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Getbig Main Boards => Politics and Political Issues Board => Topic started by: Dos Equis on May 29, 2015, 12:49:34 PM
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"The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine."
Ex-Speaker Hastert reportedly paying to conceal sexual misconduct
Published May 29, 2015
FoxNews.com
Ex-House Speaker Dennis Hastert reportedly had been paying someone to cover up sexual misconduct before he was indicted for allegedly concealing those payments.
The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that the bank-related charges in the indictment pertain to payments he was making to a male individual from his past -- dating back to his time as high school teacher and wrestling coach in Yorkville, Ill., according to one official.
"It goes back a long way, back to then," the official reportedly said. On why the former Republican House speaker was making the payment, the source said it was to cover up his past relationship with the man.
"It was sex,'' the source told the newspaper. Another official reportedly said it involved sexual abuse.
The federal indictment said only that Hastert had been hiding payments he made in order to compensate for and conceal "prior misconduct."
It said he agreed to provide $3.5 million to someone described only as "Individual A." It did not elaborate on the alleged misconduct or indicate if Individual A is a man or a woman. However, it said the person has known Hastert most of the individual's life. It also said the person has been a resident of Yorkville, Ill., where Hastert was a high school teacher and wrestling coach from 1965 to 1981.
The 73-year-old Illinois Republican is specifically accused of structuring the withdrawal of $925,000 in cash in order to evade the requirement that banks report cash transactions over $10,000. He is also accused of lying to the FBI about the withdrawals.
Hastert was indicted on two counts, both carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/05/29/ex-speaker-hastert-reportedly-paying-to-conceal-sexual-misconduct/
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I believe the trending response to an illicit affair for a decade was determined in 2012 to be "9.9.9."
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The self-proclaimed Republican talking stink about Republicans again. You are unquestionably a Republican in Name Only (depending on the day).
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The self-proclaimed Republican talking stink about Republicans again. You are unquestionably a Republican in Name Only (depending on the day).
Cruz 2016. I hate libs and I hate RINOs, and guess what... Hastert is definitely not a conservative here. Whoring around and committing crimes to cover it? That's not conservatives. SO yes, attacking him is attacking RINO which is cool.
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Cruz 2016. I hate libs and I hate RINOs, and guess what... Hastert is definitely not a conservative here. Whoring around and committing crimes to cover it? That's not conservatives. SO yes, attacking him is attacking RINO which is cool.
::) You are a Republican in Name Only. In practice, you are a flaming liberal. At least on this board.
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The self-proclaimed Republican talking stink about Republicans again. You are unquestionably a Republican in Name Only (depending on the day).
great point Bum
A real Repub would never criticize Hastert for lying to the FBI and trying to hide his payouts to hide his alleged sexual misconduct with a man (or perhaps it was a child) while he was a teacher and wrestling coach
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great point Bum
A real Repub would never criticize Hastert for lying to the FBI and trying to hide his payouts to hide his alleged sexual misconduct with a man (or perhaps it was a child) while he was a teacher and wrestling coach
I hope it wasn't a child. That'd be disgusting.
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Is this the guy?
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Interesting take.
Dershowitz on Hastert Indictment: 'This Case Just Smells'
Friday, 29 May 2015
By Cathy Burke
A federal indictment of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert for forking over $3.5million in hush money, reportedly to keep someone quiet about past sexual misconduct, "puts the government in the position of essentially being part of the blackmail," Alan Dershowitz tells Newsmax TV.
In an interview with "Newsmax Prime" host J.D. Hayworth, the noted lawyer and author of "Terror Tunnels: The Case For Israel's Just War Against Hamas," calls the former Republican lawmaker "a victim if the story is true of extortion."
"This case just smells," Dershowitz said. "I'm shocked that a prosecutor would allow this kind of case to be brought knowing that it will reveal the secrets, that it would open doors up to things that are alleged or have occurred almost half a century ago. … This is not a case that should've been brought in federal court"
Dershowitz noted the federal "structuring statutes" Hastert is accused of breaking "were intended to prevent money laundering, to prevent drug dealing, to prevent income tax evasion. "
"Paying hush money is not illegal," Dershowitz said. "He didn't want anybody to know about it, so he took money out in small amounts and the banks wouldn't report it. That is not within the heartland of what this statute was intended to cover – and then to have an indictment which essentially reveals that which Hastert was trying to conceal puts the government in the position of essentially being part of the blackmail – and it's just not right."
Dershowitz called the case "an abusive prosecutorial discretion" for using the structuring statute "to try to go after somebody who was trying to solve a rather personal problem...."
And, he predicted, the feds won't win this one.
"When they go after politicians, whether it be Tom DeLay or … several other of these high-profile cases, they lose them all," he said. "I suspect they're going to lose this one."
http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/Dershowitz-Hastert-indictment-Newsmax-TV/2015/05/29/id/647617/#ixzz3baPmZnuy
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"When they go after politicians, whether it be Tom DeLay or … several other of these high-profile cases, they lose them all," he said. "I suspect they're going to lose this one."
we have found the one man on earth that believes poor tom delay did nothing wrong ;D
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Interesting take.
Dershowitz on Hastert Indictment: 'This Case Just Smells'
Friday, 29 May 2015
By Cathy Burke
A federal indictment of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert for forking over $3.5million in hush money, reportedly to keep someone quiet about past sexual misconduct, "puts the government in the position of essentially being part of the blackmail," Alan Dershowitz tells Newsmax TV.
In an interview with "Newsmax Prime" host J.D. Hayworth, the noted lawyer and author of "Terror Tunnels: The Case For Israel's Just War Against Hamas," calls the former Republican lawmaker "a victim if the story is true of extortion."
"This case just smells," Dershowitz said. "I'm shocked that a prosecutor would allow this kind of case to be brought knowing that it will reveal the secrets, that it would open doors up to things that are alleged or have occurred almost half a century ago. … This is not a case that should've been brought in federal court"
Dershowitz noted the federal "structuring statutes" Hastert is accused of breaking "were intended to prevent money laundering, to prevent drug dealing, to prevent income tax evasion. "
"Paying hush money is not illegal," Dershowitz said. "He didn't want anybody to know about it, so he took money out in small amounts and the banks wouldn't repor
And, he predicted, the feds won't win this one.
"When they go after politicians, whether it be Tom DeLay or … several other of these high-profile cases, they lose them all," he said. "I suspect they're going to lose this one."
http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/Dershowitz-Hastert-indictment-Newsmax-TV/2015/05/29/id/647617/#ixzz3baPmZnuy
Anything to defend this pedo. Disgusting. I hope the pundits that screamed about what a victim hastert is, will voice the same concern for the underage boy that was sexually abused.
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Anything to defend this pedo. Disgusting. I hope the pundits that screamed about what a victim hastert is, will voice the same concern for the underage boy that was sexually abused.
Very weird and sick that Bum would defend this guy. He is accused of violating banking laws and lying to the FBI to cover up what is almost certainly a crime involving a minor and a male minor at that (regardless of how long ago the possible crimes took place)
I guess party loyalty above all else really is the order of the day
If only John Edwards had been a Republican I'm sure Bum would have defended him too, especially given that his "sexual misconduct" was between consenting heterosexual adults.
