Thread: Feds indict former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) on bank-related charges

Hearing in Hastert case held in private when reporters show up

Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert leaves after his guilty plea at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Oct. 28, 2015.
(Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)


Jason Meisner Contact Reporter Chicago Tribune


The hush-money case against former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert has always had an air of mystery, but in federal court on Tuesday, things got downright secretive.

Seven weeks after Hastert's sentencing was postponed due to his nearly fatal illness, lawyers for both sides had gathered for an afternoon hearing in the case with U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin.

The meeting was not posted on the public docket. When a few curious reporters entered the courtroom, Hastert's lead attorney, Thomas Green, had just been dialed in via teleconference from Washington. Hastert's Chicago attorney, John Gallo, was standing with the two prosecutors on the case, apparently waiting for the judge to take the bench.

The judge's clerk asked who the reporters were, then stepped out for a few minutes after she was told they were with the news media. When she reappeared, she told the lawyers that the judge "would like to see you all in his chambers."

After about 45 minutes of sitting in an empty courtroom, the reporters left. Apparently, the lawyers had exited the judge's offices through the doors behind an elevator bank.

Joseph Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon, later said prosecutors had "appeared this afternoon for a private discussion in the judge's chambers," but he declined comment on anything specific that was discussed.

The judge's court reporter said she had taken down a transcript of the meeting but that it was ordered sealed by the judge.

Neither Gallo nor Green returned messages seeking comment.

The secret meeting came after Hastert's lawyers disclosed in court in January that the Illinois Republican had nearly died from a rare blood infection in November and was still recovering from a stroke, leading Durkin to postpone Hastert's sentencing until April 8.

Hastert, 74, was discharged from an undisclosed hospital Jan. 15 and was receiving home care and rehabilitation, including assistance walking, dressing, going to the bathroom and feeding himself, Gallo told the judge.

Hastert's health problems surfaced in the first week of November, days after he pleaded guilty in Chicago to a bank structuring charge stemming from hush-money payments he made to hide wrongdoing in his past.

In his plea agreement, Hastert admitted he arranged with a person identified only as Individual A in 2010 to pay a total of $3.5 million to cover up misconduct from his days as a wrestling coach and teacher in Yorkville.

Though both the plea agreement and the original indictment filed against Hastert in 2015 only hint at the alleged wrongdoing, federal law enforcement sources have told the Tribune that Hastert was paying to cover up the sexual abuse of a student from decades earlier.

The FBI also interviewed a second person who raised similar allegations against Hastert, sources have said.

The former speaker's recent health problems are expected to become a key part of his attorneys' efforts to spare him prison. His plea agreement with prosecutors recommends a sentence ranging from probation to up to six months behind bars -- the lowest possible sentence under federal guidelines for anyone convicted of a felony.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...315-story.html

AP March 23, 2016, 5:06 PM

Alleged sex abuse victim may testify at Dennis Hastert's sentencing

WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 17: U.S. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) leaves the House Republican Conference leadership elections alone on Capitol Hill November 17, 2006 in Washington, DC. Hastert is the longest-serving Speaker of the House but is now scorned for losing control of the House to the Democrats in the 2006 midterm elections. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
GETTY IMAGES

• A federal court transcript says that an alleged sex abuse victim could testify next month at former U.S. Speaker Dennis Hastert's sentencing in a hush-money case.

It's the first time that the court has referenced sex abuse in the case.

Hastert pleaded guilty in October to violating bank laws in seeking to pay $3.5 million in hush money to some referred to in the indictment only as "Individual A."

The Associated Press and other media outlets, citing anonymous sources, have reported that Hastert wanted to hide claims that he sexually molested someone.

Play VIDEO
Dennis Hastert pleads guilty in hush-money case

The transcript, provided Wednesday to The Associated Press by the presiding judge's court reporter, recounts an unannounced hearing held earlier this week.

Prosecutors tell the judge that they recently learned an alleged victim, referred to as "Individual D," is deciding whether to testify at the April 27 sentencing.

The transcript also says that a sister of another alleged victim wants to testify.

The judge overseeing Dennis Hastert's hush-money case has granted prosecutors' request to delay the former U.S. House speaker's sentencing until April 27.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/alleged-...ts-sentencing/

New Hastert accuser emerges


Judge acknowledges that the case against the former House speaker involves alleged sex abuse.

By JOSH GERSTEIN
03/23/16 03:10 PM EDT
Updated 03/23/16 05:27 PM EDT


A previously unidentified victim of alleged sexual abuse by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert has come forward to federal prosecutors and may seek to testify next month when Hastert faces sentencing in federal court in Chicago.

