Former US speaker pleas guilty in hush-money case

Former House speaker Dennis Hastert, once second in line to the US presidency, pleaded guilty Wednesday to making illegal bank transactions, allegedly for hush-money payouts.

The 73-year-old Hastert entered his plea under a deal with prosecutors, who recommended a sentence of up to six months in prison.

The guilty plea was announced by the office of the US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for February 29, it said.

Hastert allegedly made big payments to a male former high-school student to conceal claims that he had sexually abused the teen decades ago, law enforcement officials have told local media.

The Illinois Republican did not face any charges related to the allegations of sexual misconduct during his years as a high-school teacher and wrestling coach before entering politics.

But he was charged with breaking federal banking laws by trying to hide $1.7 million in cash withdrawals and lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation when it questioned him about the suspicious activity.

The transactions from 2010 to 2014 included at least 106 withdrawals of amounts under $10,000 so as to dodge currency transaction reporting requirements.

Specifically, Hastert pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of "illegally structuring cash withdrawals in order to evade financial reporting requirements," the US attorney's office said.

The admission caps a remarkable fall from grace for a man who was once one of the most powerful people in Washington and the longest-serving Republican speaker in the House of Representatives.

The guilty plea keeps many of the potentially salacious details from being aired in open court.

A copy of the plea agreement released Wednesday says only that Hastert made $1.7 million in withdrawals and gave the money to a person identified as Individual A.

In or about 2010, Hastert met with this person multiple times and at least once they discussed "past misconduct by Hastert against Individual A that had occurred several decades earlier."

Altogether, the agreement says, Hastert agreed to pay this person $3.5 million "to compensate for and keep confidential his prior misconduct against Individual A."

Source: AFP