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Very weird and sick that Bum would defend this guy. He is accused of violating banking laws and lying to the FBI to cover up what is almost certainly a crime involving a minor and a male minor at that (regardless of how long ago the possible crimes took place)
I guess party loyalty above all else really is the order of the day
If only John Edwards had been a Republican I'm sure Bum would have defended him too, especially given that his "sexual misconduct" was between consenting heterosexual adults.
bum will say he didn't defend the guy... he just happened to post a point of view defending the guy repeatedly.
it's odd... one of those "food for thought, but I won't commit either way".
Hassert looks like a sicko, period.
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bum will say he didn't defend the guy... he just happened to post a point of view defending the guy repeatedly.
it's odd... one of those "food for thought, but I won't commit either way".
Hassert looks like a sicko, period.
he will try but he's also criticizing you for not supporting a Repub so kind of hard to have it both ways
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he will try but he's also criticizing you for not supporting a Repub so kind of hard to have it both ways
Either you're with the pedo embezzlers, or you're with the liberals.
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If there's sufficient evidence that he's likely guilty of sexual misconduct with kids or forcing himself on anyone or what have you, I say try the bastard and throw him away for life in a cell with a 400 pound gorilla if they can convict him. Cut his fucking nuts off, kill him, I don't care.
If the statute of limitations has run out or whatever, hopefully someone he's molested will take care of him once and for all.
His party affiliation has nothing to do with anything.
This is why liberals suck - if he had been a Democrat, you guys would be making moral equivalence arguments and somehow excusing his behavior because this or that Republican did this or that in the past 5 years or thousand years or whatever. Criminals - especially violent criminals - should not be treated differently by anyone because of their political party affiliation or anything else.
As for Dershowitz, it's in his nature as an appellate attorney to think this way about these things. And it appears that he's only questioning the actual "structuring" charges being inappropriate.
Dershowitz noted the federal "structuring statutes" Hastert is accused of breaking "were intended to prevent money laundering, to prevent drug dealing, to prevent income tax evasion. "
"Paying hush money is not illegal," Dershowitz said. "He didn't want anybody to know about it, so he took money out in small amounts and the banks wouldn't report it. That is not within the heartland of what this statute was intended to cover – and then to have an indictment which essentially reveals that which Hastert was trying to conceal puts the government in the position of essentially being part of the blackmail – and it's just not right."
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::) You are a Republican in Name Only. In practice, you are a flaming liberal. At least on this board.
Could be worse. He could be like you and deny being a Repub all together.
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Either you're with the pedo embezzlers, or you're with the liberals.
You've got to understand that Bum is not the type of guy to rush to judgement, especially in matters of moral turpitude with a minor.....while also being a Republican
He also clearly finds it "interesting" that Hastert wasn't breaking any laws by paying hush money, even though the way he withdrew the money seems to indicate he was trying to evade reporting requirements and he lied to the FBI about it and the act that he was paying to cover up was quite likely illegal.
Hmmm, that really is interesting
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You've got to understand that Bum is not the type of guy to rush to judgement, especially in matters of moral turpitude with a minor.....while also being a Republican
He also clearly finds it "interesting" that Hastert wasn't breaking any laws by paying hush money, even though the way he withdrew the money seems to indicate he was trying to evade reporting requirements and he lied to the FBI about it and the act that he was paying to cover up was quite likely illegal.
Hmmm, that really is interesting
Not really when you consider what an idiotic hypocrite he is.
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Could be worse. He could be like you and deny being a Repub all together.
Could be even worse: he could be like you.
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If there's sufficient evidence that he's likely guilty of sexual misconduct with kids or forcing himself on anyone or what have you, I say try the bastard and throw him away for life in a cell with a 400 pound gorilla if they can convict him. Cut his fucking nuts off, kill him, I don't care.
If the statute of limitations has run out or whatever, hopefully someone he's molested will take care of him once and for all.
His party affiliation has nothing to do with anything.
This is why liberals suck - if he had been a Democrat, you guys would be making moral equivalence arguments and somehow excusing his behavior because this or that Republican did this or that in the past 5 years or thousand years or whatever. Criminals - especially violent criminals - should not be treated differently by anyone because of their political party affiliation or anything else.
As for Dershowitz, it's in his nature as an appellate attorney to think this way about these things. And it appears that he's only questioning the actual "structuring" charges being inappropriate.
Dershowitz noted the federal "structuring statutes" Hastert is accused of breaking "were intended to prevent money laundering, to prevent drug dealing, to prevent income tax evasion. "
"Paying hush money is not illegal," Dershowitz said. "He didn't want anybody to know about it, so he took money out in small amounts and the banks wouldn't report it. That is not within the heartland of what this statute was intended to cover – and then to have an indictment which essentially reveals that which Hastert was trying to conceal puts the government in the position of essentially being part of the blackmail – and it's just not right."
You would think it would be illegal as it at least suggests blackmail going on.
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Good.
Christian College Removes Hastert's Name after Indictment
31 May 2015
A Christian college in suburban Chicago has removed the name of former U.S. House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert from an academic research center.
Wheaton College announced Sunday that what had been known as the J. Dennis Hastert Center for Economics, Government and Public Policy is now just named after the school.
The center was established in 2007 when Hastert stepped down from Congress after eight years as speaker.
Hastert resigned from the research center's board Friday, one day after the release of a federal indictment accusing him of violating banking laws by agreeing to pay $3.5 million in hush money to keep a person silent about unspecified "prior misconduct."
Hastert has also resigned from Chicago-based CME Group, parent of several exchanges, and the Washington lobbying firm Dickstein Shapiro LLC.
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/dennis-hastert-name-building-wheaton-college/2015/05/31/id/647814/#ixzz3br3jgQ2d
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Good.
Bad. Wait for the conviction.
Or....maybe good and put it back on IF he happens to be clear.
Ah...fuck it, IDK.
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Bad. Wait for the conviction.
Or....maybe good and put it back on IF he happens to be clear.
Ah...fuck it, IDK.
I don't think it matters if he is convicted or is actually guilty or innocent. It's not the kind of attention the school wants or needs. I would have done the same thing if I was a decision maker at the school.
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I don't think it matters if he is convicted or is actually guilty or innocent. It's not the kind of attention the school wants or needs. I would have done the same thing if I was a decision maker at the school.
I think it would, especially if the allegation turned out to be false.
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I think it would, especially if the allegation turned out to be false.
yeah I'm sure Hastert spent millions of dollars and lied to the FBI to cover up a false allegation
makes perfect sense as long as you're a complete idiot
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yeah I'm sure Hastert spent millions of dollars and lied to the FBI to cover up a false allegation
makes perfect sense as long as you're a complete idiot
Only a fucking idiot would take that from my post, lol.
Dumbfuck is desperate after his latest hammering.
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Only a fucking idiot would take that from my post, lol.
Dumbfuck is desperate after his latest hammering.
