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Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert indicted by federal grand jury

jmotivator said:
Yeah, I hear a lot of the "all politicians lie." defense coming from the left lately, usually in defense of the Clinton scandals.

If Hastert is guilty then he should go to jail.
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look at all the scandals. that have happened with democratic candidates all over the place. they don't condemn what the person did. they defend it.
why I don't know.
 
ludin said:
look at all the scandals. that have happened with democratic candidates all over the place. they don't condemn what the person did. they defend it.
why I don't know.
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Yeah that's why I said BOTH sides are dirty as hell.. And why in another post when talking the Abramoff scandal I put MORE blame on the Dems for nothing getting fixed. This shouldn't be an opportunity for either side to point fingers at the other, but here you are trying to make this into a partisan issue.

Politicians KNOW they don't have to clean up politics because 1 side will always point to the other side and say they are dirtier, even though both sides are dirtier then hell.
 
SenorXm/Sirius said:
Yeah that's why I said BOTH sides are dirty as hell.. And why in another post when talking the Abramoff scandal I put MORE blame on the Dems for nothing getting fixed. This shouldn't be an opportunity for either side to point fingers at the other, but here you are trying to make this into a partisan issue.

Politicians KNOW they don't have to clean up politics because 1 side will always point to the other side and say they are dirtier, even though both sides are dirtier then hell.
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Im pointing fingers at the voters who keep electing them, and Americans who want govt to take care of them cradle to grave. Politicians are just doing whats natural to them. This is just another example of why we need to stop giving the govt power.

95% of incumbents were re-elected in 2014.
 
JANFU said:
Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert indicted by federal grand jury - The Washington Post


If convicted does he keep his pension?
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Seems the only crime that is evident is that Hastert didn't keep the government up to date on what he was doing with his own money. Since these laws are in place to track and prosecute crimes related to drug dealing, etc., where's the specific underlying crime that Hastert is guilty of.

The strong innuendo in the story is that Hastert sexually assaulted or had illicit sexual relations with a student under his care while a teacher and coach earlier in life. In order to make their case, seems the feds will have to get this individual to testify against Hastert. It seems likely that this individual hasn't reported the Hastert payments as income and paid taxes on them and perhaps the investigation started at that source trying to determine where and how this individual got the money.

Bottom line, Hastert appears to have stupidly believed he could hide and cover up his past misdeeds. He's going to be out the money, potentially serving time, and having his secret exposed for all to see. Simply having a lawyer work up a confidential agreement between himself and this other party would have been the best route.

Seems to me, the only reason he wouldn't have done so is because the misconduct was homosexual in nature. It's a pity that in this day and age many gay or bisexual men are still so consumed by a sense of personal guilt around their sexuality that they will do such stupid things.
 
seems to me this should be an easy case for him to win, as a influential, wealthy person
all he must do to prove he told the authorities no lies is to have about $1.6 million in cash to show the judge that what he said was true. that he kept the money - ostensibly, because he did not trust the banking system. thus, no lie will have been expressed to the government
 
Tazmanian Devil said:
Here is one.

I get the vague idea he was paying hush money to a former student with whom he had an illegal or immoral (or both) sexual encounter or relationship.

I'd hate that to be so, but let the chips fall where they may.

I believe we need a clean sweep of Washington DC corruption from top to bottom.

And I welcome it no matter who might be outed.

We pay these people to be our employees and we should treat them like employees.

Any employee found breaking the law or committing unlawful or immoral acts would be disciplined.

Let it be so in D.C. from now on.
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Yeah I'm with ya, but the problem is that the employees also make the rules.. ;)

Tim-
 
jonny5 said:
Exactly why conservatives dont like big govt. They understand that power corrupts.
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What are you talking about? Did conservatives object to the Patriot Act or Homeland security? Did they object to the ND going from 5 to 10 trillion dollars during the Bush years. Both parties are all about big government, they just disagree on which sectors ought to be big.

George W. Bush rode into Washington almost eight years ago astride the horse of smaller government. He will leave it this winter having overseen the biggest federal budget expansion since Franklin Delano Roosevelt seven decades ago.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/19/big-government-gets-bigger/#ixzz3bY5wiReA
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
 
Hicup said:
Yeah I'm with ya, but the problem is that the employees also make the rules.. ;)

Tim-
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There are factions in America which empower and encourage the hired help to run roughshod over the Constitution and overstep their authority and treat us like we are their subjects.

The factions are called Liberals, Democrats and Progressives. Not to mention the more sinister fringe elements.

The Tea Party and Ted Cruz, to name two, are working to put things right.
 
The line "all politicians lie" is a cop out. All politicians should be held accountable, regardless of party. If they break the law they should go to jail. It seems only the worker bees are held accountable in our government today (depending on the agency they work for). The VA or IRS doesn't do anything to anyone for breaking the law.

IF this guy is guilty they need to make an example of him for both parties.

The only way to change things is for all of us to raise hell about the corruption, regardless of party affiliation.
 
Montecresto said:
What are you talking about? Did conservatives object to the Patriot Act or Homeland security? Did they object to the ND going from 5 to 10 trillion dollars during the Bush years. Both parties are all about big government, they just disagree on which sectors ought to be big.

George W. Bush rode into Washington almost eight years ago astride the horse of smaller government. He will leave it this winter having overseen the biggest federal budget expansion since Franklin Delano Roosevelt seven decades ago.

