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Dennis Hastert indicted.

hgc said:
Yes, intriguing. One way or another, if you move that kind of money around, the IRS wants its cut from somebody. They may be sending one or the other party a bill for back taxes, and not necessarily pressing charges.
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And I hope they get it! The IRS works for all of us and I dislike anyone who doesn't pay their share of support for the services we all benefit from, either directly or indirectly.
 
hgc said:
As I said above, if the man asked for the money to keep from suing Hastert (as opposed to threatening harm through fear of release of information), then perfectly legal under Federal law.
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I'm not sure this is correct if the behavior covers up a crime.

ETA: If Hastert paid taxes on those funds, then no more taxes are owed. It could affect how much of his estate can pass tax-free to his heirs. He did have a reporting requirement. If the other person is charged with blackmail, then those funds or other assets could probably be seized under civil forfeiture (racketeering) laws. Which themselves can be a form of extortion: Give us $2 million and we won't prosecute you. I don't think this would be initiated by the IRS because so far I can see no tax law the receiver broke.

If the other guy isn't charged with anything, there is no mechanism for the IRS to claim taxes are owed. If he's charged with blackmail assets could be seized through RICO statutes, with the money going to law enforcement.
 
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BenBurch said:
But he took an action to evade the law, a law he himself passed, and which he understood the consequences of, and then he lied to federal agents and as somebody who helped impeach Bill Clinton for lying under oath, he also knew he shouldn't be doing that, either.
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There is some irony there, isn't there. Was he one of the moral preeners during the Lewinsky scandal and impeachment?

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/hastert-rose-speakership-amid-scandals-31402788

Hastert was propelled to the speakership in 1998 on the tumultuous December day on which the House impeached President Bill Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair. During the raucous debate, the presumptive speaker, Bob Livingston of Louisiana, stunned the political world as he announced he would step down over revelations of his own marital infidelities.

Hastert rose from the junior ranks of leadership in large part because he was without controversy, unlike other contenders such as Tom DeLay, R-Texas, the politically toxic driving force behind Clinton's impeachment. Hastert was a behind-the-scenes operative whose political identity came from small-town Illinois, where he was a high school wrestling coach and teacher before serving in the state House and then Congress.
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Checkmite said:
So that's two kids he (allegedly) had sex with. Why do I sense a Cosby redux in the wings?
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I think the count is more than 2, only 1 named..

The fact the sister of the one victim tried to report it earlier gives her a bit more cred.

Sadly she tried to expose this 'for decades' and given the perfect opportunity to investigate in 2006 with the Mark Foley scandal, ABC yet again declined to investigate further because 'Hastert denied the charges'.
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Daily Kos summary of reports
potentially several alleged victims that were not included in Thursday's indictment, BuzzFeed News reported Friday....

Thinly sourced - one anonymous person - but not inconsistent of what we know of pedophiles.
The Chicago Sun Times provides more information, but it's still from that one anonymous source.

LA Times has the source as a "top federal law enforcement official". ...

Hastert had another access to victims: he was a Boy Scout leader for an Explorer post (older boys). Chicago Trib ...

I think the floodgates just moved an inch or two. I expect more victims.
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logger said:
I remember being not very excited about him.

http://congress.freedomworks.org/node/9897/print
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Well he was third choice after all, but not for his lack of conservatism. And everybody was bummed out that the buggery and adultery of the previous two had been exposed so he didn't get the warm conservative welcome he should have expected. I'm sure he consoled himself with DC rent boys.
 
BenBurch said:
Well he was third choice after all, but not for his lack of conservatism. And everybody was bummed out that the buggery and adultery of the previous two had been exposed so he didn't get the warm conservative welcome he should have expected. I'm sure he consoled himself with DC rent boys.
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He was a complete figurehead. After Newt Gingrich and Bob Livingston flamed out in quick succession, Dick Armey and Tom Delay were left atop the GOP House leadership. Both them realized that they themselves were too odious to front the leadership, and so they drafted a fumbly droopy nobody off the back bench to play Speaker for them. I'd say they were damn lucky not to have Hastert's true self revealed. It would have started to look like a very disturbing pattern.
 
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Aepervius said:
But at the same time, it is very blind to NOT recognize that a teacher has an incredible position of power over a puppil. That is why the exception in case an adult has a position of guardianship or power over a teenager.
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Sure, I'm not denying that at all and i understand why the "age of consent" is often set higher if one party is in a position of authority. Yet people who should know better don't actually recognize that just because they are in a position of authority doesn't mean that it isn't necessarily abusive. In fact people seem to assume that it must be abusive especially because it's illegal.

I have real problem with that kind of presumptive attitude.

BenBurch said:
I wonder if he stopped raping boys when he left the high school? Somehow I doubt it.
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Where exactly has someone accused him of rape?
 
It's statutory rape for a teacher to have sex with a student. If you are nitpicking there was only mutual masturbation and no anal penetration, that's a weak argument against statutory rape.
 
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