Lawyers For Dennis Hastert In Plea Negotiations With Prosecutors
From the Chicago Tribune
Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert is negotiating a possible guilty plea to charges he agreed to make $3.5 million in hush-money payments to cover up wrongdoing from decades ago.
The plea negotiations, revealed Monday during a hearing in federal court, are the first indication that the bombshell charges brought against the Republican powerhouse might never be fully aired at trial.
Legal experts who spoke to the Tribune said it wouldn't be surprising if Hastert chose to avoid a trial that almost certainly would include testimony from Individual A, the mysterious figure who prosecutors say took cash from Hastert to keep quiet about a dark history with him.
"Mr. Hastert allegedly spent millions to try to keep something secret, so a public trial certainly can't be high on his list," said Jeffrey Cramer, a former federal prosecutor who heads the Kroll security company in Chicago.
The indictment unsealed in late May alleges that Hastert agreed to make $3.5 million in hush-money payments to Individual A to cover up wrongdoing from Hastert's time as a high school teacher and wrestling coach in Yorkville. According to the charges, Hastert lied about the reasons he withdrew $952,000 in cash over the previous 2 1/2 years when the FBI questioned him in December.
Though the indictment hints only at the alleged wrongdoing, federal law enforcement sources have told the Tribune that Hastert was paying to cover up sexual abuse of a Yorkville High School student years ago. The FBI also interviewed a second person who raised similar allegations against Hastert, sources said.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Tribune
Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert is negotiating a possible guilty plea to charges he agreed to make $3.5 million in hush-money payments to cover up wrongdoing from decades ago.
The plea negotiations, revealed Monday during a hearing in federal court, are the first indication that the bombshell charges brought against the Republican powerhouse might never be fully aired at trial.
Legal experts who spoke to the Tribune said it wouldn't be surprising if Hastert chose to avoid a trial that almost certainly would include testimony from Individual A, the mysterious figure who prosecutors say took cash from Hastert to keep quiet about a dark history with him.
"Mr. Hastert allegedly spent millions to try to keep something secret, so a public trial certainly can't be high on his list," said Jeffrey Cramer, a former federal prosecutor who heads the Kroll security company in Chicago.
The indictment unsealed in late May alleges that Hastert agreed to make $3.5 million in hush-money payments to Individual A to cover up wrongdoing from Hastert's time as a high school teacher and wrestling coach in Yorkville. According to the charges, Hastert lied about the reasons he withdrew $952,000 in cash over the previous 2 1/2 years when the FBI questioned him in December.
Though the indictment hints only at the alleged wrongdoing, federal law enforcement sources have told the Tribune that Hastert was paying to cover up sexual abuse of a Yorkville High School student years ago. The FBI also interviewed a second person who raised similar allegations against Hastert, sources said.
Read more in our daily News Update...