Only a fucking idiot woud have made your post
If someone falsely accused you of molesting them your first idea would be to pay them millions and lie to the FBI
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I think it would, especially if the allegation turned out to be false.
They may not know if the allegation is actually false for years, if at all. I think it's a case-by-case decision, but this kind of allegation is something I would not wait for the justice system to resolve. It's mainly a PR/business decision.
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Only a fucking idiot woud have made your post
If someone falsely accused you of molesting them your first idea would be to pay them millions and lie to the FBI
lmao...still too fucking dumb to understand.
Oh shit dude, you have truly entertained tonight.
Thank you.
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They may not know if the allegation is actually false for years, if at all. I think it's a case-by-case decision, but this kind of allegation is something I would not wait for the justice system to resolve. It's mainly a PR/business decision.
Yea, and even someone isn't convicted, doesn't mean they didn't do it. Joe Pa had the same thing done to him at Penn State. Not sure if that was a right or wrong decision.
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lmao...still too fucking dumb to understand.
Oh shit dude, you have truly entertained tonight.
Thank you.
I understand you believe there is a possibility tha allegations are false which means you believe that Hastert chose to pay millions and break laws to hide a false allegation.
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Yea, and even someone isn't convicted, doesn't mean they didn't do it. Joe Pa had the same thing done to him at Penn State. Not sure if that was a right or wrong decision.
That one wasn't handled properly IMO. Joe Pa made mistakes, which he admitted, but he wasn't the molester.
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That one wasn't handled properly IMO. Joe Pa made mistakes, which he admitted, but he wasn't the molester.
because of his inaction, the rape went on.
every person that didn't call 911 the moment they saw or knew of the incident, is guilty of every time it happens afterwards.
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That one wasn't handled properly IMO. Joe Pa made mistakes, which he admitted, but he wasn't the molester.
you seriously can't expect Skiptard to understand even that simple amount of nuance
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because of his inaction, the rape went on.
every person that didn't call 911 the moment they saw or knew of the incident, is guilty of every time it happens afterwards.
He isn't to blame for what Sandusky did. He talked to his bosses and left it at that. That was really his only mistake. He isn't in the same universe as Sandusky.
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He isn't to blame for what Sandusky did. He talked to his bosses and left it at that. That was really his only mistake. He isn't in the same universe as Sandusky.
Nope, 240 is right. That's a criminal issue and should've been reported to the cops. But, he was never convicted of anything and he had an otherwise stellar career. And he's been pretty much removed from the campus.
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you seriously can't expect Skiptard to understand even that simple amount of nuance
Uh-oh....looks like I slapped the shit out of him too hard today. Now he's dangling from my ball sack.
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Nope, 240 is right. That's a criminal issue and should've been reported to the cops. But, he was never convicted of anything and he had an otherwise stellar career. And he's been pretty much removed from the campus.
That's what I said: reporting to his bosses and doing nothing else was his mistake. He absolutely should have contacted the police himself.
Penn State did a horrible job with that entire situation, from Joe Pa to taking it up the tail pipe from the NCAA.
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Nope, 240 is right. That's a criminal issue and should've been reported to the cops. But, he was never convicted of anything and he had an otherwise stellar career. And he's been pretty much removed from the campus.
a ten year old boy cannot give consent. That's the same as if that idiot coach had walked in on the dude raping a woman begging for help, and just did nothing but "mention it to the head coach".
Disgusting. First we get the nonsense of "maybe Hastert is innocent" prediction article, and now we get Joe Pa defense? Sorry, he allowed ongoing rape of a child to go on, he's a piece of shit head coach and anyone that defends him is also a piece of shit. Prison for all of them - Joe Pa should have gone too, if not for his health and demise.
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Uh-oh....looks like I slapped the shit out of him too hard today. Now he's dangling from my ball sack.
LOL. You're more delusional than usual today.
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a ten year old boy cannot give consent. That's the same as if that idiot coach had walked in on the dude raping a woman begging for help, and just did nothing but "mention it to the head coach".
Disgusting. First we get the nonsense of "maybe Hastert is innocent" prediction article, and now we get Joe Pa defense? Sorry, he allowed ongoing rape of a child to go on, he's a piece of shit head coach and anyone that defends him is also a piece of shit. Prison for all of them - Joe Pa should have gone too, if not for his health and demise.
Nobody's defended Hastert. He's sounds like another closeted Republican and it's no shock he went after Clinton for a sex scandal. I'm talking about being on the fence as to when it's appropriate to treat somebody as a criminal.
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a ten year old boy cannot give consent. That's the same as if that idiot coach had walked in on the dude raping a woman begging for help, and just did nothing but "mention it to the head coach".
Disgusting. First we get the nonsense of "maybe Hastert is innocent" prediction article, and now we get Joe Pa defense? Sorry, he allowed ongoing rape of a child to go on, he's a piece of shit head coach and anyone that defends him is also a piece of shit. Prison for all of them - Joe Pa should have gone too, if not for his health and demise.
I'm sure innocent people would pay millions of dollars in hush money and also lie about it
some people here think that's an option
You're saying that might be nonsense?
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Uh-oh....my ball danglers back. Damn Beach....can't you take him back. You know how much he pines for your attention.
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Uh-oh....my ball danglers back. Damn Beach....can't you take him back. You know how much he pines for your attention.
Bwahahaha!!!! Oh no brother. She is all yours. LOL . . . . . ;D
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Uh-oh....my ball danglers back. Damn Beach....can't you take him back. You know how much he pines for your attention.
weird how you guys alwasy seem like closet cases
let's review
you are open to the option the allegations against Hastert might be false
I think it would, especially if the allegation turned out to be false.
Others think that premise is laughable (at best) especially given Hasterts actions
Once again, something that seems obvious to most is somehow confusing for you
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Good observations on the video. I'm sure the underlying allegations played a big role, along with his status.
Dan Abrams: Hastert ‘Gotcha Prosecution’ Wouldn’t Be Happening If He Wasn’t High-Profile
by Josh Feldman
May 31st, 2015
Mediaite founder and ABC News Chief Legal Analyst Dan Abrams told George Stephanopoulos today it’s very doubtful Dennis Hastert would be getting prosecuted if he were someone else.
The former Speaker of the House was indicted days ago and charged with both bank fraud and lying to the FBI. Hastert had allegedly been paying someone to cover up sexual misconduct that went on while Hastert was a high school wrestling coach.
Abrams found the federal charges a little odd because they’re “not crimes that are typically charged without more.” He said, “I think this is a gotcha prosecution. I don’t think if he was Dennis Higgins, as opposed to Dennis Hastert, they would have charged him here.”
That being said, he thinks it’ll be “very hard for him to defend against” when the time comes.
Watch the video below, via ABC:
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/dan-abrams-hastert-gotcha-prosecution-wouldnt-be-happening-if-he-wasnt-high-profile/
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weird how you guys alwasy seem like closet cases
let's review
you are open to the option the allegations against Hastert might be false
Others think that premise is laughable (at best) especially given Hasterts actions
Once again, something that seems obvious to most is somehow confusing for you
Pay attention Dumbfuck.
