Dennis Hastert

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Lawsuit Accuses Dennis Hastert of Sodomizing 4th-Grader

'Richard Doe' claims it happened in 1973 or 1974

(Newser) - In a new lawsuit, an Illinois man accuses Dennis Hastert of sexually assaulting him in a bathroom stall when he was a fourth-grader. It's at least the fifth such allegation against the former House speaker, who will soon be released from prison in a hush-money case , though previous accusers...

Jailed Hastert to Accuser: I Want My $1.7M Back

Ex-speaker files countersuit to man's demand for rest of 'hush money'

(Newser) - Dennis Hastert has had seven months behind bars to figure out his next move, and he's just made a big one. The former US speaker of the House is not only asking a judge to spurn a breach-of-contract complaint filed against him by a man who says Hastert sexually...

Hastert Fights for $17K-a-Year Teacher's Pension

It's $17K a year, and disgraced ex-House speaker says he's entitled to it

(Newser) - Dennis Hastert is serving a 15-month prison term in a hush-money case that stemmed from his sexual abuse of students when he taught at an Illinois public school over 35 years ago—and the ex-US House speaker is now pointing to a technicality to argue that a state body should...

Dennis Hastert Is About to Become Inmate 47991-424

Former Speaker needs to report to prison Wednesday

(Newser) - Former US House Speaker Dennis Hastert must report to a federal prison in Minnesota by Wednesday afternoon to begin serving a 15-month sentence in his hush-money case, one that revealed the 74-year-old sexually abused at least four boys decades ago when he coached wrestling at a suburban Chicago high school....

'Serial Child Molester' Hastert Gets 15 Months in Prison

Hastert tells Chicago judge he's 'deeply ashamed' of past actions

(Newser) - A Chicago judge sentenced Dennis Hastert Wednesday in a "hush-money" case, calling the former House speaker a "serial child molester," the AP reports. US District Judge Thomas Durkin said his sentence for Hastert—who received 15 months in prison, as well as two years of supervised release...

Hastert Accuser Sues for the Rest of His Hush Money

Former House speaker will be sentenced Wednesday

(Newser) - A new legal problem has surfaced for Dennis Hastert ahead of his Wednesday sentencing on financial charges related to payment of hush money over alleged sexual abuse: He never finished the payments, and the accuser has filed a lawsuit. The plaintiff, who says he was 14 when Hastert molested him...

Prosecutors: Hastert Abused Boys, Paid Hush Money

Court filing details abuse allegations

(Newser) - Dennis Hastert agreed to pay $3.5 million to a person the former House speaker sexually abused when the victim was a 14-year-old wrestler on a team coached by Hastert, prosecutors said in a court filing that details allegations by four former students . The filing Friday night is the first...

Hastert's Sex-Abuse Accusers Have Quadrupled

But statute of limitations is expired

(Newser) - The allegation that former House Speaker Dennis Hastert sexually abused a teenage boy as an Illinois high school teacher and wrestling coach is apparently just the tip of the iceberg. Three others have also accused Hastert of sexual abuse, including two males identified by the Chicago Tribune , one of whom...

Paul Ryan Gets Rid of Predecessor's Portrait

He 'believed it was appropriate' to shift Hastert painting

(Newser) - After a night sleeping in his office , Paul Ryan isn't going to have to look at a portrait of a disgraced predecessor on his way to work in the morning. The Hill reports that one of the first things Ryan did after being elected House speaker was to get...

Hastert's Guilty Plea Comes With Jail Recommendation

'Did you know that what you were doing was wrong?' 'Yes, sir.'

(Newser) - As expected, Dennis Hastert pleaded guilty Wednesday in a convoluted case that involves allegations he sexually abused a student as a high school wrestling coach. What he pleaded to was lying to the FBI about shady bank transfers made in recent years. Prosecutors say Hastert was shuffling money around illegally...

Dennis Hastert to Plead Guilty; Jail Is Unclear

But former House speaker will avoid an embarrassing trial

(Newser) - Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert has agreed to plead guilty in a convoluted case that involved allegations he sexually abused a student as a high school wrestling coach, reports the Chicago Tribune . The guilty plea means Hastert will avoid a potentially embarrassing trial, though it remains unclear whether he will...

