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Hastert Will Plead Guilty To Banking Violations, Attorney Says

Charles Rex Arbogast/AP
Ex-House Speaker Dennis Hastert arrives at the federal courthouse for his arraignment in June on charges arising from alleged attempts to pay $3.5 million to someone from his days as a high school teacher not to reveal past misconduct.

Ex-U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert intends to plead guilty in hush-money case, his lawyer has told a judge.

Attorneys for the Illinois Republican appeared in federal court in Chicago this morning before Judge Thomas M. Durkin. They disclosed last month that they had been in negotiations on a deal aimed to avert a trial and help keep any potentially embarrassing secrets quiet.

Hastert lawyer John Gallo, during the brief hearing today, did not mention any of the terms of the plea agreement, including what counts Hastert would plead guilty to.

Gallo said he expects to have a written plea agreement by Monday. And he asked the judge to set a date for a change of plea. The judge scheduled an Oct. 28 hearing.

Politico reported that the deal under discussion would involve prison time and possibly more than a year for the 73-year-old Hastert.

If Hastert pleads guilty to the structuring charge alone, sentencing guidelines appear to call for a sentence of two-and-a-half to about three years. However, there is some legal uncertainty about the range and a lesser sentence could be recommended in light of Hastert's age and health.

Ultimately, Hastert's sentence will be up to Durkin. The two sides could structure a take-it-or-leave-it plea in which the judge has to accept the agreed sentence or Hastert can back out. A more typical plea deal involves recommendations from each side, with the final sentence decided by the judge.

Hastert previously had pleaded not guilty to charges that he broke banking laws and lied to the FBI in efforts to pay someone $3.5 million to hide claims of past misconduct. The Associated Press and other media, citing anonymous sources, have reported the payments were meant to conceal claims of sexual misconduct decades ago.

  • The Associated Press contributed significantly to this report
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