Q&a: The Latest Developments In The Dennis Hastert Case

By MICHAEL TARM, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle: Politics
Mon, 09/28/2015 - 4:49pm

CHICAGO (AP) — Attorneys disclosed at a pre-trial hearing Monday in federal court in Chicago that U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert is negotiating a possible plea deal with prosecutors. The Illinois Republican, 73, pleaded not guilty early this year to charges that he broke federal banking laws and lied to the FBI as he attempted to pay someone $3.5 million to hide claims of past misconduct. The Associated Press and other media, citing anonymous sources, have reported the payments were intended to conceal claims of sexual misconduct decades ago. Sealing a plea agreement would short-circuit the need for a trial and, therefore, help Hastert ensure that potentially embarrassing details underlying the charges against him are never divulged, at least never through the legal process. Fixing a trial date would also set into motion additional actions; that would include a requirement that the prosecution turn over more evidence that the defense intend to use before a jury. Hastert's accused of evading federal banking reporting requirements by withdrawing hundreds of thousands of dollars in increments of less than $10,000 and then lying to the FBI about the reason for the withdrawals. A person familiar with the allegations told The Associated Press that the payments were intended to conceal claims that the Illinois Republican sexually molested someone decades ago. Legal experts say Hastert is unlikely to face charges on any sexual abuse he may have committed in the 1960s or 1970s. Statutes of limitation are not as restrictive for civil cases, but Hastert would probably not be vulnerable to lawsuits either, Monu Bedi an assistant professor at DePaul University College of Law in Chicago, has said.

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