|
 Hastert, who did not appear at Tuesday's status hearing at the
federal courthouse in Chicago because he was not required to do so,
has pleaded not guilty to charges that he tried to hide large cash
transactions and lied to the FBI about it.
Hastert's criminal defense attorney Thomas Green told District Judge
Thomas Durkin that he would contest the indictment, saying it was
amended in an "impermissible" way when unnamed sources told the
media that Hastert was paying hush money to cover up alleged sexual
misconduct, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
The formal charges against Hastert, 73, have to do with alleged
financial wrongdoing, not with the underlying alleged misconduct.
 Green had already complained about leaks to the media at a hearing
on June 18. He reiterated those complaints on Tuesday, the Sun-Times
and other media outlets reported.
Durkin has granted a protective order that blocks prosecutors and
the defense from disseminating information about the case. But the
judge has also warned attorneys that if he bases rulings on certain
information in the case, he may have to unseal the underlying
information because the public has a right to know how he comes to
his rulings.
According to the indictment unsealed in May, Hastert withdrew $1.7
million in cash from his bank accounts from 2010 to 2014. He is
charged with "structuring" $952,000 of those withdrawals, that is,
taking the funds out in increments of less than $10,000 to evade
requirements that banks have to report large cash transactions.
[to top of second column] |
Prosecutors allege he promised to pay $3.5 million to a person from
his hometown of Yorkville, Illinois, where he was a teacher and
wrestling coach at the local high school, to conceal past
misconduct. The person, named in the indictment as "Individual A,"
has not been identified.
Hastert was the longest-serving Republican U.S. House speaker, a
position he held from 1999 to 2007.
Prosecutors told Durkin on Tuesday that they expect the trial to
take two weeks, the Chicago Tribune reported. No date has been set
for the trial.
(Reporting by Fiona Ortiz; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
