The Hastert results are in. Come see if you're a winner!

[JaneyVee]

Drumroll please....







Hastert Misconduct Involves Sexual Abuse Of A Male | Crooks and Liars

Anonymous federal sources are speaking to the LA Times, and the story isn't pretty. It also confirms why he is resigning hastily from the Wheaton College Center that bears his name as well as the lobbying firm he's been working for.

LA Times

One of the officials, who would not speak publicly about the federal charges in Chicago, said “Individual A,” as the person is described in Thursday’s federal indictment, was a man and that the alleged misconduct was unrelated to Hastert’s tenure in Congress. The actions date to Hastert’s time as a Yorkville, Ill., high school wrestling coach and teacher, the official said.

“It goes back a long way, back to then,” the source said. “It has nothing to do with public corruption or a corruption scandal. Or to his time in office.” Thursday’s indictment described the misconduct “against Individual A” as having “occurred years earlier.”

Asked why Hastert was making the payments, the official said it was to conceal Hastert’s past relationship with the male. “It was sex,’’ the source said. The other official confirmed that the misconduct involved sexual abuse.

Cue the homophobic right wing's outrage at how gays corrupt even the most pristine public officials in 3, 2, 1...

Link: http://crooksandliars.com/2015/05/la-times-hastert-misconduct-involves

Abstinence education appears to not even work on the guys who vote for it. Also, Segami posted about a CSPAN caller from Yorkville who asked Hastert if they remember him, then laughed and hung up. Hmmm: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6746576

[Baitball Blogger]

1. Notice how he didn't give up until the word got on the street.

Disgusting man. There are so many like him.

[JaneyVee]

2. Sick fuck.

[WillyT]

3. LATimes Has It Now...

Link: http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83658680/

[AngryAmish]

4. I called buggery yesterday.

[cyberswede]

14. or "duggary"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026736217

[KansDem]

22. Speaking of "duggary"...

Isn't a judge somewhere suppose to order all police records in this matter destroyed in order to protect the innocent?

I thought that's how it worked with right-wingers...

[d_legendary1]

26. Excellent use of the word!

[Rex]

5. Just like Josh Duggar, he held onto his position until the very last.

What a sick POS, I hope he spends time behind bars. 3.5 million dollars in bribe money should not be enough imo.

[malaise]

8. What if Mr. A was a student in his class

a minor?????? That's the only way the size of the payoff makes sense unless he's the biggest ReTHUG hypocrite of them all.

[Jackpine Radical]

24. Actually, that was my assumption.

Why else bring up the wrestling coach business?

Also, from the posted snippet, "The other official confirmed that the misconduct involved sexual abuse."

Bingo.

[malaise]

29. One more ReTHUG scumbag hoisted

by his own petard.

I remember he was part of the Foley coverup.
I wonder where he was in the middle of that 1980s poppy Bush scandal with all those young boys.

Where is Gannon these days??

[MohRokTah]

25. It was a male student. eom

[Gore1FL]

42. You're thinking small.

It might be all of those things and more!

[malaise]

68. LOL

I hope so

[HooptieWagon]

57. It was a minor.

And reportedly there's more than one victim.
As a side note (not directed at any specific poster), let's keep the grave dancing to a minimum, in light of the fact that there are victims who were minors at the time. I like to see karma bite rethugs in the ass as much as anyone, but I can't celebrate this.

[malaise]

69. I'm grave dancing for Hastert

Sorry I'm celebrating his utter humiliation - hoisted by his own petard - there is nothing like watching ReTHUG hypocrites crash and born.

And yes I have lots of sympathy for the victims, but he is no victim and his fall is sweeter than a Bombay mango (it's mango season and I have a few cut up in front of me)

[TlalocW]

81. If that's the case

Mike Huckabee will probably hold a press conference to show support for Hastert.

TlalocW

[lonestarnot]

6. So what did I win?

[misterhighwasted]

36. I think the prizes were a choice of either:

A petard with Denny Hastert's head on it
OR
A Delicious Chocolate Cake

Hmmm

[SoCalDem]

7. Of course it was sex...

but since he's a republican, it was only "misconduct"...a "mistake".. you know.. like forgetting to thaw something for dinner or forgetting to pick up your kid after school..or paying the Visa bill late..


