This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Chicago • A somber Dennis Hastert appeared in court Tuesday for the first time since he was indicted, pleading not guilty to charges that he violated banking rules and lied to the FBI in a scheme to pay $3.5 million in hush money to conceal misconduct from his days as a high school teacher.
Hastert, 73, former U.S. House speaker, has not spoken publicly about the accusations that emerged two weeks ago and quickly raised questions about possible sexual abuse by the once-powerful Republican legislator from Illinois. Neither he nor his attorneys commented after the hearing.
The politician-turned-lobbyist was before Judge Thomas M. Durkin on charges that he evaded federal banking laws by withdrawing hundreds of thousands of dollars in smaller amounts and lying about the money when questioned.
Prosecutors did not shed any more light on the secret Hastert allegedly sought to conceal by paying the person whom the indictment refers to as "Individual A."
A person familiar with the allegations told The Associated Press that the payments were intended to conceal claims of sexual misconduct from decades ago. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The indictment made public on May 28 says Hastert agreed in 2010 to pay "Individual A" $3.5 million to "compensate for and conceal [Hastert's] prior misconduct" against that person. It says he paid $1.7 million before federal agents began scrutinizing the transactions.
He allegedly started by withdrawing $50,000 at a time and changed course when automatic bank-transaction reports flagged those withdrawals. The indictment says Hastert then began taking cash out in increments of less than $10,000 to skirt reporting rules, which are primarily meant to thwart money laundering by underworld figures. It's not illegal to withdraw large amounts in cash. But it's against the law to structure the withdrawals with the intent of dodging reporting requirements.