"I'm talking about being on the fence as to when it's appropriate to treat somebody as a criminal."
And yes, there is always a possibility that he's innocent. We don't know shit at this point. But, I'm sure that's beyond you.
Which is why you wear the Dumbfuck moniker.
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Good observations on the video. I'm sure the underlying allegations played a big role, along with his status.
Dan Abrams: Hastert ‘Gotcha Prosecution’ Wouldn’t Be Happening If He Wasn’t High-Profile
by Josh Feldman
May 31st, 2015
Mediaite founder and ABC News Chief Legal Analyst Dan Abrams told George Stephanopoulos today it’s very doubtful Dennis Hastert would be getting prosecuted if he were someone else.
The former Speaker of the House was indicted days ago and charged with both bank fraud and lying to the FBI. Hastert had allegedly been paying someone to cover up sexual misconduct that went on while Hastert was a high school wrestling coach.
Abrams found the federal charges a little odd because they’re “not crimes that are typically charged without more.” He said, “I think this is a gotcha prosecution. I don’t think if he was Dennis Higgins, as opposed to Dennis Hastert, they would have charged him here.”
That being said, he thinks it’ll be “very hard for him to defend against” when the time comes.
Watch the video below, via ABC:
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/dan-abrams-hastert-gotcha-prosecution-wouldnt-be-happening-if-he-wasnt-high-profile/
so if he were someone else they would look the other way about the bank fraud and lying to the FBI?
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Bwahahaha!!!! Oh no brother. She is all yours. LOL . . . . . ;D
Doh
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Pay attention Dumbfuck.
"I'm talking about being on the fence as to when it's appropriate to treat somebody as a criminal."
And yes, there is always a possibility that he's innocent. We don't know shit at this point. But, I'm sure that's beyond you.
Which is why you wear the Dumbfuck moniker.
institutions can't "treat someone like a criminal"
only the courts and justice system do that
and we can all read your words and you just repeated that you believe there is a possibility he is innocent
thus, you believe an innocent man would take millions of dollars, break banking laws and lie to the FBI to hide FALSE allegations
OK - you're entitled to your own opinion no matter how idiotic it looks
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Sister Of Alleged Dennis Hastert Victim Approached Media In 2006
Michael Calderone
Posted: 06/05/2015
(http://i.huffpost.com/gen/3037238/images/n-DENNIS-HASTERT-large570.jpg)
NEW YORK -– Jolene Burdge said Friday on ABC's "Good Morning America" that her late brother, Steve Reinboldt, was sexually abused by Dennis Hastert when the former Republican speaker of the House was an Illinois high school teacher and wrestling coach in the 1970s.
Burdge said she tried getting the word out to the media long before Hastert's indictment last week for lying to the FBI and evading banking laws in an effort to cover up alleged abuse.
ABC News acknowledged that Burdge had approached the network about Hastert in 2006 after former Republican Congressman Mark Foley was caught sending sexually explicit messages to a 16-year-old male page. In Friday's report, ABC noted that it "could not corroborate Jolene's allegation and Hastert denied the claim."
On Friday's GMA, chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross said Burdge had contacted them "off the record" nine years ago, but had only been willing to go public with the allegations more recently.
The Associated Press also looked into the matter in 2006, the news organization disclosed Friday. The AP reported Burdge "ultimately decided against coming forward with a statement at that time."
AP spokesman Paul Colford explained the situation further in a statement to The Huffington Post.
"As a scandal involving former Rep. Mark Foley was unfolding in 2006, a person with no firsthand knowledge pointed The Associated Press to Jolene Burdge," Colford said. "On the phone and by email she repeatedly declined to talk about Dennis Hastert and provided no information that would have allowed AP to pursue a story, despite AP’s further efforts to do so at the time."
The Huffington Post reported Tuesday that Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.) was informed about claims of abuse early in Hastert's speakership.
In a statement, Watt said he "heard an unseemly rumor" over 15 years ago, but "had no direct knowledge of any abuse by former Speaker Hastert and, therefore, took no action."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/05/dennis-hastert-media-_n_7518662.html
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Another sadistic perverted freak, masquerading as a civil servant.
Throw the multi-millionaire freak in prison until he dies.
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yeah I'm sure Hastert spent millions of dollars and lied to the FBI to cover up a false allegation
makes perfect sense as long as you're a complete idiot
;D Exactly. Fat boy is so guilty it's amazing he hasn't committed suicide.
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But the evil media loves to demonize repubs in every way possible, even with lies. You're telling me they had witness claims of repubs underage sexual crimes and they didn't shout it from the presses? What gives?
The media knew about this crime for 15 years and didn't report it because of "not enough evidence"? But I thought lib media just lied all day... Huh?
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institutions can't "treat someone like a criminal"
only the courts and justice system do that
and we can all read your words and you just repeated that you believe there is a possibility he is innocent
thus, you believe an innocent man would take millions of dollars, break banking laws and lie to the FBI to hide FALSE allegations
OK - you're entitled to your own opinion no matter how idiotic it looks
I didn't say that Dumbfuck. Those are your words, lol.
Keep earning that Dumbfuck moniker!!
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But the evil media loves to demonize repubs in every way possible, even with lies. You're telling me they had witness claims of repubs underage sexual crimes and they didn't shout it from the presses? What gives?
The media knew about this crime for 15 years and didn't report it because of "not enough evidence"? But I thought lib media just lied all day... Huh?
I thought they were stating that the witness wouldn't come forward earlier?
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I didn't say that Dumbfuck. Those are your words, lol.
Keep earning that Dumbfuck moniker!!
whatever you say Skiptard
The rest of us can still read
Pay attention Dumbfuck.
"I'm talking about being on the fence as to when it's appropriate to treat somebody as a criminal."
And yes, there is always a possibility that he's innocent. We don't know shit at this point. But, I'm sure that's beyond you.
Which is why you wear the Dumbfuck moniker.
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Yes, I agree, that possibility exists Dumbfuck.
Keep earning that moniker tard, lmao.
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Yes, I agree, that possibility exists Dumbfuck.
Keep earning that moniker tard, lmao.
and like I said before, you're entitled to your moronic opinions
carry on Skiptard
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Former House Speaker Hastert Pleads Not Guilty to Federal Charges
(http://www.newsmax.com/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?guid=c1e18338-ba20-419f-bfb8-a4f4e2f0be9a&SiteName=Newsmax&maxsidesize=600)
Image: Former House Speaker Hastert Pleads Not Guilty to Federal Charges Former U.S House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Tuesday, 09 Jun 2015
Former U.S House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to federal charges of trying to hide large cash transactions and lying to the FBI about it.
Law enforcement officials have said Hastert was using the money to try to cover up sexual abuse of a male decades ago when the Republican congressman worked as a high school wrestling coach and teacher, according to media reports.
Hastert's attorneys entered the plea on his behalf in a brief arraignment hearing before Judge Thomas Durkin in the federal courthouse in Chicago.