The new accuser, labeled as "Individual D" in court papers, is not the "Individual A" to whom Hastert agreed to pay $3.5 million, setting off a series of events that led to the former speaker pleading guilty to illegally structuring $900,000 in payments to the man.

Up until now, public court records and courtroom proceedings in the case have danced around the fact that the case stems from alleged sexual impropriety, reportedly from Hastert's years as a teacher and wrestling coach. But U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Durkin gave up that pretense Tuesday and made clear that the case stems from claims of sexual impropriety against the former speaker.

"Let's not beat around the bush. 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. It's that simple," Durkin said, according to a transcript reviewed by POLITICO.

Hastert entered his guilty plea last October, acknowledging that he withdrew nearly $1 million in cash in increments of less than $10,000 to avoid reporting requirements, paying the money out to a longtime associate. The indictment against Hastert doesn't name the person he was paying, referring to him only as "Individual A."

Durkin agreed Tuesday to delay Hastert's sentencing by about three weeks at the government's request so that a witness who may wish to testify at the hearing can appear. That witness is not "Individual A," but another person the government has labeled "Individual D," prosecutor Steven Block said Tuesday.

"Individual D" is "not 100 percent certain he wants to [testify] but has been moving in that direction," the prosecutor said.

The government apparently did not know of "Individual D" when the indictment was filed against Hastert last May. But sources said investigators were aware of at least two living victims at that time.

Since the indictment, Hastert has been mum about the sexual abuse allegations that have swirled in the press. However, Hastert defense attorney John Gallo said Tuesday that the former speaker doesn't plan to contest "Individual D"'s claims.

Durkin also said he's willing to hear at sentencing from a Montana woman, Joanne Burdge, who claims her late brother had a sexual relationship with Hastert while her brother was an equipment manager on the wrestling team Hastert coached.

"If the sister of a victim of sexual abuse wants to come in and talk about her interactions with her brother and talk about that, that is something that would inform my decisions about the history and characteristics of the defendant," the judge said.

Hastert's lawyers opposed delaying the hearing and said the proposed witnesses aren't victims under federal law because the crime Hastert pled guilty to was a bank reporting violation.

"They're not classic victims, and so they have no statutory entitlement to appear," Hastert attorney Thomas Green said during Tuesday's hearing.

He also said their submissions should be taken in writing, not through live testimony.

But Durkin rejected that position.

"If they want to come in and they're willing to testify as live witnesses, they're absolutely entitled to do so, and the government's entitled to call them as live witnesses," the judge said.

Green did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday, but said during Tuesday's hearing that the defense may choose to cross-examine the planned witnesses.

In an interview, Burdge confirmed her desire and plan to speak at the sentencing.

"I'm going to it. I feel like it's crossing the finish line and I need to do it," she told POLITICO Wednesday. "I've waited over 30 years for this."

In Hastert's plea deal, the defense and prosecutors agreed that sentencing guidelines call for the former speaker to receive between zero and six months in custody.

However, after his guilty plea last year, the 74-year-old Hastert suffered a stroke and sepsis.

Given the health issues, it's unclear whether Durkin will sentence Hastert to any jail time at all.

Last week, the judge ordered an independent medical evaluation of the former speaker.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/0...#ixzz43lVZdqx0

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert sought to hide sex abuse of 14-year-old


Prosecutors confirmed former House Speaker Dennis Hastert paid hush-money to conceal sex abuse of a 14-year-old.
(Charles Rex Arbogast / AP)


Associated Press

Dennis Hastert agreed to pay $3.5 million to a person the former House speaker sexually abused when the victim was 14 years old and Hastert worked as a high-school teacher and wrestling coach outside Chicago, prosecutors said in a court filing Friday.

The court filing is the first time prosecutors have confirmed Hastert paid hush-money to conceal sex abuse of a 14-year-old.

The 74-year-old Republican managed to keep any hint of sexual misconduct quiet throughout a political career that carried him from the Illinois Legislature to the halls of Congress and eventually to the speaker's office, where he was second in the line of succession to the presidency.

Hastert pleaded guilty in October to breaking banking laws as he sought to pay $3.7 million to someone referred to as Individual A to ensure the person kept quiet about Hastert's past misconduct.

He is scheduled to be sentenced April 27.
A defense filing Wednesday asked the presiding judge to give Hastert probation and spare him prison time. It cited Hastert's deteriorating health, as well as the public shame he's already suffered.

The case has been shrouded in secrecy since the May 2015 indictment. Prosecutors only confirmed at a March hearing that sex-abuse claims were at its core. But there was no prior word of the hearing, so the court was mostly empty. Transcripts later revealed what transpired.

The Associated Press and other media outlets, citing unnamed sources, reported last year that Hastert wanted to hide claims he sexually molested someone. But Friday's filing is the first time prosecutors offered extensive details about misconduct by Hastert.

