Hastert Indictment Another Blow to Congress’ Image

First Read: “If you thought Congress’ image couldn’t get worse, well think again. Average Americans who think the place is filled with crooks and creeps may have more ammo. The irony here, as others have pointed out: Hastert became speaker in the late 90s due to scandal, he lost the majority (in part) to another GOP scandal, and he now finds himself in his own scandal — after leaving office.”

Rick Klein: “Scandal-plagued is practically an automatic addendum to define the Hastert years, from Newt Gingrich to Bob Livingston to Tom DeLay to Bob Ney to Duke Cunningham to Mark Foley. But the speaker himself was never a direct part – until now. The indictment of Dennis Hastert qualifies as a true bombshell, with far more questions than answers the day after the news broke. Among the biggest surprises is that Hastert appears to have had something worth millions to him to cover up from his distant past. How would have or could have a secret like that have survived FBI background checks and teams of opposition researchers for decades? And how could Hastert not have realized that the massive cash payouts wouldn’t have drawn scrutiny? Unlike the so-called ‘culture of corruption’ years, which contributed to the Democratic takeover of Hastert’s House, this looks like a deeply personal – and sad – story that’s playing out.”