Hastert Pleads Not Guilty
 Hastert Pleads Not Guilty 
Jun 9, 2015 2:29 PM CDT

Hastert Pleads Not Guilty

Former House speaker arrives in court

(Newser) - Dennis Hastert has finally made a public statement about the allegations against him : not guilty. The former House speaker made the plea today at a federal courthouse in Chicago, reports the Chicago Tribune . Hastert, who is accused of making illegal cash withdrawals from his bank accounts, has largely been in...

Hastert Headed to Court, Watergate Lawyer in Tow

Thomas Green will represent former speaker at arraignment today

(Newser) - Ahead of his arraignment today in Chicago, Dennis Hastert has hired a high-profile lawyer who represented public officials in scandals including Watergate, Whitewater, and Iran-Contra. Thomas Green of Sidley Austin—the same firm that once employed Barack and Michelle Obama—will stand next to Hastert as he formally hears the...

Woman Alleges Hastert Abused Her Brother

'Mr. Hastert can't pull this wool over everybody's eyes,' she tells ABC News

(Newser) - In a bombshell interview with ABC News , a woman alleges Dennis Hastert sexually abused her brother. Jolene Reinboldt Burdge reveals details of what reportedly happened so many years ago, as well as her brother's name—and says that she's not the "Individual A" named in Hastert's...

Hastert Prosecution Is 'Overzealous'
 Hastert Prosecution 
 Is 'Overzealous' 
OPINION
Jun 2, 2015 6:24 PM CDT

Hastert Prosecution Is 'Overzealous'

Bill Press: His apparent crime is taking his own money out of the bank

(Newser) - Bill Press is a Democrat and knows he's supposed to be gloating about the prosecution of Dennis Hastert , but he just can't get there. Instead, this smacks of an "overzealous federal prosecutor," he writes at the Hill . If allegations that Hastert abused a student years ago...

College's Hastert Center Has a New Name

Wheaton College steps away from scandal-plagued former speaker

(Newser) - The J. Dennis Hastert Center for Economics, Government, and Public Policy at Wheaton College has taken Hastert out of its name as the scandal surrounding the former House speaker continues to grow . Hastert, who graduated from the Illinois college in 1964, resigned from the conservative institution's board of advisers...

Is This 'Weird' C-SPAN Call to Hastert Tied to Scandal?

'Bruce' from Yorkville, Illinois, apparently didn't want to chat

(Newser) - Dennis Hastert appeared on C-SPAN last November, and a caller identified as "Bruce" from Yorkville, Illinois, phoned in. "Hello, Denny," Bruce says. "Hey, how are you doing?" Hastert responds. "Pretty good," Bruce continues. "Remember me from Yorkville?" When the C-SPAN hosts prods Bruce...

Hastert Details Emerge: It's a Sex Scandal

He allegedly molested a male student decades ago

(Newser) - Earlier stories hinted at it , but now a slew of reports are asserting that Dennis Hastert got into trouble with the feds because he was trying to cover up a sex scandal involving a former student. Outlets including the Chicago Tribune , the Washington Post , the New York Times , and CNN...

The Mystery of What Hastert May Have Done

Indictment's mention of past role as teacher is 'provocative,' says 'WaPo'

(Newser) - Prosecutors say Dennis Hastert made shady bank withdrawals totaling more than $950,000 and paid an unnamed "Individual A" $1.7 million of a promised $3.5 million to "compensate for and conceal his prior misconduct against Individual A." That "prior misconduct" is thus far a...

Ex-Speaker Hastert Faces Charges Over 'Hush Money'

FBI says he made illegal bank withdrawals to cover up 'past misconduct'

(Newser) - Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert might be about to learn an old political lesson: It's the coverup that will do you in. Federal prosecutors today charged the 73-year-old Illinois Republican with making shady bank withdrawals and lying to the FBI, and the Chicago Tribune provides this tantalizing detail: The...

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