Ex-speaker Dennis Hastert pleads guilty in hush money case

CHICAGO - Former U.S. House speaker Dennis Hastert pleaded guilty Wednesday to making dozens of illegally structured bank withdrawals as part of an effort to pay hush money to someone from his past for decades-old misconduct.

Hastert pleaded guilty to one count in the indictment, which carries a maximum sentence of five years. Under the plea agreement, federal prosecutor Steven Block recommended that Hastert, the longest serving GOP speaker in history, be sentenced to zero to six months in federal prison. A judge will make the final decision on the terms of the sentence and may reject the prosecutor's recommendation. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 29.

Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert is accused of agreeing to pay $3.5 million in apparent hush money to a longtime acquaintance, then lying to the FBI when asked about suspicious cash withdrawals from several banks.

But with the guilty plea, Hastert, 73, may be able to keep further embarrassing details about why he agreed to pay $3.5 million to an unidentified individual from Yorkville, Ill., the town where he worked as a high school teacher and wrestling coach before entering politics.

Hastert, who was once the third-highest ranking elected official in America, was surrounded by his attorneys and federal marshals who escorted him out of the downtown courthouse to a waiting car following the hearing. He did not comment to reporters.

The indictment, unsealed nearly five months ago, referred to the alleged wrongdoing by Hastert as “prior misconduct” against someone identified as “Individual A" but did not offer any details. But federal law enforcement officials told USA TODAY that Hastert made illegally structured withdrawals as part of an effort to conceal sexual misconduct he committed against a male student decades earlier when he worked at Yorkville High School.

Hastert circumvented the federal requirement that requires banks to report withdrawals of more than $10,000. He was accused of withdrawing a total of $952,000 in increments under that threshold that were paid to the individual.

Hastert told Judge Thomas Durkin that after bank officials informed him in April 2012 that he'd have to report to them how he was spending the withdrawals over $10,000 under currency transaction rules, he began making withdrawals in smaller increments to try to avoid detection.

"I didn't want them to know how I was spending the money, " Hastert said in court. He did not reveal any details in his court statement about where he spent the money.

Block, the lead prosecutor in the case, said Hastert made a total of 106 illegally structured withdrawals between July 2012 and December 2014 totaling $952,000.

When the FBI asked Hastert about the withdrawals in December 2014, he allegedly lied and said he was keeping the cash, the indictment said.

At the time, agents asked if he was withdrawing the money because he did not feel safe with the banking system, Hastert allegedly responded, "Yeah . . . I kept the cash. That's what I'm doing."

Hastert was initially also charged with lying to the federal agents, but prosecutors dropped the charge as part of the plea agreement.

In the months ahead of the guilty plea, the ex-speaker’s lead attorney, Thomas Green, complained to Judge Thomas Durkin that leaks to the media about the nature of the alleged misconduct had put his client in untenable position.

The leaks, Green grumbled, had become an “800-pound gorilla” in the case.

Hastert, who was first elected to the House in 1986, ascended to the speakership in 1999 at a moment of turmoil for the GOP. He was often referred to as the "accidental speaker" for his rise to power following the resignation of former Rep. Bob Livingston, R-La., who was poised to succeed Newt Gingrich in the post but bowed out after revelations of extramarital relations.

Before Wednesday’s hearing, Hastert, who was free on $4,500 bond, had managed to stay out the public eye in the months following the unsealing of the indictment in late May.

It's unclear what, if any, details prosecutors may reveal about the past misconduct during the sentencing hearing.

“Now that Mr. Hastert has pled guilty, and the court has accepted his guilty plea, the case will proceed to sentencing," the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois said in a statement following Wednesday's hearing. "As part of the sentencing process in this case, as in all cases, we will provide the court with relevant information about the defendant’s background and the charged offenses, and the defendant will have an opportunity to do the same, so that the court can impose an appropriate sentence taking into account all relevant factors in the case. We have no further comment about the matter at this time.”