Dennis Hastert

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.”

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.”

“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.

“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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

“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.

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.”

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.”