The guy has to have proof or Hastert would have dusted him off and never paid him a dime.. My guess is that somewhere along the line something got recorded or written down and the guy extorted him..

They may BOTH end up in jail

[Exilednight]

19. Forgive him for he has sinned.

[Generic Other]

65. Me too!

?w=640

[City Lights]

30. Yes. It was a mistake he made when he was "young and irresponsible."

Fuck him.

[Shrike47]

47. I tend to think of it as 'young and juicy.'

[misterhighwasted]

38. What if they end up in the same jail cell!

Sorry, irony is getting the best of me.

[peecoolyour]

9. His Twitter bio is gold:

[nichomachus]

11. They won't forget about you now nt

[Baitball Blogger]

12. What a narcissitic creep!

Yeah, we'll remember you Hastert. But not in any way you will enjoy.

[City Lights]

32. Awww, poor thing!

[malaise]

33. and going to the bank

to pay for the coverup!

Truth will out Dennie boy!!!

[nichomachus]

10. I wonder if Hastert's creepy CSPAN call was related

Hastert appeared in November on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal," where he fielded a call from an Illinois resident identifying as "Bruce."

"Hello Denny," the caller said.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Hastert responded.

"Pretty good. Remember me from Yorkville?" the caller answered. The caller paused, then laughed and apparently hung up.

http://crooksandliars.com/2015/05/denny-hasterts-creepy-c-span-call-remember

[MerryBlooms]

17. I bet so, and I bet a name/names aren't far down the road.

[malaise]

70. Watch his neck carefully in that video

Hehehehehehehehehe

You betcha!!!

[Skidmore]

13. I may be misremembering but I swear

that years ago on DU there were discussions of something untoward in Hastert's life.

[starroute]

50. Cannonfire noted some of the rumors in 2006

Ignore the Wayne Madsen stuff he mentions, since Madsen is never reliable. But there's plenty without that, and it suggests that even if the current matter goes back to Hastert's wrestling coach days, there may have been other things going on while he was Speaker.

http://cannonfire.blogspot.com/2006/10/flaggots.html

A couple of days ago, Americablog reported rumors of another secretly gay Republican congressperson involved in scandal. John Aravosis refused to divulge the name (even in private correspondence -- yes, I was nebby enough to ask), although his published piece cleverly hinted that the "mystery gay" was House Speaker Denny Hastert himself. Now, a number of web sites -- and even Randi Rhodes! -- have reported that Hastert is indeed the man on the hot seat.

Here is Lawrence O'Donnell, writing on Hastert's Chief of Staff Scott Palmer, who is seen as the real power behind the Speaker: ... "Many chiefs of staff are close, very close, to their bosses on Capitol Hill. But none are closer than Scott Palmer is to Denny Hastert. They don't just work together all day, they live together."

"There are plenty of odd couple Congressmen who have roomed together on Capitol Hill, but I have never heard of a chief of staff who rooms with his boss. It is beyond unusual. But it must have its advantages. Anything they forget to tell each other at the office, they have until bedtime to catch up on. And then there's breakfast for anything they forgot to tell each other before falling asleep. And then there's all day at the office."

Cannonfire further quotes a Chicago Sun-Times story to the effect that Hastert, Palmer, and Palmer's deputy Mike Stokke all shared a group house -- and that Mrs. Hastert rarely came to Washington and stayed in a hotel when she did.

And you can add to this something Brad Friedman wrote, quoting Sibel Edmonds on Hastert:

""Several categories. The acceptance of large sums of bribery in forms of cash or laundered cash ... to make it look legal for his campaigns, and also for his personal use, in order to do certain favors ... make certain things happen for foreign entities and foreign governments' interests, Turkish government's interest and Turkish business entities' interests. ... other activities, too, including being blackmailed for various reasons. ... he used the townhouse that was not his residence for certain not very morally accepted activities. ... foreign entities knew about this, in fact, they sometimes participated in some of those not maybe morally well activities in that particular townhouse that was supposed to be an office, not a house, residence at certain hours, certain days, evenings of the week."

