Disgraced ex-US House Speaker in plea deal

Chicago. — Former US House Speaker Dennis Hastert (pictured above) is expected to plead guilty in a hush-money case stemming from allegations of sexual misconduct in a deal with prosecutors that could still force him to serve time in prison.

The tentative plea agreement, disclosed during a brief hearing in federal court in Chicago on Thursday, would mark a dramatic downfall for someone who once ranked among the most powerful men in the country.

Hastert, aged 73, was charged in May with trying to hide large cash transactions as part of a payoff scheme and lying about it to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Prosecutors and defence attorneys did not say what charge he would plead guilty to or whether his sentence might include incarceration.

Federal prosecutors have accused him of agreeing to pay $3,5 million to an unidentified person from his hometown of Yorkville, Illinois, to conceal past misconduct. He was a teacher at Yorkville High School in the 1960s and 1970s.

That person has not surfaced publicly, but anonymous law enforcement sources have told several media outlets that Hastert was trying to cover up sexual abuse of a male student when he worked as a high school teacher and wrestling coach.

Hastert’s agreement, to change his plea to guilty from not guilty in the case, is expected to be submitted to US District Judge Thomas Durkin on Monday, attorneys for Hastert said.

Hastert, who is free on bail, was not required to attend Thursday’s hearing and was not in court. He has not spoken publicly since his indictment, but Durkin set October 28 as the date for him to change his plea.

Hastert was the longest-serving Republican Speaker, leading the House for eight years before leaving Congress in 2007 and becoming a lobby- ist.

After his indictment, Hastert resigned from the Dickstein Shapiro lobbying firm in Washington, and from the boards of exchange operator CME Group and REX American Resources Corp.

His alma mater, Wheaton College, a private Christian liberal arts school in suburban Chicago, removed his name from a policy centre.

Lawyers for both sides said in September they were negotiating a plea deal to keep the case from going to trial. Durkin had asked both sides to bring him an agreement this week, or he would set a trial date.

Defence attorney Amy Richardson, who is not involved in Hastert’s case but often handles financial fraud matters, said it is unlikely Hastert will avoid jail time if he pleads guilty to a charge of “structuring” cash withdrawals to avoid detection by banking officials. Such a plea could, however, avoid the public release of potentially embarrassing information about the case. – AFP.