Further, when confronted by FBI investigators, Hastert lied about his motivation for the withdrawals.
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Prosecutors could theoretically call to the witness stand the unnamed person Hastert was allegedly paying, a prospect that could make public the conduct Hastert sought to hide.
Investigators say he withdrew large amounts of money, but when questioned about the activity, told the Federal Bureau of Investigation he didn’t trust banks.
In exchange for the plea, prosecutors were expected to drop a charge that Hastert violated federal banking laws. He was driven away in a black SUV.
So with the facts undisputed, Hastert had no real choice but to plead guilty to evading banking laws if he is to maintain any hope of blocking the disclosure of his reasons for making roughly $1.7 million in payments to so-called Individual A, the apparent blackmailer.
In a brief written statement, Hastert said Wednesday he didn’t want the Federal Bureau of Investigation to know how he “was intending to spend the money”.
Hastert, stooped, wearing a gray suit and white-haired, remains free on bail pending a sentencing hearing on February.
Surrounded by U.S. Marshals, former Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert leaves the Dirksen Federal Courthouse on October 28, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois.
As part of a plea deal, Hastert could serve a prison sentence, or possibly walk away with no prison time.
Hastert pleaded guilty to evading banking laws.
Nonetheless, Hastert’s guilty plea provides another indelible stain on that peculiar breed of people known as Illinois politicians. First elected to Congress in 1986, Hastert rose to prominence during the Republican wave election of 1994 and became Chief Deputy Whip in 1995.
An indictment accused him of agreeing to pay $3.5 million to someone referred to only as “Individual A” to hide past misconduct by Hastert against that person.
The guilty plea keeps numerous potentially salacious details from being aired in open court.
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His plea to one of two felony counts against him brought a quick, quiet end to a criminal proceeding that had startled many in Washington and in Yorkville, Ill., his rural hometown, who remembered him as their winning high school wrestling coach. He also parlayed his connections into a lucrative lobbying career after leaving Congress in 2007.
