Ex-Speaker Hastert Plans To Plead Guilty In Hush Money Case
CHICAGO (CBS) — Attorneys for former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert have told a federal judge he intends to plead guilty in a case alleging he agreed to pay $3.5 million in hush money to cover up misconduct from before his time in politics.
There has been talk of a possible plea deal for weeks, and on Thursday, defense attorneys and prosecutors informed U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin that Hastert has worked out a written plea agreement, which will be submitted to the judge on Monday.
Durkin granted a request from Hastert's attorneys to schedule an Oct. 28 change of plea hearing. Hastert himself was not in court for the brief hearing.
Prosecutors acknowledged the plea deal could fall through, but they expect Hastert to plead guilty.
Terms of the plea deal, including which count or counts Hastert would plead guilty to, and any possible sentence recommendations, have yet to be made public.
One former prosecutor said Hastert likely will get some prison time. Jeffrey Cramer, a former federal prosecutor who now heads the Chicago security firm Kroll, said in a case where money structuring is involved, there is usually a 5-year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine.
"I'd be surprised if – given the allegations – if the prosecutors would agree to a period of probation; not just who he was, that's irrelevant, but the fact is he structured these transactions over 100 times," he said.
According to an indictment announced by federal prosecutors in May, Hastert agreed in 2010 to provide $3.5 million to an unnamed individual "in order to compensate for and conceal his prior misconduct against" that person.
Hastert then allegedly structured bank withdrawals to evade reporting requirements, in violation of federal banking laws, and lied to the FBI about his withdrawals.
Federal prosecutors have not revealed the nature of the misconduct, but sources have said Hastert made the payments to cover up claims he sexually abused a student while he was a teacher and wrestling coach at Yorkville High School decades ago.
Hastert's lead attorney, Thomas Green, has complained leaks about allegations of misconduct could undermine Hastert's right to a fair trial, and said the indictment had "effectively been amended" by the media reports about sexual misconduct, which he called "an 800-pound gorilla in this case."
It's unclear how much, if any, information about the alleged misconduct that allegedly served as motivation for the payments would have come out at trial, but federal prosecutors might have wanted to offer at least some details to explain Hastert's motive to the jury.