http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/257009-hastert-reaches-plea-dealOctober 15, 2015, 10:46 am
Hastert reaches plea deal
By Jesse Byrnes
Former Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) has reached a plea deal with prosecutors on charges stemming from agreeing to make hush money payments to conceal past wrongdoing and lying to authorities, according to multiple reports.
Lawyers for Hastert and prosecutors appeared in U.S. District Court on Thursday in Chicago, where Judge Thomas Durkin set Oct. 28 for Hastert to formally enter his guilty plea, according to reports.
A written plea agreement will be given to the judge on Monday, attorneys said Thursday, according to the Chicago Tribune and The New York Times.
News that Hastert's lawyers were in talks with prosecutors about a potential plea deal emerged late last month, raising the possibility the case would not go to trial.
Hastert, 73, originally pleaded not guilty in June to lying to the FBI and evading banking reporting requirements. The plea deal signals he plans to plead guilty to at least one of the charges in the case.
His indictment, released weeks earlier, alleged he lied to investigators and attempted to skirt banking laws after agreeing to pay $3.5 million to an unidentified individual.
The money was meant to conceal "prior misconduct," according to the indictment. Unidentified sources in reports have indicated the misconduct was sexual in nature and involved a former student from Hastert's days as a high school teacher and wresting coach.
