Dennis Hastert
John Dennis Hastert (/ˈhæstərt/; born January 2, 1942) is an American former politician, educator, convicted felon and child sex offender who represented Illinois's 14th congressional district from 1987 to 2007 and served as the 51st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007.[1] Hastert was the longest-serving Republican Speaker of the House in history. After Democrats gained a majority in the House in 2007, Hastert resigned and began work as a lobbyist. In 2016, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison for financial offenses related to the sexual abuse of teenage boys.[2][3]
"Hastert" redirects here. For other people with the surname, see Hastert (surname).
Dennis Hastert
Constituency established
William L. Kempiners
Allan L. "Al" Schoeberlein
Kenneth C. Cole
2
From 1965 to 1981, Hastert was a high school teacher and coach at Yorkville High School in Yorkville, Illinois. He lost a 1980 bid for the Illinois House of Representatives but ran again and won a seat in 1981. He was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1986 and was re-elected every two years until he retired in 2007. Hastert rose through the Republican ranks in the House, becoming chief deputy whip in 1995 and speaker in 1999. As Speaker of the House, Hastert supported the George W. Bush administration's foreign and domestic policies. After Democrats took control of the House in 2007 following the 2006 elections, Hastert declined to seek the position of minority leader, resigned his House seat, and became a lobbyist at the firm of Dickstein Shapiro.
In May 2015, Hastert was indicted on federal charges of structuring bank withdrawals to evade bank reporting requirements and making false statements to federal investigators. Federal prosecutors said that the funds withdrawn by Hastert were used as hush money to conceal his past sexual misconduct.[4][3] In October 2015, Hastert entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors. Under the agreement, Hastert pleaded guilty to the structuring charge (a felony); the charge of making false statements was dropped.[5] In court submissions filed in April 2016, federal prosecutors alleged that Hastert had molested at least four boys as young as 14 years of age during his time as a high school wrestling coach.[2] At a sentencing hearing, Hastert admitted that he had sexually abused boys whom he had coached.[6] Referring to Hastert as a "serial child molester", a federal judge imposed a sentence of 15 months in prison, two years' supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.[3][7] Hastert was imprisoned in 2016 and was released 13 months later;[8] he became the highest-ranking elected official in U.S. history to serve a prison sentence.[3]
Illinois House of Representatives[edit]
Hastert considered applying to become an assistant principal at the school, but then decided to enter politics, although at the time "he knew nothing about politics."[10] Hastert approached Phyllis Oldenburg, a Republican operative in Kendall County, seeking advice on running for a seat in the Illinois Legislature.[10]
Hastert lost a 1980 Republican primary for the Illinois House of Representatives, but showed a talent for campaigning, and after the election, volunteered for an influential state senator, John E. Grotberg.[10] In the summer of 1980, however, State Representative Al Schoeberiein had become terminally ill, and local Republican party officials selected Hastert as the successor over two major rivals, lawyer Tom Johnson of West Chicago and Mayor Richard Verbic of Elgin.[12][14] The first round of balloting resulted in a tie, but Hastert was chosen after Grotberg interceded on Hastert's behalf.[12] Hastert, fellow Republican Suzanne Deuchler and Democratic incumbent Lawrence Murphy were elected that year.[22]
Hastert served three terms in the state House from the 82nd district,[23][14] where he served on the Appropriations Committee.[12] According to a 1999 Chicago Tribune profile, in the state House "Hastert quickly staked out a place on the far right of the political spectrum, once earning a place on the 'Moral Majority Honor Roll.' Yet, he also displayed yeoman-like work habits and an ability to put aside partisanship."[14] He gained a reputation as a dealmaker and party leader known for "asking his colleagues to write their spending requests on a notepad so he could carry them into negotiating sessions" and holding early-morning pre-meetings to organize talking points.[12] One of his first moves in the House was to help block passage of the Equal Rights Amendment; the state House Speaker George Ryan appointed Hastert to a committee that worked to prevent the ERA from coming to the House floor.[14] In the state House, Hastert opposed bills barring discrimination against gays; supported (unsuccessfully) proposals to raise the driving age to 18; and voted for a mandatory seat belt law, although he later voted to repeal it.[14]
