jean, and said she hoped details of his actions never come to light.

Hastert’s attorney, John Gallo, told U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin that a written plea agreement has been worked out in the case. “The indictment has effectively been amended by leaks from the government”, Thomas Green said. I kept the cash.

After Hastert was indicted, a Montana woman, Jolene Burdge, came forward with claims that Hastert had molested her brother, Steve Reinbolt, a Yorkville grad who died in 1995 of AIDS complications. The Federal Bureau of Investigation also interviewed a second person who raised similar allegations against Hastert, sources said. The colleague, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt, a former Democratic lawmaker from North Carolina, said he did not take action because he had “no direct knowledge of any abuse” by Hastert.

The possible deal with prosecutors would give Hastert, 73, a much more lenient sentence.

The potential of embarrassment of what Individual A might say, if prosecutors were to call him, hung over Hastert.

The Republican lawmaker was speaker of the House for eight years after his predecessor, Newt Gingrich, was forced to step down.