Dennis Hastert"Why he structured the money is irrelevant," former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Cramer told NPR. "He could've woken up a given day and just decided to start structuring money for absolutely no reason, and that's a crime."
As part of the plea agreement, additional charges that Hastert lied about the structured withdrawals to the FBI have been dropped.
Although the crime Hastert has pleaded guilty to can result in a sentence of up to five years in prison, prosecutors are recommending the former Speaker serve a prison term of up to six months, though probation with no jail time is also a possibility. Sentencing will take place Feb. 29, 2016.
In its coverage of Hastert's appearance before judge Thomas Dunkin at the federal courthouse in downtown Chicago Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune wrote, "The guilty plea marked a dramatic downfall for Hastert, one of Illinois' most powerful Republicans who rose from humble beginnings as a small-town high school teacher to the third-highest elected office in the country."
"The 20-minute hearing, however, left more questions than answers," the Tribune story continued. "His plea agreement provided no new details on the sensational allegations underlying the charges; in fact, it used almost identical language as the indictment. Still a mystery is the identity of the person Hastert had agreed to pay $3.5 million to keep quiet as well as the nature of the wrongdoing Hastert was trying to cover up.
"Though both the indictment and plea agreement only hint at the alleged wrongdoing, federal law enforcement sources have told the Tribune that Hastert was paying to cover up the sexual abuse of a student from decades ago when Hastert was a wrestling coach and teacher at Yorkville High School."
Born not far from Yorkville in Plano, Ill. in 1942, Hastert was a member of the wrestling team at Wheaton College, a private, four-year school in the western suburbs of Chicago, in the early 1960s. He then taught government and history at Yorkville High, and coached wrestling, taking his team to an Illinois state championship in 1976. His coaching record also included three runners-up and a third place finish, according to his National Wrestling Hall of Fame biography, where he was inducted as an Outstanding American in 2000. Four years earlier, Hastert was honored for his efforts and contributions to wrestling as the recipient of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Order of Merit.
Hastert had served three terms in the Illinois General Assembly before being elected to the House of Representatives in 1986. In 1999, the six-term congressman was elected Speaker of the House after the incumbent Speaker Newt Gingrich stepped down, and his intended replacement, Bob Livingston of Louisiana, gave up the position before he ever assumed it after admitting to having conducted adulterous affairs. Hastert left Congress in 2007.
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