Hastert made 15 withdrawals of $50,000 — for a total of $750,000 — from 2010 to 2012. It's what he did next that made his actions a crime. After learning withdrawals over $10,000 are flagged, he withdrew cash in smaller increments, taking out $952,000 from 2012 to 2014.

Court records say Hastert managed to pay $1.7 million to Individual A — handing it over in lump sums of $100,000 cash — starting in 2010. The payments abruptly stopped late in 2014 after FBI agents questioned Hastert about his massive cash withdrawals.

Hastert worked at Yorkville High School in the small-town suburb of Yorkville from 1965 to 1981, when he left for the state legislature. He entered Congress in 1987. His reputation for congeniality helped him ascend to become the longest-serving Republican speaker. He retired in 2007 after running the chamber for eight years.

Wednesday's defense filing said Hastert is devastating by his public disgrace and was especially hurt by the removal of his portrait from the U.S. Capitol. It added he was apologetic and "overwhelmed" by guilt. But it notably offers no detail on what he feels guilty.

Days after pleading guilty on Oct. 28, Hastert entered the hospital and nearly died from a blood infection, his lawyers have said. They've also said he had a stroke and required in-home care to help him dress and complete other basic tasks.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nation...408-story.html

Dennis Hastert sentenced to 2 years of supervised release in hush money case

By Tal Kopan, CNN
Updated 12:23 PM ET, Wed April 27, 2016

(CNN)Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert on Wednesday was sentenced to two years of supervised release in a hush money case that revealed he was being accused of sexually abusing young boys as a teacher in Illinois.

Judge Thomas M. Durkin of the Northern District of Illinois also stated that Hastert should participate in a sex offender treatment program.

"I'm deeply ashamed to be standing before you here today," Hastert said in court during his sentencing. "I know I'm here because I mistreated some of my athletes as a coach."

Hastert apologized "to my constituents and my supporters and also my colleagues I served with." He also apologized to his family and friends.

Sentencing guidelines that prosecutors asked Durkin to consider recommended anywhere from no jail time to six months. Hastert's attorneys asked that he receive only probation.

Hastert pleaded guilty last fall to structuring bank transactions to avoid requirements on reporting where the money was going. Upon investigation, federal officials determined he was paying hush money to an alleged victim of sexual abuse that allegedly occurred when Hastert was a wrestling coach and teacher in Illinois.

Hastert has apologized for "misconduct" in relation to the case without explaining what wrongdoing he was referencing.

"First and foremost, Mr. Hastert is deeply sorry and apologizes for his misconduct that occurred decades ago and the resulting harm he caused to others," his attorneys wrote in a filing this month. "He will stand before the Court having deteriorated both physically and emotionally, undoubtedly in part due to public shaming and humiliation of an unprecedented degree."

RELATED: Hastert accuser seeks remainder of money

His attorneys had also filed a number of letters on his behalf, including from his wife, who pleaded with the judge to consider the "terrible toll" on the family the case has taken and Hastert's "selflessness" throughout his life.

The court also received letters from former members of Congress who spoke to his deteriorating health and "integrity."

"He is a good man that loves the Lord," wrote former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. "He gets his integrity and values from Him. He doesn't deserve what he is going through. I ask that you consider the man that is before you and give him leniency where you can."

Prosecutors countered the letters by saying Hastert's alleged abuse should also be taken into account.

"The Court must balance the defendant's public service and the sincerity of defendant's supporters who wrote letters on his behalf against the fact that defendant enjoyed opportunities and the support of others through the years by keeping secret his sexual abuse of children, including by committing the crime for which he is being sentenced," attorneys for the government wrote.

Also this week, the primary accuser in the case, who received $1.7 million from Hastert over four years according to an FBI investigation, sued Hastert to receive the remaining $1.8 million he was promised.

The complaint identifies the victim as "James Doe," who says Hastert breached a private settlement agreement for $3.5 million in exchange for the his silence. The facts described in the complaint line up with the person identified as "Individual A" in the federal indictment.

Dennis Hastert accuser sues for $1.8 million

The accuser alleges the abuse took place when he was 14 and caused a variety of psychiatric conditions.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/27/politi...ing/index.html

Dennis Hastert sentenced to 15 months in prison

Published April 27, 2016 Associated Press

NOW PLAYINGAwaiting sentencing of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert
CHICAGO – A federal judge has sentenced Dennis Hastert to 15 months in prison in a hush-money case that centered on accusations that the former U.S. House speaker sexually abused at least four students when he was a high school wrestling coach.

Judge Thomas M. Durkin announced the sentence Wednesday. Hastert also must undergo sex offender treatment, two years of supervised release after his time behind bars and a $250,000 fine to go to a crime victims fund.