Read more: Big government gets bigger - Washington Times
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
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The expansion of government by Bushy had SOMETHING to do with the attack on America on 9/11. Remember that? Many don't or they pretend not to.

The bias of the writer of that cited passage is obvious and he obviously wanted to gloss over that little matter of Jihadists attacking America, which required a massive increase in in government.

And yet when Obama does the same thing the Left seems fine with it.

WTF???

That aside...

You know the arguments against gun banning and anti-gun laws?

Some of them apply to the matters of the Patriot Act and Homeland Security.

The main one which immediately comes to mind is that like guns, the Patriot Act is a tool and in the right hands can be used responsibly to safeguard our lives and rights.

In the wrong hands or used irresponsibly, is a danger to our lives and freedoms.

We need to adopt better hiring practices.

Hire Ted Cruz.
 
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Tazmanian Devil said:
There are factions in America which empower and encourage the hired help to run roughshod over the Constitution and overstep their authority and treat us like we are their subjects.

The factions are called Liberals, Democrats and Progressives. Not to mention the more sinister fringe elements.

The Tea Party and Ted Cruz, to name two, are working to put things right.
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Oh dear, and here I thought you were going to be part of the solution. :naughty. Should have known it'd just be more one sided patronising.
 
Montecresto said:
Partisans on both sides do that!
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Not me if they are guilty they need to go to jail. republican or democrat.

didn't pay your taxes you shouldn't be able to serve in congress or in Washington.
get caught operating a charity as a slush fund not allowed to run for office.

paying off black mailer to cover something up and lying to the feds? sorry
hiding a ton of cash in your freezer at home? good bye.
 
Montecresto said:
What are you talking about? Did conservatives object to the Patriot Act or Homeland security? Did they object to the ND going from 5 to 10 trillion dollars during the Bush years. Both parties are all about big government, they just disagree on which sectors ought to be big.

George W. Bush rode into Washington almost eight years ago astride the horse of smaller government. He will leave it this winter having overseen the biggest federal budget expansion since Franklin Delano Roosevelt seven decades ago.

Read more: Big government gets bigger - Washington Times
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
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Conservatives yes, dont confuse them with Republicans.
 
Tazmanian Devil said:
I get the vague idea he was paying hush money to a former student with whom he had an illegal or immoral (or both) sexual encounter or relationship.
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A few LGBT blogs have been digging through their records posting stories from the 90s and 00s of rumors of Hastert hiring call boys.

Wouldn't that be something strange if that turned out to be true.

CanadaJohn said:
It's a pity that in this day and age many gay or bisexual men are still so consumed by a sense of personal guilt around their sexuality that they will do such stupid things.
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Homosexuality was considered immoral. Especially in "traditional" areas. That's why we've seen so many more gay Republican outings (their families, communities, churches, etc. keeping them closeted) than we have seen gay Democrat outings.
 
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CanadaJohn said:
Seems the only crime that is evident is that Hastert didn't keep the government up to date on what he was doing with his own money. Since these laws are in place to track and prosecute crimes related to drug dealing, etc., where's the specific underlying crime that Hastert is guilty of.

The strong innuendo in the story is that Hastert sexually assaulted or had illicit sexual relations with a student under his care while a teacher and coach earlier in life. In order to make their case, seems the feds will have to get this individual to testify against Hastert. It seems likely that this individual hasn't reported the Hastert payments as income and paid taxes on them and perhaps the investigation started at that source trying to determine where and how this individual got the money.

Bottom line, Hastert appears to have stupidly believed he could hide and cover up his past misdeeds. He's going to be out the money, potentially serving time, and having his secret exposed for all to see. Simply having a lawyer work up a confidential agreement between himself and this other party would have been the best route.

Seems to me, the only reason he wouldn't have done so is because the misconduct was homosexual in nature. It's a pity that in this day and age many gay or bisexual men are still so consumed by a sense of personal guilt around their sexuality that they will do such stupid things.
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Heya CJ :2wave: This was out about an hour ago.


Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct during his time as a high school wrestling coach and history teacher, ABC News has learned from sources with knowledge of the case. Associates and former colleagues of Hastert expressed surprise and dismay today over allegations that he disbursed $1.7 million in hush money payments to conceal alleged misconduct from a period before he entered politics.

The indictment revealed that Hastert's time at Yorkville, in Illinois, is "material" to the allegations against him and the U.S. Attorney's investigation. The indictment itself does not mention what the alleged misconduct is. A statement released by Yorkville Community Unit School District #115 added it "has no knowledge of Mr. Hastert's alleged misconduct, nor has any individual contacted the District to report any such misconduct. If requested to do so, the District plans to cooperate fully with the U.S. Attorney's investigation into this matter."

A spokesman for Dickstein Shapiro LLC, the lobbying firm that Hastert joined in 2008 after leaving Congress, confirmed in a brief statement that "Dennis Hastert has resigned from the firm.".....snip~

Dennis Hastert Allegedly Engaged in Sexual Misconduct During Time as Teacher, Sources Say
 
Montecresto said:
Oh yes right, of course.
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Right. If anything youre thinking of neoconservatism which is overfocused on security. Not coincidentally, those are the establishment republicans. And the reason the GOP is fracturing into traditional conservatives, libertarians, the tea party.
 
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