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Hastert May Face Trial Over Hush Money Payments

September 12, 2019 at 8:15 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Unless an eleventh-hour settlement is reached, retired U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert could stand trial as early as November in a lawsuit brought by a former student-athlete he coached who accused the disgraced politician of reneging on a hush-money pact concerning sexual abuse decades ago,” the Chicago Tribune reports.

“In a seven-page order handed down Tuesday, Kendall County Judge Robert Pilmer rejected both sides’ requests for summary judgment. The decision clears the way for the lawsuit to proceed to trial if no settlement is reached.”

Filed Under: Scandal Tagged With: Dennis Hastert

Hastert Breaks His Silence

October 13, 2017 at 9:09 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

For some reason, Newsweek thought it would be interesting to get disgraced former House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s views on why Congress is broken.

Filed Under: House of Representatives Tagged With: Dennis Hastert

Hastert Booking Photo Released

July 19, 2017 at 5:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

WGN has obtained the booking photo of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) who served 13 of his 15 month prison sentence and checked in today for electronic monitoring.

“Hastert was convicted on banking charges related to a scheme to pay hush money to a man who said Hastert molested him as a boy decades ago. The case led several men to come forward to say they too were sexually abused by Hastert when he was their wrestling coach at Yorkville High School.”

Filed Under: House of Representatives Tagged With: Dennis Hastert


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Hastert Faces New Sex Abuse Accusations

May 28, 2017 at 7:21 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Less than three months before former Speaker Dennis Hastert’s (R-IL) scheduled release from prison, “a new accuser has come forward with allegations saying he was sodomized by Hastert decades ago,” the Chicago Tribune reports.

“The lawsuit comes nearly two years after an explosive indictment into secret hush-money payments brought down Hastert, a local coaching legend who became one of the country’s most powerful politicians. Federal prosecutors said the former U.S. House speaker touched at least five male students when he was a Yorkville High School coach from 1965 to 1981.”

Filed Under: Scandal Tagged With: Dennis Hastert

Dennis Hastert to Report to Prison

June 21, 2016 at 8:24 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 25 Comments

Associated Press: “When he enters the prison gates, which he must do by Wednesday afternoon, the nation’s longest-serving GOP speaker who for eight years was second in the line of succession to the presidency will be known to prison guards as Inmate No. 47991-424.”

Filed Under: Scandal Tagged With: Dennis Hastert

DeLay Leads Support to Hastert Before Sentencing

April 24, 2016 at 4:21 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 60 Comments

More than 40 letters in support of former Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) — including one from his former congressional colleague Tom DeLay (R-TX) — were made public in advance of his sentencing on hush money charges, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Said DeLay: “We all have our flaws, but Dennis Hastert has very few. He doesn’t deserve what he is going through. I ask that you consider the man that is before you and give him leniency where you can.”

Filed Under: Scandal Tagged With: Dennis Hastert, Tom DeLay

Hastert Accuser to Speak at Sentencing

April 13, 2016 at 12:56 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 21 Comments

“Prosecutors say they expect one person who accuses Dennis Hastert of sexual abuse to speak at his sentencing in his hush-money case, and the judge has indicated that he wants to consider as an ‘aggravating factor’ the fact that the former U.S. House speaker lied to federal authorities,” CBS News reports.

Filed Under: Scandal Tagged With: Dennis Hastert

Hastert Molested At Least Four Boys

April 8, 2016 at 10:57 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 65 Comments

“Federal prosecutors on Friday for the first time provided details of sexual abuse allegations against J. Dennis Hastert, the former speaker of the House, asserting that he molested at least four boys, as young as 14, when he worked as a high school wrestling coach decades ago,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Hastert, 74, is not charged with the incidents of abuse because of statutes of limitation, prosecutors said, but he was accused last year of illegally structuring bank withdrawals for money he was paying to one of his victims in an effort to hide the abuse. He pleaded guilty in October to the banking violation, and suffered a stroke in November while awaiting sentencing, now set for later this month.”

Associated Press: “The filing is the first time prosecutors have confirmed Hastert paid hush-money to conceal sex abuse. It chronicles a chain of deception that began with Hastert exploiting his position of trust as a teacher and coach and carried on years later to include lying to bank officials and making false claims of extortion to the FBI to conceal his wrongdoing.”