Durkin set a $4,500 appearance bond for Hastert and ordered him to surrender his passport and remove firearms from his property as conditions of pre-trial release.
Hastert, 73, stood hunched over and spoke in barely a whisper when he told Durkin he understood the conditions of release. He was wearing a suit and tie and stood between his two lawyers, John Gallo and Thomas Green
Hastert has not made any public statements about the charges or the allegations that the payments amounted to hush money since he was indicted on May 28. He was mobbed by media as he arrived at the courthouse.
http://www.newsmax.com/US/dennis-hastert-pleads-not-guilty/2015/06/09/id/649614/#ixzz3cbl7yeV3
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Interesting
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and like I said before, you're entitled to your moronic opinions
carry on Skiptard
Awww...the board Dumbfuck is mad.
All that anger's gonna give you a stroke. Lighten up, work out, take a vacation from your 24/7 watch of the board, lol.
Don't worry, be Happy!
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Awww...the board Dumbfuck is mad.
All that anger's gonna give you a stroke. Lighten up, work out, take a vacation from your 24/7 watch of the board, lol.
Don't worry, be Happy!
LOL - projection much?
Why would you think I'm mad Skiptard ?
Do you see caps or exclamation points ?
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Hastert agrees to plead guilty in hush money case
By Tom LoBianco, CNN
Thu October 15, 2015 | Video Source: CNN
Two sources with knowledge of the federal investigation told CNN in June that Hastert was paying a former student to stay quiet about allegations of sexual abuse from when he was a wrestling coach and teacher in Yorkville, Illinois.
The indictment details payments and a payment plan to an unidentified "Individual A," by Hastert. But that person has never been officially identified.
Hastert was charged with lying to FBI investigators about his payment plan for "Individual A" and structuring bank transactions under $10,000 to avoid triggering federal reporting requirements.
Hastert initially pleaded not guilty to all charges, but Hastert's defense team entered negotiations with prosecutors last month. At the time, Durkin set an October 15 hearing date to receive either an update on the negotiations or set a March or April trial date.
The plea deal would forgo the trial, which could easily be damaging for Hastert. Hastert has remained on bail on his own recognizance, although he did surrender his passport as part of the bail agreement.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/15/politics/dennis-hastert-plea-deal/index.html
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Typical. Most repub congressman have paid off underage sex scandals at one time or another, MSNBC reported today.
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(http://i.huffpost.com/gen/3037238/images/n-DENNIS-HASTERT-large570.jpg)
Denny the Dicksucker
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Hastert pleads guilty in hush money case
By Mariano Castillo and Tom LoBianco, CNN
Wed October 28, 2015
Washington (CNN)—Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert pleaded guilty Wednesday to structuring money transactions in a way to evade requirements to report where the money was going.
The money, investigators said, went to pay someone he had wronged $3.5 million in hush money.
In addition, Hastert was charged with making false statements to federal investigators.
As part of a plea deal, Hastert pleaded guilty only to the count of hiding money transactions.
Hastert could serve a prison sentence, or possibly walk away with no prison time.
Prosecutors recommended that the judge consider the federal sentencing guidelines, which given Hastert's crime and lack of previous criminal history, is a sentence ranging from no prison time up to six months.
Dennis Hastert in court during his guilty plea.
The sentencing date was set for February 29.
"As part of the sentencing process in this case, as in all cases, we will provide the court with relevant information about the defendant's background and the charged offenses, and the defendant will have an opportunity to do the same, so that the court can impose an appropriate sentence taking into account all relevant factors in the case," the U.S. attorney's office for the Northern District of Illinois said in a statement.
Two sources with knowledge of the federal investigation told CNN in June that Hastert was paying a former student to stay quiet about allegations of sexual abuse from when he was a wrestling coach and teacher in Yorkville, Illinois.
The indictment details payments and a payment plan to an "Individual A" by Hastert. That person has never been officially identified.
Hastert was charged with lying to FBI investigators about his payment plan for "Individual A" and structuring bank transactions under $10,000 to avoid triggering federal reporting requirements.
Hastert initially pleaded not guilty to all charges, but Hastert's defense team entered negotiations with prosecutors last month.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/28/politics/dennis-hastert-court-hearing/index.html
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Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert accused of sexual abuse by at least 4, sources say
Sister: Hastert abused my brother
Christy Gutowski and Jeff Coen
For months, federal authorities have hinted at the motive behind the hush-money payments former House Speaker Dennis Hastert has admitted to making: the sexual abuse of a teenage boy when Hastert was still a suburban high school teacher and wrestling coach.
But now, a Tribune investigation has uncovered new details of the case — at least four people have made what law enforcement sources say are credible allegations of sexual abuse against Hastert.
The Tribune has determined the identities of three of them, all men, whose allegations stretch over a decade when they were teenagers and Hastert was their coach. One is dead. The Tribune has approached the other two — described in federal court records as Individuals A and D — and confirmed their roles in the case.
The man who received $1.7 million from Hastert and is at the center of the federal indictment — Individual A — declined to be interviewed by the Tribune. Behind the government's carefully worded court documents, reporters discovered a sometimes-pained narrative of his life since his days as a standout wrestler in the 1970s and how his interactions with Hastert might have affected him.
Individual D has talked to the Tribune at length but has not agreed to be named, although he is considering speaking at Hastert's sentencing in federal court April 27.
The Tribune typically does not name victims of alleged sexual abuse without their consent and is not doing so here.
Hastert is alleged to have sexually abused the teens identified by the Tribune when he was a teacher and coach at Yorkville High School in the far southwest suburbs, decades before he became the longest-serving Republican speaker. Some of the alleged conduct, which prosecutors have not detailed, might come to light this week when prosecutors are expected to file sentencing memorandums.
One of the alleged victims served as a team equipment manager a few years after Hastert arrived at the school in 1965. Stephen Reinboldt died of AIDS in 1995, and his younger sister has long spoken out about the details she said he shared with her while alive. Two others, who came to the school later, were talented and popular student-athletes from well-known local families — the sort of combination that often bodes well for the future. They all graduated from college.
The identity of the fourth accuser whom authorities have deemed credible remains unknown.
In a statement, Hastert attorney Tom Green did not specify any sexual abuse by his client but did say Hastert was apologetic and had suffered humiliation and shame.
"Mr. Hastert has made mistakes in judgment and committed transgressions for which he is profoundly sorry," Green said. "He fully understands the gravity of his misconduct decades ago and regrets that he resorted to … an effort to prevent the disclosure of that misconduct."
In a small town where the Tastee Freez was a gathering place for local teens, Hastert taught many siblings of the alleged victims and knew most of their parents on a first-name basis. Each of the alleged victims identified by the Tribune had their struggles. Yet they all kept quiet about their hometown's favorite son and the inappropriate sexual contact that they alleged he had with them when they were high school students and he was in a position of trust.
Now 74 and said to be in failing health after suffering a near-fatal blood infection and stroke, Hastert has not been charged with harming a child. Such charges, according to legal experts, would be barred by statutes of limitation. Instead, Hastert pleaded guilty last year to illegally structuring cash withdrawals to evade bank currency-reporting requirements as he pooled his money to give to Individual A as part of an agreement to keep him quiet.
