Republican Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert Allegedly Had Sexual Relations With Former Male Student

[zuluweta 250]

Dennis Hastert Paid To Cover Up Sexual Conduct With Former Student: Reports

by Sam Levine, Huffington Post (29 Mary 2015) (link - http://tinyurl.com/ou2safh)

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) paid a man $3.5 million to stay quiet about a sexual relationship from when Hastert was a high school teacher, according to multiple reports on Friday.

The reports of Hastert's conduct came after he was indicted Thursday for deliberately structuring cash withdrawals to avoid bank reporting requirements and lying to the FBI. According to the indictment, Hastert used the funds to pay an unnamed individual who attended the school where Hastert taught before serving in Congress.

The indictment said the funds were paid for "prior misconduct." It did not include details of the misconduct, but law enforcement officials on Friday said it was sexual in nature. Sources told The New York Times that the man Hastert paid had told authorities the former Speaker had inappropriately touched him decades ago. NBC News reported that Hastert had a "sexual relationship" with a student at Yorkville High School while he taught there.

Hastert worked at the Yorkville, Illinois, school from 1965 to 1981 and also coached the school's football and wrestling teams. The school district released a statement on Friday saying it had no knowledge of any misconduct by Hastert.

Edited May 29, 2015 by zuluweta

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

All these ultra conservatives fighting gay marriage and such are all closet gays. Every last one of them. Their biggest fear is that their affairs will propose to them.

[zuluweta 250]

It goes without saying that the man Hastert had inappropriate conduct with was a minor back then. If we recall, Hastert presided over Bill Clinton's impeachment for consensual sexual conduct with Monica Lewinsky (a young adult at the time).

I think I'll have a shot of schadenfreude with that.

[zuluweta 250]

The New York Times has a lengthy piece on how stunned his former colleagues were. Same way they were stunned at former Republican Senator Larry Craig's behavior trolling the men's bathrooms at Minneapolis Airport for casual sex.

New York Times piece - http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/30/us/politics/hastert-indictment.html?_r=0

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Must be a pretty big deal if he shelled out $3.5 million for someone to just shut up about it. Methinks it's maybe not just one kid he fiddled with.

[Jacque67 7,328]

Football and wrestling... Say no more;)

[spookyturtle 9,465]

All these ultra conservatives fighting gay marriage and such are all closet gays. Every last one of them. Their biggest fear is that their affairs will propose to them.

Are you tellin' me all these right wingers are in the closet?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Are you tellin' me all these right wingers are in the closet?

Yup.

[zuluweta 250]

I'm not a lawyer, so...if the alleged improper conduct occurred in the 1970s or no later than 1981 (when Hastert left teaching), why are the Feds going after Hastert now? Isn't there a statute of limitations? Or is it because the structuring of the payments (which resulted in the indictments) relatively recent?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I'm not a lawyer, so...if the alleged improper conduct occurred in the 1970s or no later than 1981 (when Hastert left teaching), why are the Feds going after Hastert now? Isn't there a statute of limitations? Or is it because the structuring of the payments (which resulted in the indictments) relatively recent?

It's not what he did back then that they're after. According to the indictment,they're after him for:

31 U.S. Code § 5324 - Structuring transactions to evade reporting requirement prohibited

(a) Domestic Coin and Currency Transactions Involving Financial Institutions.— No person shall, for the purpose of evading the reporting requirements of section 5313 (a) or 5325 or any regulation prescribed under any such section, the reporting or recordkeeping requirements imposed by any order issued under section 5326, or the recordkeeping requirements imposed by any regulation prescribed under section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act or section 123 ofPublic Law 91–508—

(1) cause or attempt to cause a domestic financial institution to fail to file a report required under section 5313 (a) or 5325 or any regulation prescribed under any such section, to file a report or to maintain a record required by an order issued under section 5326, or to maintain a record required pursuant to any regulation prescribed under section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act or section 123 ofPublic Law 91–508;

(2) cause or attempt to cause a domestic financial institution to file a report required under section 5313 (a) or 5325 or any regulation prescribed under any such section, to file a report or to maintain a record required by any order issued under section 5326, or to maintain a record required pursuant to any regulation prescribed under section 5326, or to maintain a record required pursuant to any regulation prescribed under section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act or section 123 ofPublic Law 91–508, that contains a material omission or misstatement of fact; or

(3) structure or assist in structuring, or attempt to structure or assist in structuring, any transaction with one or more domestic financial institutions.

18 U.S. Code § 1001 - Statements or entries generally

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully—

(1) falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact;

(2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or

(3) makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry;

shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years or, if the offense involves international or domestic terrorism (as defined in section 2331), imprisoned not more than 8 years, or both. If the matter relates to an offense under chapter 109A, 109B, 110, or 117, or section 1591, then the term of imprisonment imposed under this section shall be not more than 8 years.

In other words, he split up his cash withdrawls with which he paid the hush money into lots less than $10K to avoid reporting requirements under Anti Money Laundering laws (the structuring) and he lied about it to the FBI (the false statements).

[Jacque67 7,328]

I'm not a lawyer, so...if the alleged improper conduct occurred in the 1970s or no later than 1981 (when Hastert left teaching), why are the Feds going after Hastert now? Isn't there a statute of limitations? Or is it because the structuring of the payments (which resulted in the indictments) relatively recent?

He broke the Bank Secrecy Act, which I believed he helped push through, after 9-11, and he lied to the FBI . Both illegal.

He launched his own petard;)

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

All these ultra conservatives fighting gay marriage and such are all closet gays. Every last one of them. Their biggest fear is that their affairs will propose to them.

Not sure about all but I think that is part off it I don't care for ultra right wingers anymore than I do goof ball liberals. Ahem! Or radical mooslims

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Not sure about all but I think that is part off it I don't care for ultra right wingers anymore than I do goof ball liberals. Ahem! Or radical mooslims

All of them. Every last one. They just haven't all been caught. Yet.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

All of them. Every last one. They just haven't all been caught. Yet.

You mean there isn't even one who isn't gay? There has to be one.

[Pitaya 2,576]

~Thread locked from comment for mod review and possible administrative actions.~

~DO not quote or reference this thread in another posting.~