He pleaded guilty last fall to violating banking law as he sought to pay someone referred to as Individual A $3.5 million to keep sex abuse secret.

Before he sentenced Hastert, Durkin described the 74-year-old Illinois Republican as a "serial child molester," and that "accusing Individual A of extorting you was unconscionable."

Hastert was the nation's longest-serving GOP speaker and was second in the line of succession to the presidency.

A former high school athlete who said he was sexually abused by Hastert when the former House speaker was his wrestling coach told a courtroom Wednesday that he was "devastated" after Hastert molested him.

The man's remarks were part of a victim-impact statement at Hastert's sentencing Wednesday at a federal courthouse in Chicago.

The man, now in his 50s, said Hastert abused him while they were alone in a locker room. He struggled to hold back tears as he described the incident in detail. In the years since, he said, he has sought professional help and has had trouble sleeping. He said the memory still causes him suffering.

He said he trusted and looked up to Hastert.

Moments before the man took the stand, a woman who says her brother was sexually abused by Hastert told the courtroom that he felt "betrayed, ashamed and embarrassed."

Jolene Burdge said Hastert abused her brother, Stephen Reinboldt, throughout his years at Yorkville High School, where Hastert was a history teacher and coach from 1965 to 1981.

Reinboldt died of AIDS in 1995.

His sister turned toward Hastert and said, "Don't be a coward ... tell the truth."

She also said, "I hope I have been your worst nightmare."

The statements were sure to turn up the pressure on Judge Thomas M. Durkin to reject defense calls for probation and send the Illinois Republican to prison.

If that happens, Hastert, who was second in the line of succession to the presidency after the vice president and the nation's longest-serving GOP speaker, would become one of the highest-ranking politicians in American history ever to be incarcerated.

Hastert pleaded guilty in October to violating banking reporting laws as he sought to pay someone $3.5 million. Prosecutors say it was hush money to conceal past sexual abuse against a student wrestler while Hastert was a high school teacher and coach. They say he abused at least four students throughout his years at Yorkville High School, about 45 miles southwest of Chicago.

The 74-year-old, who was pushed into the courthouse in Chicago in a wheelchair, agreed to a plea deal that suggested anything from probation to a maximum of six months behind bars.

But after prosecutors lifted a veil of secrecy from the case, the judge made comments suggesting he might impose a longer sentence, potentially putting Hastert behind bars for years, because of the abuse allegations.

Defense attorneys are seeking probation on the grounds that Hastert has already paid a high price in disgrace. They also cite his health, saying a blood infection nearly killed him in November and that a stroke has limited his mobility.

The lead prosecutor said he wishes Hastert could have been charged with the sexual abuse he was trying to cover up.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Block called Hastert's conduct "horrendous." But because of the statute of limitations, Hastert could only be charged with a financial crime related to the payments he was making to one of at least four victims of sexual abuse.

Block said the sentence should take into account that Hastert "continues to deny what should now be obvious to everyone," that the payments were to conceal sexual abuse.

Defense attorney Thomas Green said he "acknowledges and respects" the pain of the man who described being molested as a teenager. He urged the judge to take into consideration the "entire arc" of Hastert's life, asserting that he reshaped his life as a public servant during his political career.

If the judge chooses, he could give Hastert the maximum sentence available -- five years in prison.

Until recently, it was hard to gauge what Durkin might be thinking. But at a recent hearing, he let his dismay show for the first time.

He singled out how Hastert in a 2015 interview with federal agents sought to deflect blame by falsely accusing Individual A of extorting him with a bogus sex-abuse claim. That lie would factor into the sentencing calculations, Durkin added: "That's a big one."

Earlier this month, prosecutors went into graphic detail about the sex-abuse allegations for the first time, even describing how Hastert would sit in a recliner chair in the locker room with a direct view of the showers.

Individual D, the one who plans to testify Wednesday, said he was 17 when Hastert abused him after offering the teen a massage, according to court documents filed by the government.

The victims, prosecutors said, were boys between 14 and 17. Hastert was in his 20s and 30s. The abuse occurred in a motel and the locker room at Yorkville High School outside Chicago.

It was not clear whether Hastert would make a statement at the sentencing and, if so, if it would include an apology.

Hastert has not personally apologized-- though his attorneys have described him as apologetic, saying their client "is deeply sorry ... his misconduct that occurred decades ago." Conspicuously absent was any mention of sexual abuse.

His lawyers may have risked raising the judge's ire when they questioned whether what Hastert did to Individual A -- including touching his genitals during a massage -- legally constituted sexual abuse.

Prosecutors hit back in their sentencing memo: "There is no ambiguity; defendant sexually abused Individual A."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016...?intcmp=hplnws