In 1986, at the urging of Governor James R. Thompson, Hastert developed a plan to deregulate Illinois utility companies.[14] Under the plan developed by Hastert and Republican staffers, property and gross-receipts taxes that utilities paid would be eliminated and replaced with a "state service tax" that service-industry businesses (ranging from insurers to funeral homes) would pay.[14] Critics of the plan said that it was too favorable to utility companies, and the proposal was not adopted.[14]
Post-congressional career[edit]
Lobbyist and consultant[edit]
In May 2008, six months after resigning from Congress, the Washington, D.C.-based law firm and lobbying firm Dickstein Shapiro announced that Hastert was joining the firm as a senior adviser.[111] Hastert waited until the legally required "cooling-off period" had passed in order to register as a lobbyist.[111] Over the next several years, Hastert earned millions of dollars lobbying his former congressional colleagues on a range of issues, mostly involving congressional appropriations.[112]
According to Foreign Agents Registration Act filings, Hastert represented foreign governments, including the government of Luxembourg and government of Turkey.[111] During parts of 2009, Hastert also lobbied on behalf of Oak Brook, Illinois-based real estate developer CenterPoint Properties, lobbying for the placement of a major Army Reserve transportation facility.[111][112] Hastert also represented Lorillard Tobacco Co., which paid Dickstein Shapiro almost $8 million from 2011 to 2014 to lobby on behalf of candy-flavored tobacco and electronic cigarettes; Hastert "was the most prominent member of the lobbying team" on these efforts.[112] In 2013 and 2014, Hastert lobbied on climate change issues on behalf of Peabody Energy, the world's largest private-sector coal company; in 2015, Hastert "switched sides" and lobbied for Fuels America, the ethanol industry group.[112] In the second half of 2011, Hastert monitored legislation on GPS on behalf of LightSquared, which paid Dickstein Shapiro $200,000 for lobbying services.[112]
Hastert also lobbied on behalf of FirstLine Transportation Security, Inc. (which sought congressional review of Transportation Security Administration procurement);[112] Naperville, Illinois-based lighting technology company PolyBrite International;[111] the American College of Rheumatology (on annual labor and health spending bill);[112] the San Diego, California-based for-profit education company Bridgepoint Education;[111] REX American Resources Corp.;[113] The ServiceMaster Co.;[113] and the Secure ID Coalition.[17]
In 2014, Hastert's firm Dickstein Shapiro and the lobbying firm of former House majority leader-turned lobbyist Dick Gephardt split a $1.4 million annual lobbying contract with the government of Turkey.[114] In April 2013, Hastert and Gephardt traveled with eight members of Congress to Turkey, with all expenses paid by the Turkish government.[114][115] While members of Congress are generally prohibited from corporate-funded travel abroad with lobbyists (a rule enacted after the Abramoff scandal), the law permits lobbyists to plan and attend trips overseas if paid for by foreign countries.[114] Hastert defended the trip, saying that he had "meticulously" followed the rules and that the involvement of himself and Gephardt "allowed those members of Congress who were there to have a fuller experience."[114] A National Journal investigation highlighted the trip as an example of loopholes creating a situation in which "lobbyists who can't legally buy a lawmaker a sandwich can still escort members on trips all around the world."[115]
In March 2015, Hastert along with his associate (accompanied by several lobbyist associates, including former Representative William D. Delahunt of Massachusetts) took advantage of his privilege as a former lawmaker to be present in the Senate Reception Room near the Senate chamber, "lingering" and "bantering with senators and other passersby" during a vote on whether to retain the fuel standard mandating the blending of ethanol and other alternative fuels with gasoline, as advocated by Hastert's client Fuels America (the ethanol industry trade group).[116] Hastert and Delahunt were criticized by watchdog groups who "questioned whether Hastert was violating" these rules,[117] but "allies of Hastert and Delahunt said they made a point of not lobbying lawmakers in the Senate Reception Room, but that they and members of their team used the lobby area as a temporary base, where they could greet lawmakers while they were holding meetings in private rooms."[116]
The day the 2015 indictment was unsealed, Hastert resigned his lobbyist position at Dickstein Shapiro, and his biography was removed from the firm's website.[118][119][120]
