Former Speaker
Dennis Hastert is no stranger to scandal. The lascivious activities of colleagues bookended his tenure as the longest-serving Republican Speaker of the House. But the news that Hastert had been indicted for allegedly lying to the FBI about hush money he’d paid a former acquaintance shook Washington.
The indictment, announced May 28, was shrouded in mystery. Prosecutors allege Hastert was seeking to cover up “prior misconduct” against an unidentified person. Hastert had known this person for most of his or her life, dating back to Hastert’s time as a high school teacher and coach in Yorkville, Ill. Multiple news organizations, including the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times and the Associated Press, cited unnamed sources in reporting that the conduct Hastert allegedly paid to cover up was sexual in nature.
Those reports have cast an added layer of mystery over the case. But when the 73-year-old former lobbyist appears before a federal judge on June 9–he has so far declined to comment–many questions will remain unanswered.
Regardless, a longtime pol who was lauded for playing it straight even as colleagues went bad now risks having his legacy read more like a plotline from House of Cards.
–MAYA RHODAN