Embattled former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday on charges stemming from his alleged agreement to pay $3.5 million in hush money to an individual he reportedly sexually abused, the Associated Press reported.
The AP confirmed with Judge Thomas M. Durkin’s office that Hastert would be arraigned Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The former House speaker was charged in an indictment unveiled Thursday with “structuring” bank withdrawals to avoid federal reporting requirements and lying to the FBI about those withdrawals.
Hastert has been laying low since the charges dropped. While he has yet to comment publicly, Chicago TV station WBBM reported that the former speaker has been telling his associates that he, too, is a “victim” in the scandal.