In addition to his lobbyist job, Hastert established his own consultancy, Hastert & Associates.[113] In 2008, Hastert also joined the board of directors of Chicago-based futures exchange company CME Group (which had been formed from the merger of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade), where he earned more than US$205,000 in total compensation in 2014.[121][122] On May 29, 2015, following his indictment, Hastert resigned from the board, effective immediately.[122]
Publicly funded post-speakership office[edit]
A controversy arose in 2009 regarding Hastert's receipt of federal funds while a lobbyist.[123][124] Under a 1975 federal law, Hastert, as a former House Speaker, was entitled to a public allowance (about $40,000 a month) for a five-year period to allow him to maintain an office.[123] Hastert accepted the funds, which went toward office space in far-west suburban
Yorkville, Illinois; salaries for three staffers (secretary Lisa Post and administrative assistants Bryan Harbin and Tom Jarman, each paid an annual salary of more than $100,000 over 2½ years); lease payments on a 2008 GMC Yukon sport utility vehicle; a satellite TV subscription; office equipment; and legal fees.[113][123][124] Jarman later left the office, and Harbin's salary was cut substantially.[113] Hastert's government-funded office closed in late 2012, at the end of the maximum five years for which public funds were provided.[113] The total amount of public funds spent on Hastert's post-speakership office was nearly $1.9 million (not including federal benefits such as health care to which the employees were entitled), of which the majority (about $1.45 million) went toward staff salaries.[113]
The federally funded benefits were legally required to be completely separate from Hastert's simultaneous lobbying activities for Dickstein Shapiro.[123][124] The arrangement was criticized as "really concerning" by Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, because the exact nature of the two roles was not transparent. A Hastert spokesman stated that the two offices were completely separate.[123][124] In 2012, however, a Chicago Tribune investigation found that "a secretary in the ex-speaker's government office used email to coordinate some of his private business meetings and travel, and conducted research on one proposed venture" and that "a suburban Chicago businessman who was involved in the business ventures with Hastert said he met with Hastert at least three times in the government office to discuss the projects."[125] Hastert denied that he had engaged in any improper conduct.[125]
Sex abuse scandal and federal prosecution[edit]
Investigation into hush-money scheme[edit]
According to a 2017 interview with the two special agents leading the investigations—one each from the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division—"Hastert had been on the FBI's radar as early as November 2012—even before the FBI and IRS began investigating the suspicious cash withdrawals that were Hastert's downfall."[129] The inquiry was first prompted by allegations that Hastert had used his taxpayer-funded Office of the Former Speaker to further his private business ventures, something that Hastert was never charged with.[129] In 2013, the FBI and IRS began investigating Hastert's cash withdrawals, and in early 2015 they had learned about the "hush money" agreement between "Individual A" and Hastert.[129] In a December 8, 2014 interview, Hastert lied to the federal agents about the purpose of the withdrawals, leading to his federal prosecution.[129]
Indictment[edit]
On May 28, 2015, a seven-page indictment of Hastert by a federal grand jury was unsealed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago.[133][134][135][136]
The indictment charged Hastert with unlawfully structuring the withdrawal of $952,000 in cash in order to evade the requirement that banks report cash transactions over US$10,000 (Title 31, United States Code, Section 5324(a)(3)), and making false statements to the FBI about the purpose of his withdrawals (Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001(a)(2)). The indictment alleges that Hastert agreed to make payments of $3.5 million to an unnamed subject (identified in the indictment only as an "Individual A" from Yorkville, Illinois, who was known to Hastert for "most of Individual A's life"). The indictment stated that the payments were to "compensate for and conceal [Hastert's] prior misconduct."[66][137][138][134][135][139] Federal authorities began investigating his withdrawals in 2013.[140] In late 2014, after being questioned about the withdrawals, Hastert said that he did not trust banks; shortly afterward, Hastert changed his story, saying that he "was the victim of extortion by Individual A for false molestation accusations."[7]
