Former US speaker pleads not guilty to abuse cover-up

CHICAGO, United States – Former US House speaker Dennis Hastert, who was once second in line to the presidency, pleaded not guilty Tuesday, June 9, to lying to the FBI in an attempt to cover up alleged past misdeeds. 

Hastert was allegedly making massive payments to a former high school student whom he is said to have sexually abused decades ago, law enforcement officials told local media. The alleged misconduct, according to the LA TImes, dated from Hastert‘s time as a high school wrestling coach and teacher.

Hastert is not facing any charges related to the alleged abuse. 

Instead, he is accused of breaking banking laws when trying to hide $1.7 million in cash bank withdrawals and lying to the FBI when they questioned him about the suspicious activity.

“It goes back a long way, back to then. It has nothing to do with public corruption or a corruption scandal. Or to his time in office,” an official, who would not speak publicly about the federal charges filed in Chicago, told the Times.

The Washington Post said the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service began investigating Hastert in 2013, citing “possible structuring of currency transactions to avoid the reporting requirements.”

As well as banking charges, he faces a count for making “false, fictitious and fraudulent statements” to federal investigators during an interview last December, the newspaper said.

Hastert has been a high-paid lobbyist since his retirement from Congress in 2007, according to the Post. It was a remarkable fall from grace for a man who was once one of the most powerful people in Washington and the longest serving Republican speaker in the House of Representatives. – Rappler.com