Friday, October 16, 2015
Associated Press
CHICAGO
Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert intends to plead guilty in a hush-money case linked to allegations of sexual misconduct, a defense attorney said Thursday, a move that could ensure that any secrets from his days as a high-school wrestling coach are never revealed in public.
A written plea agreement should be completed by Monday, attorney John Gallo told a federal judge during a brief status hearing. At the attorney’s request, the judge set Oct. 28 as the date for the 73-year-old Illinois Republican to change his plea.
Defendants typically agree to plead guilty in hopes of a more-lenient sentence. A plea deal also would avert a trial that could divulge more about the purported misconduct behind the criminal charges.
Neither Gallo nor prosecutors offered details about any possible deal, including which counts Hastert would plead guilty to or whether the man who once was second in the line of succession for the presidency would go to prison. Hastert did not attend Thursday’s hearing.
He faces one count of breaking banking laws and one count of lying to the FBI about agreeing to pay $3.5 million to someone referred to in the indictment only as “Individual A.” The money supposedly was to hide claims of unspecified past misconduct.
A plea deal would mean that Individual A, who never has been identified, would not have to testify about receiving any of the money. The Associated Press and other media, citing anonymous sources, have reported that the payments were meant to conceal claims of sexual misconduct.
In all, Hastert withdrew $1.7 million from 2010 to 2014, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors probably are seeking a prison sentence. It would be unusual for them to entertain the possibility of probation on such serious charges. Each count is punishable by up to five years behind bars.
When Hastert was charged in May, the indictment noted he had taught and coached high-school wrestling from 1965 to 1981 in close-knit Yorkville, a suburb west of Chicago. That strongly suggests the charges are linked to that history.
Those acquainted with Hastert from his days in Yorkville have tended to express sympathy for him.
Helene McNeive, whose husband taught at Yorkville High School with Hastert and now lives in Arizona, said Thursday’s word about the plea left her feeling “very sad” for the whole Hastert family.
“From the beginning, this was not the Denny we knew,” she said. “He was a great father, a great husband and a great friend, and nobody in their wildest dreams could ever think this could have happened.”
Hastert, who led the House for nine years, still could change his mind about pleading guilty. Gallo told Judge Thomas M. Durkin that the defense “reserved the right” to go to trial if talks collapse in the final days.