Is there any other way to read this indictment?

[MsGuy]

OK, this federal indictment against Dennis Hastert, former Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, is for lying to the FBI about the purpose of 1.7 million dollars he withdrew in cash from his bank accounts.

But the underlying transactions that the Feds were tracing can't be for anything but paying off somebody he was fucking back when he was a high school teacher/coach.

And that somebody had to be a minor and (almost certainly) had to be a student at his school. Otherwise what on earth could he/she know that could be used to extort an agreed total sum of $3,500,000.00 out of Hastert 30 or 40 years later?

I guess it could be somebody who stumbled across the remains of one of his/her parents buried in the basement of Hastert's former residence but that seems a mite far fetched.

Anyone here who can parse the language of the indictment (quoted in the short article linked above) and come up with a more plausible guess?

Winner with the best answer gets a gold star.

Damn, the link doesn't work. Try this other article linked here.

[AdamSmith]

The great mystery indeed. Waiting with bated breath for this part of the story to come out.

Your underage-student hypothesis is good. But of course him being an Illinois pol, the sky's the limit for crookedness.

In fact it seems a requirement for office there.

[AdamSmith]

...The indictment, in US district court in Illinois, notes that between 1965 and 1981, Hastert worked as a high school teacher and coach in Yorkville, Illinois. The indictment then notes that Individual A, whom he is alleged to have paid, has known Hastert most of Individual A's life.

In or about 2010, the indictment says, Hastert met with this person and discussed past misconduct by [Hastert] that had occurred years earlier. The indictment alleges that Hastert then agreed to provide this person $3.5m in order to compensate for and conceal his prior misconduct against them.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/28/former-house-speaker-dennis-hastert-indicted

"...a dead girl or a live boy." -- Edwin Edwards

[boiworship]

there were always rumors about Denny, as there are with Karl Rove.

[MsGuy]

there were always rumors about Denny, as there are with Karl Rove.

Oh fuck you, boiworship!

How the hell can you say something like that and then leave us hanging?

Give us the nasty details, please. PLEASE!

Especially about Rove.

[MsGuy]

HA!

I called it!

I so wanted to cut to the chase in my original post and discard the possibility of a female dalliance. Sadly I let my misguided sense of political correctness overwhelm my intuition.

"Surely," says I to myself, "it's neither fair nor balanced just to assume any sexual scandal involving a prominent Republican is necessarily going to feature a teen aged boy somewhere under the sheets."

Just goes to show you shouldn't second guess yourself w/o a good solid reason.

[AdamSmith]

"Wrestling coach."

...almost a Jeopardy line!

[boiworship]

Just google Karl Rove aka "Rosebud". Also, Denny roomed with his "confirmed bachelor" chief of staff Scott Palmer for a number of years. When Mrs. Hastert visited, she stayed at a hotel, even on St. Valentine's Day!

[AdamSmith]

His girth alone would have kept Mrs. Hastert at a distance for many years.

[lookin]

In or about 2010, the indictment says, Hastert met with this person and discussed past misconduct by [Hastert] that had occurred years earlier. The indictment alleges that Hastert then agreed to provide this person $3.5m in order to compensate for and conceal his prior misconduct against them.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/28/former-house-speaker-dennis-hastert-indicted

According to the prosecution, Hastert systematically withdrew about $1.7m from banks, and then periodically delivered payments to Individual A for four years.

I bet he wishes he had that money back now!

Fortunately, my own reputation is sufficiently shabby that spending $3.5 million to defend it wouldn't cross my mind, even if I had the ready cash.

Thirty-five dollars, sure, maybe even three hundred and fifty but, beyond that, it can go and defend its own seedy self.

[AdamSmith]

Just google Karl Rove aka "Rosebud".

It would be hilarious if 'Turd Blossom' was W's way of calling him a poufter.

[Guest zipperzone]

I must be missing something here. I can understand the "victim" being indicted for blackmail or extortion, but why would the FBI be interested in Hastert withdrawing the money?

[MsGuy]

Zipper, initially the FBI was concerned that he was being blackmailed to conceal official wrongdoing while he was in the Speaker's chair.

Once they satisfied themselves that the money wasn't being paid to conceal malfeasance in office, somebody made the call to pursue an indictment for a) lying to the Feds (it's a felony to knowingly provide false information to a federal officer of any kind if he's acting in the course of his official duties, even if you're not under oath) and evasion of the money laundering statutes (After his banks began questioning the purpose of his $50,000 cash withdrawals, Hastert started withdrawing his cash in a fashion designed to evade his banks duty to report certain cash transactions to the authorities. That the banks reported his ass anyway is irrelevant.).

As to who in the Justice Department made that call to prosecute Hastert rather than the blackmailer, and the reasons behind it, your guess is as good as mine.

The takeaway from all this is when the Feds come calling, either tell them the truth or, best by far, shut up and call your lawyer. Even if you're sure that you've done nothing wrong. Maybe especially if you've done nothing wrong.

[RA1]

We called cash for aircraft, back before the law required reporting taking out or depositing over 10,000 in cash, drug money. Any number of aircraft were sold for cash and everyone "knew" the aircraft likely would be used to run drugs. More than one aircraft was bought for cash and no FAA paperwork was recorded. Later, when the aircraft was found on a beach somewhere or abandoned, the FBI would call the dealer (who was the last recorded owner) and ask about the situation. The paperwork was filled out at the time of the transaction but the buyer simply never filed. Soon dealers started sending in duplicate (original) paperwork for the buyer so the FAA (and the FBI) would know the aircraft sold.

During my career the reporting law came into effect.

Best regards,

RA1