The indictment itself did not specify the exact nature of the "past misconduct" referred to.[17] The U.S. Attorney's Office limited details in the indictment of Hastert, in part because of a request from Hastert's attorneys.[141][142][143]
On May 29, Hastert was released on his own recognizance on a preliminary bail of $4,500 set by a magistrate judge.[122][142]
In June The New York Times reported that Hastert had approached a business associate, J. David John, in 2010, to look for a financial adviser to come up with an annuity plan that would "generate a substantial cash payout each year."[144] This request was the same year that prosecutors say he agreed to start paying hush money to the person he allegedly committed misconduct against.[145] John told the Times that "I did not think much about it at the time, but looking back at it, it does seem strange. He just said he needed to generate some cash."[144]
Sex abuse allegations emerge[edit]
On May 29, 2015, after Hastert had been indicted for illicitly structuring financial transactions, two people briefed on the evidence from the case stated that "Individual A"—the man to whom Hastert was making payments—had been sexually abused by Hastert during Hastert's time as a teacher and coach at Yorkville High School and that Hastert had paid $1.7 million out of a total $3.5 million in promised payment.[21] On the same day, the Los Angeles Times reported that investigators had spoken with another former student who made similar allegations that corroborated what the first student said.[146] Hastert admitted to committing sexual abuse during sentencing on the structuring charge.[7][147]
On June 5, 2015, ABC News' Good Morning America aired an interview with Jolene Reinboldt Burdge, the sister of Steve Reinboldt, who was the student equipment manager of the wrestling team at Yorkville High School when Hastert was the wrestling coach.[148][149][150] Hastert also ran an Explorers group of which Steve Reinboldt was a member and led the group on a diving trip to the Bahamas.[148] In the interview, Burdge stated that in 1979, eight years after Reinboldt's high school graduation in 1971, her brother had told her that he had been sexually abused by Hastert throughout his four years of high school.[148] Burdge said that she was "stunned" by this news and that her brother said that he had never told anyone before, because he did not think he would be believed.[148] A message from Hastert appears in Steve Reinboldt's 1970 high school yearbook.[148] In the interview, Burdge said that she believes the abuse stopped when her brother moved away after graduation. Jolene said that Hastert "damaged Steve I think more than any of us will ever know".[148]
Reinboldt died of an AIDS-related illness in 1995.[148] Hastert attended his viewing, which angered Burdge. She said:
Personal life[edit]
Marriage and family[edit]
Hastert has been married to Jean Hastert (née Kahl) since 1973.[9] They have two children, Ethan and Joshua.[9] Hastert's older son, Joshua, was a lobbyist for the firm PodestaMattoon,[254] representing clients ranging from Amgen, a biotech company, to Lockheed Martin, a defense contractor. This provoked criticism from Congress Watch: "There definitely should be restrictions [on family members registering as lobbyists] ... This is family members cashing in on connections ... [and it] is an ideal opportunity for special interest groups to exploit family relationships for personal gain." Joshua Hastert responded to the allegation by saying that he did not lobby House Republican leaders.[255]
Hastert's son Ethan ran in 2010 as a Republican for his father's old congressional seat (Illinois' 14th congressional district), but was defeated in the primary by Illinois State Senator Randy Hultgren.[256] Hultgren received 55 percent of the vote, while Hastert received 45 percent.[256] In 2011, Ethan won a seat on the village board of Elburn, Illinois.[257] Ethan left the Elburn village board in 2014 because he and his family moved to nearby Campton Hills.[258] As of 2015, Ethan was a partner at the Chicago office of the law firm Mayer Brown.[66][259]
Health[edit]
Hastert suffers from type 2 diabetes and requires daily insulin injections.[260][9][261] Because of his condition, he sometimes walked with protective coverings on his feet to avoid foot problems.[66]
Hastert has received treatment for kidney stones at least three times. In 2005, he underwent minor surgery at Bethesda Naval Hospital to remove kidney stones.[261] In 2006, Hastert was hospitalized for cellulitis (a type of bacterial skin infection).[262]
In November 2015, the week after entering a guilty plea in federal court, Hastert suffered a stroke and was hospitalized until January 15, 2016.[197] According to his attorney, Hastert was additionally treated for sepsis and a blood infection, and underwent two back operations.[196][203] At a court hearing in February 2016, Hastert's attorney said that Hastert "nearly died" from the blood infection.[198]