Hastert, R-Ill., 73, was charged in July with breaking federal bank laws and lying to investigators looking into the matter – ostensibly boring counts that prosecutors alleged stemmed from an intriguing plot.
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JUNE 9, 2015: Hastert pleads not guilty at his arraignment in federal court in Chicago.
A judge, however, could go beyond that recommendation and give the former House speaker up to five years behind bars. Hastert pleaded guilty to evading banking laws, not to lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“Hastert read a brief statement saying that he didn’t want officials to know how he meant to spend the money he withdrew”.
2007: Hastert steps down as speaker after becoming longest-serving Republican in the position. She accused Hastert of sexually abusing her brother, who is not Individual A.
In or about 2010, Hastert met with this person multiple times and at least once they discussed “past misconduct by Hastert against Individual A that had occurred several decades earlier”. But because of the crime he committed and lack of previous criminal history, both sides in the case told U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Durkin to follow federal sentencing guidelines that call for a sentence of zero-six months in prison. Within days, news outlets reported that the “prior misconduct” was sexual abuse and that “Individual A” had been a male student at the Yorkville, Illinois high school where Hastert taught when the alleged abuse occurred.
As Hastert left the courthouse and walked toward his SUV, a reporter yelled, “Do you have anything to say to the public?” according to the Chicago Tribune.
It’s unclear what, if any, details prosecutors may reveal about the past misconduct during the sentencing hearing.
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At the time, agents asked if he was withdrawing the money because he did not feel safe with the banking system, Hastert allegedly responded, “Yeah…” After learning withdrawals over $10,000 are flagged, he supposedly began taking out smaller increments, eventually withdrawing $952,000 from 2012 to 2014.