(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-friedman/fbi-whistleblower-hastert_b_277704.html)

[malaise]

71. He covered up for Foley back in 2006

Lots of stuff -check Daily Kos back then

[sufrommich]

15. So was it an underage student? nt

[daleanime]

21. Probably.

[SoCalDem]

44. Depends of the age of consent then...BUT

as faculty, it would still be sexual abuse because the faculty has power over students

regardless, he's just another sneaky evil man

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. Rumors circulated for YEARS...

and this is one rumor why he never ran for President.

Hiding this in your district as Speaker is easy... running for the White House... not so much.

[Logical]

60. Link? nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

62. What to rumors and what people said in private

hardly possible.

There were also rumors for years that my former mayor was very touchy feely. Hell, I heard them in college when he was a college professor. You care to tell me what happened to Bob Filner? Suffice it to say when I was told, with all kinds of surprise of the early rumors in 2011 I was all but surprised. It was kind of DUH! From DUH magazine, on sale at your stand this week.

Sometimes rumors do not make it to your local paper. I know incredible and it is hard to believe. So nice of you to demand what does not exist. I just said what I have heard... and they are rumors, not speculation. They are just rumors. Like they were for Bob Filner. And there are many of those floating around the United States Congress (and to be fair multiple political bodies) and they are independent of party.

[Skidmore]

72. See #50 above.

For a link.

[Logical]

74. Thanks!!! nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

75. I missed that

thanks

[progressoid]

20. So...THAT's what they mean by the 'Hastert Rule'.

[MohRokTah]

23. And the Illinois Statute of Limitations has run out.

It needed to be reported within ten years after the incident.

http://www.icasa.org/docs/statute%20of%20limitations.pdf

[roamer65]

77. As Tricky Dick used to say, though.

It's the lie and cover up that will get you.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

27. Where did Hastert get $3 million for the payoff

considering he was on a teacher's salary and a congress person's salary?

[Hekate]

37. He's been a lobbyist for years, iirc from Rachel Maddow. There's a lot of money in that. nt

[bluestateguy]

28. Might be 100% true

but I don't like anonymous sources.

[workinclasszero]

31. More republican duggary?

Republican family values are perverted

[blm]

43. TeaBaggery? TeaDuggary?

.

[leveymg]

34. Why does the system reward someone so easily blackmailed with a rise to power?

Why can't the system indict and convict someone so powerful for the far larger crimes he commits?

If I recall, Dennis had a run-in with the US Attorney for IL a few years ago.

There was a little matter involving bribery of House Speaker Hastert by Turkey. Hastert was nailed along with several GOP Congressmen in an FBI investigation of foreign influence peddling by various Mideast countries. For some unexplained reason, the former House Speaker wasn't one of the Members indicted. Could this be justice delayed? Hastert Wiki:

A September 2005 article in Vanity Fair revealed that during her work, former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds had heard Turkish wiretap targets boast of covert relations with Hastert. The article states, "the targets reportedly discussed giving Hastert tens of thousands of dollars in surreptitious payments in exchange for political favors and information." A spokesman for Hastert later denied the claims, relating them to the Jennifer Aniston-Brad Pitt breakup. Following his congressional career, Hastert received a $35,000 per month contract lobbying on behalf of Turkey.

[Hekate]

35. Want to bet that Bruce was on Coach Hastert's wrestling team?

[gwheezie]

39. rumors for years

The sex with another male makes no difference to me except it must be a very lonely place to be if you can't live your life without fear. OTOH, sex with a student and the typical hypocrisy of the family values cult is shameful.

[bravenak]

40. :(

It's is what I had hoped it wasn't.

[Angry Dragon]

41. Didn't Hastert derail the Foley investigation??

[mopinko]

54. yes he did.

him and shimkus, another smell hypocrite.

[nadinbrzezinski]

66. Yes, yes he did

[Ford_Prefect]

45. Methinks they doth protest too much!

The louder they chant "Family Values" the more frequently dubious it becomes that they said it.

[catbyte]

46. Ew. I'll just bet that Huckabee won't say that Jesus forgave him for THAT.

Baggers can only be forgiven if they assault/coerce/duggar little girls, I guess.

