Hastert Negotiating a Plea Deal

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) “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 Chicago Tribune reports.

“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… Though the indictment only hints 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.”