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Former US Speaker hopes plea deal can prevent embarrassing trial for sexual abuse cover-up
Attorneys for former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Dennis Hastert are negotiating a plea deal that could help the one-time lawmaker avoid what would be an embarrassing trial.
Hastert, 73, is accused of agreeing to pay a former male student he’d sexually abused with $3.5 million in apparent hush money, according to federal prosecutors.
He was indicted last March for lying to federal officials about cash withdrawals from various banks which triggered suspicion. The payments are not related to Hastert’s years in Congress but instead to his years as a high school wrestling coach from 1965 to 1981.
Hastert attorney John Gallo tells the Chicago Sun-Times that discussions with prosecutors have been ‘linear and productive’ and have included a possible resolution to the case.
If the two sides fail to reach a deal, Hastert’s lawyers said they will file a motion to dismiss their client’s indictment.
The agreement with the former student was allegedly made in 2010 and Hastert had paid $1.7 million since then in the form of $50,000 every six weeks.
Hastert, married to a woman and the father of two children, is charged with one count each of structuring currency transactions to evade currency transaction reports and making a false statement to the FBI. If convicted, each count can carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Hastert is the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history. He succeeded Newt Gingrich in the position and held it from 1999 to 2007. He was succeeded by Nancy Pelosi when Democrats took control of the House.
Hastert resigned from the House in late 2007 and went on to become a Washington lobbyist and consultant. Following his indictment, he resigned from his lobbyist position at Dickstein Shapiro.
While in office, Hastert voted in favor of federal legislation to try and ban same-sex marriage.
The post Former US Speaker hopes plea deal can prevent embarrassing trial for sexual abuse cover-up appeared first on Gay Star News.
Greg Hernandez
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