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 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, 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 defense 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 U.S. District Judge Thomas
Durkin on Monday, attorneys for Hastert said.
Hastert, who is free on bond, was not required to attend Thursday's
hearing and was not in court. He has not spoken publicly since his
indictment, but Durkin set Oct. 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
lobbyist.
After his indictment, Hastert resigned from the Dickstein Shapiro
lobbying firm in Washington, D.C., and from the boards of exchange
operator CME Group Inc <CME.O> and REX American Resources Corp
<REX.N>.
His alma mater, Wheaton College, a private Christian liberal arts
school in suburban Chicago, removed his name from a policy center.
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.
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Defense 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.
"One of the best side effects of taking the plea is that material
regarding reported sexual abuse will not come out," said Richardson,
of the firm Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis.
Richardson said Hastert also may decide to waive a sentencing
hearing, which otherwise would allow people to talk about his past
behavior, both good and bad.
According to the indictment, Hastert withdrew $1.7 million in cash
from his bank accounts from 2010 to 2014. He is charged with
structuring $952,000 of the withdrawals, taking the funds out in
increments of under $10,000 to evade a requirement that banks report
large cash transactions.
Hastert then told the FBI that he was keeping the cash for himself,
which the indictment said was a false statement.
Each of the charges carries a possible maximum sentence of five
years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
(Writing by David Bailey; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Tom Brown)
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