Individual A
It was nearly one year ago that the indictment against Hastert was unsealed. Prosecutors said only that Hastert had skirted banking laws and lied to the FBI to conceal misconduct against Individual A, who has known Hastert much of his life.
Adding to Hastert's alleged betrayal, Individual A is a relative of one of the retired congressman's friends.
Hastert agreed during a 2010 meeting with Individual A to pay him $3.5 million in a financial agreement sources described as more akin to an agreed out-of-court settlement rather than extortion.
The sources confirmed Individual A's identity to the Tribune.
When Tribune reporters approached the middle-aged husband and father in February, Individual A said he didn't want to be rude but was "not interested" in speaking publicly and walked away. His wife acknowledged that her husband was a "victim."
As for Hastert, a man who once was two steps from the presidency, the allegations force a reevaluation of his life, as well as his reputation. About 50 years ago, after he had graduated from Wheaton College, Hastert began working in Yorkville, making about $5,000 a year as a high school teacher, along with a few hundred dollars a year more to coach, according to personnel records obtained by the Tribune.
Most in town would come to know "Denny," as he was most frequently called, as the man who put Yorkville on the map by winning a 1976 state wrestling championship and bringing several other squads close to a state title. Dozens of wrestlers had great success individually as well.
Hastert was active in the community too, as it grew during his 16 years as a civics teacher there. He drove his antique firetruck in parades, volunteered in local youth organizations and took groups of teenage boys on far-flung trips to the Bahamas for scuba diving or Canada for canoeing. His student-athletes often traveled with him to Colorado, Virginia and other destinations for wrestling camps and clinics.
As a result, Hastert had a ready-made base of support when he decided to make a run at politics in the early 1980s.
He served three terms in the Illinois Legislature before being elected to the U.S. House in 1986. Hastert bestowed college scholarships and jobs on many former students and wrestlers, public records showed. He was speaker from 1999 until his retirement in 2007, then became a lobbyist.
Hastert coached Individual A in the 1970s. A student leader, Individual A graduated from college, and when he applied for his first job in the mid-1980s, he listed Hastert as a reference.
He got the job, but left a short time later because of an anxiety disorder he described at the time as devastating.
He went on to work various jobs as he and his wife raised their family but fell deeper into debt. Court records show they had significant financial problems.
Individual A returned to his original profession, but he continued to struggle, providing another possible explanation for the financial arrangement with Hastert that was soon to begin. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor drunk driving and was placed on 12 months of court supervision.
By March 2010, Individual A was on leave from his job for an undisclosed medical issue. He exhausted all of his paid time off by the end of the year and was terminated in 2011 after never coming back to work.
By then, he had begun receiving payments from Hastert.
Secret meetings
For nearly two years beginning in June 2010, Hastert made 15 cash withdrawals of $50,000 each, giving the $750,000 to Individual A at meetings about every six weeks, according to Hastert's plea agreement with federal prosecutors. Then in April 2012, nearly two years after he had begun the withdrawals, bank officials warned Hastert such large withdrawals had to be reported to financial regulators.
So he began illegally structuring the transactions in increments of less than $10,000 to avoid the requirement. In the more than two years that followed, Hastert made a total of 106 withdrawals in sums of less than $10,000, totaling $952,000, which he gave to Individual A.
Authorities said the meetings in 2014 occurred about every three months.
In April 2014, a sheriff's deputy on patrol after midnight found Individual A parked in his van on the side of the road. A window was broken. Soon, additional deputies were on the scene.
During a search of the van, the deputies said they found three white envelopes containing stacks of $100 bills. The cash totaled $24,400, a report on the incident said. Asked why he had so much cash, Individual A said he was planning to sell one boat and buy another. During the stop, police found marijuana and related paraphernalia, and he was placed on court supervision for the misdemeanors, the police report said.
Individual A told authorities his only sources of income were disability payments and his wife's earnings.
By the time FBI agents questioned Hastert in December 2014 in his Plano home, he had paid Individual A about $1.7 million, or about half the amount the two had agreed on.
Soon, the investigation led agents to a former school cheerleader now living in Montana who had long alleged her dead brother was also one of Hastert's victims.
Her brother's keeper
Jolene Burdge, the ex-cheerleader, said one of her older brothers, Stephen Reinboldt, confided to her in the summer of 1980 that Hastert had sexual contact with him all through high school. Reinboldt, who graduated in 1971, was an equipment manager for the school's wresting and football teams.
His allegation came during a conversation outside a Yorkville bowling alley as he told her for the first time that he was gay, she said. Burdge asked "Stevie," as she still calls him today, about his first same-sex experience.
"He almost said it like, 'Oh, it was Denny Hastert,'" said Burdge.
Burdge asked Reinboldt why he never spoke up. He said no one in town would have believed him.
"And I knew he was right," she said.
A former classmate, Kevin Ross, who then went by the last name Hauge, confirmed the account, saying Reinboldt also confided in him about Hastert during Christmas break in 1974, when both were home from college.
Burdge said she did not press her brother for specifics. But Ross, now a licensed marriage and family therapist in Los Angeles, said Reinboldt told him the first incident with Hastert began with a massage.
Reinboldt was well-known in Yorkville, his sister said. He worked at the Tastee Freez a couple of blocks from their home and was involved in school plays. Their home on Main Street, on the other hand, was filled with dysfunction. Burdge said their father was an alcoholic and often unemployed. Their mother, who struggled with mental illness, was often gone working to support the family. Both are now dead.
Burdge said Reinboldt protected her. There were the little things, like making sure she had a bathing suit in summer. And then there were the moments that haunt her still. Burdge said she can picture herself as a little girl, frozen in fear, as a fight between her parents broke out in their kitchen as she sat on the counter.
"He just literally danced me out of the room and got me out of danger," she said.
Her brother saw Hastert as a mentor. Hastert was about 11 years older than Reinboldt, still single and had been teaching a few years. Hastert married his wife of more than 40 years, Jean, two years after Reinboldt graduated.
Burdge said her brother left Yorkville right after graduation, and he never looked back. He graduated from the University of Illinois and moved to Los Angeles to try to make it in film production. He died of AIDS in August 1995 at age 42. She said she was at his side in an L.A. hospice.
Burdge said Hastert came to the visitation in Yorkville. As he left, Burdge chased him down in the parking lot. She asked Hastert why "you did what you did" to her brother.
"He just stood there and stared at me, stone-faced," she said. "Then I went on to say, 'The secret didn't die in there with [my brother], and I want you to know, I know.' He just looked at me and turned around and went to his car. It was silence then and silence now."
A decade passed in which Burdge said she watched as Hastert gathered power in Congress. She first tried to speak out publicly in 2006, after Hastert and other top Republicans drew criticism for their handling of a scandal involving improper advances by then-Rep. Mark Foley of Florida toward underage male pages. She said she contacted various media outlets and two prominent victim advocates but got nowhere.
It would take nearly another decade before anyone in authority listened.