[Shrike47]

48. A winner am I, sadLy enough.

[dhol82]

49. What are the chances

that more young men step up and accuse Denny?

Can't just have been the one.

Wonder if there is any rumor of misconduct in Washington?

[gvstn]

78. Yup!

From 2009--

Among the specific charges she levels against current and former U.S. Congress Members in the deposition:

Dennis Hastert: "[S]everal categories. The acceptance of large sums of bribery in forms of cash or laundered cash ... to make it look legal for his campaigns, and also for his personal use, in order to do certain favors ... make certain things happen for foreign entities and foreign governments' interests, Turkish government's interest and Turkish business entities' interests. ... other activities, too, including being blackmailed for various reasons. ... he used the townhouse that was not his residence for certain not very morally accepted activities. ... foreign entities knew about this, in fact, they sometimes participated in some of those not maybe morally well activities in that particular townhouse that was supposed to be an office, not a house, residence at certain hours, certain days, evenings of the week."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-friedman/fbi-whistleblower-hastert_b_277704.html

[dhol82]

79. Whoa!

Did not hear about this particular aspect of the whole Turkish thing.

Verrrrrry interesting.

Hope the story has legs.

[Mz Pip]

51. Wheaton College

I used to live near Wheaton College. About as fundy as you can get.

Some long ago sex thing makes sense. Those can come back to haunt you decades later.

[d_b]

52. I won I won!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6742733

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

53. The other potential scandal here is that the GOP put this man just two steps from the Presidency

This is worse than the Tom Foley or Dave Vitter sexual scandals. This easily blackmailed person could have been in the oval office. That's mindblowing. Something is wrong with the GOP vetting process and I think Democrats should focus on that. if any of the GOP who put Hastert into power as Speaker had the slightest soupcon of this misbehavior or could or should have known, it would be an even bigger scandal than the child abuse itself, in my opinion.

[mopinko]

55. sucker bet.

but i sure wish there had been a pool.
i have wondered since the day he stepped down who had pictures of what.

[MADem]

56. Yes, it is as I suspected. I heard this rumor DECADES ago, before Hastert became Speaker, back

when NEWT was the Asshole of the Year. When Newt got the boot, and Livingston crashed-and-burned, a lot of people thought that Hastert's past would come out. There was a lot of mumbling about it, but the media never bit. This was an open secret on the Hill, just like Newt's relationship with Calista, back when he was excoriating Clinton for far milder indiscretions.

This isn't about "gay corruption," though--it's about an inappropriate senior-subordinate relationship. Teacher/coaches, no matter what their gender or orientation, shouldn't be fussing with students/athletes, no matter what their ages.

[nadinbrzezinski]

64. Me too, though later than you

I heard it from an aide to yet another congressman, before I even got into reporting. It is funny how people demand an actual link to a rumor told over a few beers at a private party.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6747490

[CanonRay]

58. Yet another Republican pedophile. Gee, what a shock

I mean, I know they ALL aren't pedophiles, but it's starting to seem like it.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

59. I wish Bill Maher was on this week

He seems to be at his happiest when Republican sex scandals come out.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

61. Hastert the Unspeakable.

Even Cthulhu doesn't like him.

[Kalidurga]

63. Nope

I wouldn't even have guessed sex scandal. I would have said it's a possibility of course. But, I was leaning toward money laundering, illegal real estate deals, some kind of Iran Contra thing.

[HereSince1628]

67. So, did Hastert initate the Hush Money?? Or was it blackmail??

I don't think we're reached the bottom of the 9th inning...

[nichomachus]

73. Unless the other person asked specifically for the money -- AND there's a record of it

it's not legally blackmail.

Usually in blackmail cases, the blackmail victim decides enough is enough and goes to the police/FBI. They set up a sting and get the other person to go on record. Then, they can make the arrest.

Without that documentation, it's merely he said/he said. The blackmailer just has to claim he didn't ask for the money. There's no case.

[katsy]

76. Diseased old white right wingers pffffft

Lou Reed had their number

[Historic NY]

80. Coach and long showers...

what else could be worth so much money.