An anonymous source familiar with the case of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) said federal prosecutors knew of “prior misdeeds” Hastert committed against potentially several alleged victims that were not included in Thursday’s indictment, BuzzFeed News reported Friday.
Around the same time and based on the accounts of two anonymous federal law enforcment officials, The Los Angeles Times reported that Hastert allegedly agreed to pay out $3.5 million in hush money to an unidentified man to compensate for sexual abuse that occurred while the former House speaker was working as a high school teacher and coach in Yorkville, Illinois.
BuzzFeed’s anonymous source told the outlet that U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon considered additional charges against Hastert in regards to an “Individual B,” which ultimately were not pursued. No further charges are expected to be filed, the source told BuzzFeed.
It’s just sad if this is true. I have no political affinity with Hastert. This would be disgusting and inappropriate (if not criminal) behavior. What just fascinates me is the chutzpah it would take to go from teacher/coach to elected public official to very public leadership roles and then onto the lobby circuit to make tons of money and stay in the public eye. How could he take on those roles and personae knowing these secrets/ certainly he knew it would/could all come out in some disastrous manner. If nothing else, pure human emotion would have him retire from public service (and, incidentally, already enriched), sigh a big relief and quietly sink into the woodwork.
Committing wrongs that hurt other(s) does not come cheaply. Obviously he needed a career path that earned him lots to have the wherewithal to pay to keep other(s) quiet.
Hastert must have one enormous . . . ego.
The hits from the Party of Family Values just keep coming and coming (sorry).
And it is almost always abusive. Except David Vitter who paid for his kinks.
Such an example for Amurka.
It’s not chutzpah, it’s arrogance. It’s also a personality defect I now call the Zimmerman effect: Once you’ve gotten away with murder you feel bullet proof. In Hastert’s case, once he made it through the first few years with no repercussions, he probably began to feel invincible. Think Jerry Sandusky.