Shortly before Hastert's indictment, Burdge said, authorities met with her to learn more about her brother's story. Burdge said officials found her through an old high school classmate — a man who also is friends with Individual A.
That friend had seen Burdge confront Hastert.
Now, Burdge's journey is set to finally end at Hastert's sentencing, when she will stand before him to read a victim-impact statement.
Individual D
Tribune reporters spent 10 months contacting scores of athletes and students coached and taught by Hastert. The Tribune approached some in person to ask about their time with Hastert. Several still live in the Fox Valley. Reporters sent follow-up letters and emails to many.
The man whom prosecutors recently publicly described as Individual D has spoken privately with the Tribune in a quest to learn more about the scope of the case.
The alleged misconduct against Individual D would have occurred late in the coach's tenure at Yorkville High School. Hastert left in 1981 after he won election to the Legislature.
A few years younger than Individual A, Individual D was a popular student and good athlete. He grew up to marry, have children and become a successful businessman. Prosecutors have said his decision to recently come forward has been a difficult one, and they have offered him the option of keeping his identity under seal in court records or appearing in court to read a victim-impact statement.
Prosecutors have recommended a sentence for Hastert ranging from probation to up to six months behind bars — the lowest possible sentence under federal guidelines for anyone convicted of a felony. U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin has noted that he is free to sentence Hastert to as long as five years in prison. Although the case has been shrouded in secrecy, the judge acknowledged for the first time during an unannounced court hearing last month about Individual D that it involved allegations of sexual abuse.
"If Individual D wants to come in and talk about being a victim of sexual abuse, he's entitled to do so because that informs my decision about the history and characteristics of the defendant," Durkin said in a mostly empty courtroom, according to a transcript of the late March hearing obtained by the Tribune. "It's that simple."
It was the second time in a week the judge had held a hearing in the case without any public disclosure in advance. The hearing became known only after Durkin posted an order announcing Hastert's sentencing date had been pushed back to accommodate Individual D's schedule, should he appear for the sentencing.
Hastert's attorneys, at least preliminarily, said they didn't plan to contest any facts alleged by Individual D, according to the transcript.
With the sentencing hearing looming, a source said Hastert called one of Individual D's relatives, hoping to get a letter to show Hastert had done good things with his life; that letter could help persuade Durkin to give Hastert a more lenient sentence.
Individual D then made a call of his own. He told federal authorities he would prepare a statement to be used in court detailing what Hastert did to him.
The Chicago Tribune's Jason Meisner contributed to this report.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/la-na-hastert-investigation-20160407-story.html
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Prosecutors offer details on Dennis Hastert’s alleged sexual abuse of teenagers
Federal prosecutors on Friday detailed some of the lurid allegations of sexual misconduct against former U.S. House speaker Dennis Hastert and asked a federal judge to subject the Illinois Republican to a sex offender evaluation.
In a memo in advance of an April 27 sentencing hearing, prosecutors spelled out in graphic detail how Hastert sexually molested or inappropriately touched five teenagers who trusted him as their wrestling coach. And as Hastert rose to power, believing that his wrongdoing would never be made public, his victims struggled with the effects of the abuse, prosecutors wrote.
“He made them feel alone, ashamed, guilty and devoid of dignity,” prosecutors wrote. “While defendant achieved great success, reaping all the benefits that went with it, these boys struggled, and all are still struggling now with what defendant did to them.”
Hastert, 74, pleaded guilty last year to violating federal banking laws, admitting in a deal with prosecutors that he withdrew money from banks in increments low enough to avoid mandatory reporting requirements. That charge, though, always belied the case’s actual underpinnings.
Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert leaves the federal courthouse in Chicago after his guilty plea in October. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)
A federal law enforcement official has said Hastert withdrew the money so he could pay off someone he sexually molested decades ago. And after the first victim emerged, more people came forward alleging that they or their relatives were also victimized by the Yorkville, Ill., high school teacher and coach.
Prosecutors detailed remarkably similar stories from each of the now-grown men.
One — who said he was a 14-year-old freshman when the abuse occurred — alleged that Hastert told him to get on a table so he could “loosen him up,” then massaged and performed a sex act on him. Another — who said he was 17 years old when the abuse occurred — alleged that Hastert offered him a massage to help him cut weight, then performed a sex act on him. That victim said Hastert kept a chair in direct view of the locker room shower stalls.
A third man said that Hastert brushed his genitals after a wrestling practice and that it was “very weird,” though he was not sure whether it was done intentionally. The man whom Hastert paid off alleged that Hastert touched him inappropriately in a motel room on a trip. The fifth victim, prosecutors said, is deceased, but his sister has alleged publicly that her brother confided in her that his first same-sex experience was with Hastert.
[Read the prosecutors’ memo]
Prosecutors urged a judge to consider all that abuse, even though Hastert’s financial dealings — withdrawing money in increments of less that $10,000 to avoid reporting requirements — ultimately formed the basis of the charge against him.
“The federal and state statutes of limitations have long expired on potential charges relating to defendant’s known sexual acts against Individual A and other minors,” prosecutors wrote. “With this case, the government seeks to hold defendant accountable for the crimes he committed that can still be prosecuted: defendant’s structuring of cash withdrawals and his lies to the government about that activity.”
[Another man alleges he was abused by Dennis Hastert]
Prosecutors and defense attorneys had already agreed that federal sentencing guidelines in the case called for a prison term between zero and six months, and prosecutors recommended a term inside that range Friday, coupled with a sex offender assessment. A federal judge is not bound by that recommendation and could sentence Hastert to as much as five years in prison.
Hastert’s defense attorneys earlier this week urged a term only of probation, arguing that Hastert was in poor health and already thoroughly shamed and remorseful over his wrongdoing.
“He knows that, for the rest of his life, wherever he goes, the public warmth and affection that he previously received will be replaced by hostility and isolation,” Hastert’s attorneys wrote.
In a statement on Saturday, Thomas Green, Hastert’s defense attorney, said: “Mr. Hastert acknowledges that as a young man he committed transgressions for which he is profoundly sorry. He earnestly apologizes to his former students, family, friends, previous constituents and all others affected by the harm his actions have caused.”
In their memo, prosecutors also spelled out for the first time how investigators came to learn of the abuse.
In 2012, prosecutors wrote, a bank official noticed the former House speaker had made seven $50,000 cash withdrawals over a two-year stretch, and bank officials soon contacted Hastert to ask for more information. Hastert, prosecutors said, began making smaller withdrawals that would not trigger mandatory reporting requirements — a federal crime that drew the attention of FBI and Internal Revenue Service agents. They wondered at first whether Hastert might be the victim of extortion, prosecutors wrote.
When FBI agents interviewed Hastert at his Plano, Ill., home in December 2014, Hastert justified his withdrawals by saying the bank gave him a “a real hassle” about taking out $50,000 at a time, prosecutors wrote. Some time later, though, his attorney reached out to say that Hastert was being extorted by a former Yorkville High School student and wrestler who alleged that Hastert inappropriately touched him during a wrestling trip.