Filed Under: Scandal Tagged With: Dennis Hastert

Hastert’s Sentencing Postponed

January 28, 2016 at 1:00 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 7 Comments

A lawyer for Dennis Hastert said the former U.S. House speaker nearly died in November and still is recovering from a stroke, leading a federal judge to postpone Hastert’s sentencing scheduled for next month, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Filed Under: Corruption Tagged With: Dennis Hastert

Hastert Hospitalized for a Stroke

December 17, 2015 at 2:01 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 17 Comments

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert “suffered a stroke about a week after he pleaded guilty to a federal charge of illegally structuring cash withdrawals to evade bank currency-reporting requirements,” the Chicago Tribune reports.

“Hastert has been hospitalized since suffering the stroke in early November and has since undergone two surgeries on his back as well.”

Filed Under: Scandal Tagged With: Dennis Hastert

Hastert’s Portrait Vanishes from House

November 3, 2015 at 7:01 am EST By Taegan Goddard 14 Comments

“Something is missing from the U.S. Capitol: former Speaker Dennis Hastert’s portrait,” Politico reports.

“All former speakers have a portrait hanging outside the House floor. But on Monday morning, as the House gaveled into session, Hastert’s portrait was replaced with Frederick Gillett’s. Gillett was speaker between 1919 and 1925.”

Filed Under: House of Representatives Tagged With: Dennis Hastert

Hastert Pleads Guilty to Federal Charge

October 28, 2015 at 10:42 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 23 Comments

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert “pleaded guilty to evading currency-reporting requirements, but no further details came out about the underlying wrongdoing that led him to withdraw nearly $1 million in cash from four banks over 2 and 1/2 years,” the Chicago Tribune reports.

“Hastert’s admission of guilt marked a startling turn of events for a man who once held the nation’s third-highest political office. But the hearing also left more questions than answers.”

Filed Under: Scandal Tagged With: Dennis Hastert

Hastert Will Plead Guilty

October 15, 2015 at 10:29 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 28 Comments

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert has reached a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to charges he agreed to make $3.5 million in hush-money payments to cover up wrongdoing from years ago, the Chicago Tribune reports.

“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.”

Filed Under: Scandal Tagged With: Dennis Hastert

Hastert Would Serve Prison Time

October 14, 2015 at 8:45 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 8 Comments

“Federal prosecutors in Chicago want former House Speaker Dennis Hastert to serve prison time to resolve a criminal indictment charging he violated federal banking law when he withdrew about $900,000 in cash to pay to an unnamed associate as part of an effort to cover up past misconduct,” Politico reports.

Filed Under: Scandal Tagged With: Dennis Hastert

Will Dennis Hastert Plead Guilty?

October 13, 2015 at 7:01 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 12 Comments

Politico: “A federal court deadline Tuesday will be a pivotal turning point in his felony case, signaling whether the former House speaker will plead guilty to a deal that has been under negotiation since at least late September with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago.”

“A plea deal would give Hastert his best hope of averting a full public reckoning of allegations and rumors about his alleged misconduct as a teacher and coach, stories that Politico found have circulated for decades in political circles in and around Yorkville, Illinois.”

Filed Under: Scandal Tagged With: Dennis Hastert

Hastert Negotiating a Plea Deal

September 28, 2015 at 3:38 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 17 Comments

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.”

Filed Under: Scandal Tagged With: Dennis Hastert

Hastert to Answer Hush Money Charges

June 9, 2015 at 6:57 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 6 Comments

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), “who has been publicly silent and out of sight since he was indicted late last month, is to appear in court here on Tuesday afternoon for his arraignment,” the New York Times reports.

Politico: “A reassessment of Hastert’s leadership began in earnest following his indictment two weeks ago. In hindsight, it now seems clear his avuncular persona — even political enemies couldn’t work up much animus against the former teacher and wrestling instructor known as ‘The Coach’ — served to deter broader scrutiny of congressional misdeeds, including an Illinois land deal of his own that netted him millions.”

“A man hiding secrets like Hastert’s had a natural incentive to avoid calling out others, a lesson the speaker could have learned from his predecessor Newt Gingrich, whose efforts to take down Democrats from Jim Wright to Bill Clinton inspired his enemies to dig for — and uncover — scandals of his own.”

Filed Under: Scandal Tagged With: Dennis Hastert

How Hastert Rushed to Make Money

June 7, 2015 at 9:42 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 4 Comments

“After a relatively slow start to his career as a consultant and lobbyist, J. Dennis Hastert, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, became very busy in 2010…. He also made an unusual request to one of his business associates: to find a financial adviser who could come up with a plan for an annuity that would generate a substantial cash payout each year,” the New York Times reports.

“The request came just a few weeks before Mr. Hastert, according to charges in a federal indictment, made his first payment to a man known as ‘Individual A’ in what was to be a total of $3.5 million.”

Filed Under: Business of Politics, Lobbyists Tagged With: Dennis Hastert

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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