WASHINGTON (AP) – Dennis Hastert’s career as House speaker both arose and ended amid the sex-related scandals of others.
Now, eight years after leaving Congress, Hastert’s own legacy is threatened by an indictment charging financial misdeeds – and cryptically referring to “misconduct” against an unnamed individual. A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press Friday that Hastert paid the individual in an apparent effort to conceal decades-old allegations involving sexual misconduct.
It’s a stunning development for the former pol, who rose from obscurity to become the most powerful Republican in Congress for eight years, even as he mostly shunned the limelight. He faded quickly from view after leaving Congress in 2007.
“The Denny I served with worked hard on behalf of his constituents and the country,” House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement. “I’m shocked and saddened to learn of these reports.”
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.