The Most Shocking Details Of The Denny Hastert Scandal May Never Be Known

The Most Shocking Details Of The Denny Hastert Scandal May Never Be Known:



snip

Disgraced former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) is expected to walk into a federal courthouse Wednesday morning in downtown Chicago and plead guilty to charges that stemmed from an alleged agreement to pay out millions of dollars in hush money to a mysterious "Individual A."

And people who have watched the case told TPM on Tuesday that thanks to the plea deal with federal prosecutors, reports of sexual misconduct against one of Hastert's former students will remain vague—at least for now.

The former House speaker's sudden indictment at the end of May shook the political world. The indictment itself was rather banal, charging Hastert with a count of structuring bank withdrawals to avoid detection and a count of lying to the FBI about those withdrawals. Hastert allegedly agreed to pay $3.5 million to "Individual A" to compensate for "prior misconduct" against that person, according to the indictment. Notably, the indictment referenced Hastert's tenure as a teacher and wrestling coach at a high school in Yorkville, Illinois prior to his election to Congress. It also specified that "Individual A" resided in Yorkville for much of his or her life and knew Hastert for most of his or her life as well.