By prosecutors’ account, the FBI tried to guide Hastert on recorded calls with that person, but Hastert did not always follow their instructions. And the man on the other end of the line, prosecutors wrote, did not strike FBI agents as an extortionist. When agents interviewed him in 2015, he told them that Hastert had abused him on a wrestling trip as a child, and after he confronted Hastert many years later, they worked out a financial arrangement so he would keep quiet. Hastert ultimately paid him $1.7 million.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/prosecutors-offer-details-on-dennis-hasterts-alleged-sexual-abuse-of-teenagers/2016/04/08/5a96bd68-fcc8-11e5-80e4-c381214de1a3_story.html?tid=sm_fb
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Lawyer: Ex-Speaker Hastert won't appeal conviction, sentence
Published May 12, 2016
Associated Press
(http://a57.foxnews.com/images.foxnews.com/content/fox-news/politics/2016/05/12/lawyer-ex-speaker-hastert-wont-appeal-conviction-sentence/_jcr_content/par/featured-media/media-0.img.jpg/876/493/1463085544942.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert departs the federal courthouse Wednesday, April 27, 2016, in Chicago, after his sentencing on federal banking charges which he pled guilty to last year. Hastert was sentenced to more than a year in prison in the hush-money case that included accusations he sexually abused teenagers while coaching high school wrestling. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) (The Associated Press)
CHICAGO – Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert will not appeal his conviction or 15-month prison sentence in a hush-money case that centered on his sexual abuse of students when he was a high school wrestling coach in Illinois decades ago, his lead attorney said Thursday.
That means the next step for the Illinois Republican is to report to prison.
Asked whether his 74-year-old client would appeal his conviction or sentence — or any other aspect of the case — attorney Thomas Green responded in an email to The Associated Press: "No." The deadline to file an appeal is the end of this week.
As part of a plea deal, Hastert pleaded guilty last October not to sex abuse but to one count of violating banking law as he sought to pay $3.5 million to one victim referred to in court papers only as "Individual A" to keep him quiet about the sex abuse. In exchange, the government dropped one count of lying to the FBI.
Judge Thomas M. Durkin branded Hastert "a serial child molester" at his April 27 sentencing, where Durkin imposed a punishment beyond the federal guidelines of zero to six months in prison. Durkin justified the tougher sentence by pointing to Hastert abusing at least four boys at Yorkville High.
An appeal would have been a longshot.
Hastert could have tried to argue Durkin put too much weight on something for which the former GOP leader was not charged — the sex abuse — or that the judge shouldn't have strayed so far from the guidelines that were spelled out in the written plea agreement, said Chicago attorney Terry Sullivan, who was not part of the case.
"I'm mildly surprised he didn't appeal the sentence," he said. "But to go through another year or two of an appeal, at his current age, Hastert would have thought, 'Let's just get this over with.'"
Resentencing also would have carried the risk that prosecutors would uncover more abusive behavior — and possibly a longer sentence, said Leonard Goodman, another Chicago-based attorney.
Appealing the conviction itself would have been even more difficult. Defendants can theoretically claim they were forced to plead guilty or weren't mentally competent, but such arguments rarely persuade appellate panels.
Durkin didn't set a date by which Hastert must report to prison, saying officials must first identify the right facility. It's likely to be before year's end.
One good option, Durkin has said, would be a prison near Rochester, Minnesota, because it currently holds many child molesters, so Hastert would be less likely to be singled out and attacked.
After prison, Hastert must also undergo sex-offender treatment, which would likely include a lie-detector test to determine how many times he sexually abused kids and over what time period.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/05/12/lawyer-ex-speaker-hastert-wont-appeal-conviction-sentence.html?intcmp=hplnws
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Inmate No. 47991-424: Hastert to Report to Prison Soon
Monday, 20 Jun 2016
Former U.S. House Dennis Hastert must report to a federal prison in southeastern Minnesota this week to begin serving a 15-month sentence in his hush-money case, one that revealed the 74-year-old sexually abused at least four boys decades ago when he coached wrestling at a suburban Chicago high school.
When he enters the prison gates, which he must do by Wednesday afternoon, the nation's longest-serving GOP speaker who for eight years was second in the line of succession to the presidency will be known to prison guards as Inmate No. 47991-424.
A look at what's expected to happen in the coming days and what awaits Hastert, who will become one of the highest-ranking U.S. politicians in history to do prison time.
WHEN AND WHERE
Hastert must show up at the Rochester Federal Medical Center by 2 p.m. Wednesday. Inmates-to-be usually wait until just before the reporting deadline, but Hastert, who has been free on bond, could choose to report earlier to elude a crush of reporters and TV cameras.
Federal Judge Thomas M. Durkin recommended this facility for the ailing Hastert during sentencing on April 27, though the Federal Bureau of Prisons made the final decision. Hastert's attorney, Thomas Green, confirmed it was the Rochester facility in an email.
PRISON PROCESSING
Hastert's lawyer didn't provide other details this week, and it's not known whether Hastert would travel the more than 300 miles from his Plano, Illinois, home to Rochester by car or plane.
When he arrives, he'll be subject to the same protocol as other new inmates, which includes a full-body strip search for contraband. Hastert will also trade in his street clothes for prison garb and be subject to psychological and social screening, according to an inmate-orientation guide.
THE FACILITY
The 64-acre prison specializes in health care for physically ailing or mentally ill inmates, and is near the Mayo Clinic. Hastert nearly died from a blood infection and suffered a stroke after he pleaded guilty on Oct. 28 last year, and has diabetes.
The facility, despite its name, has all the features of a prison. It is surrounded by razor-wire fencing and holding around 800 inmates from all security classifications, including convicted killers. Among them is Jared Lee Loughner, who is serving a life term for killing six people in the 2011 shooting that targeted and injured former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords.
During sentencing, Durkin pointed to the prison's large population of child molesters, saying it should lessen the chances Hastert would be singled out for attacks in a prison culture in which those who hurt children as considered the lowest of the low.
LIFE INSIDE
Hastert's life will be highly regimented, from frequent head counts to occasional shakedown searches. Internet access and cellphone use is prohibited. Recreational facilities include billiard tables and horseshoes.
All physically able inmates must work from 7:40 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. If he is required to take a job, the congressman-turned-high-paid lobbyist could end up mopping floors or doing yardwork for as little as 25 cents an hour.
AFTER PRISON
Under federal law, Hastert must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence, or about a year. Once released, he'll have two years' supervised release. He'd also have to undergo sex-offender treatment meant to reduce the danger sex offenders pose. A likely lie-detector test would seek to determine how many times Hastert sexually abused kids and over what time period.
CONVICTION AND SENTENCE
Hastert wasn't charged with child abuse because the statutes of limitation ran out since he coached at Yorkville High School from 1965 to 1981. Instead, Hastert was charged with and pleaded guilty to violating banking law in trying to pay $3.5 million in hush money to one victim referred to in court papers only as "Individual A."
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Dennis-Hastert-reporting-to-prison/2016/06/20/id/734767/#ixzz4C9kX9bTT