April 07--Three weeks before Dennis Hastert faces sentencing in federal court, his lawyers laid out their reasons for probation in a court filing Wednesday that says the former U.S. House speaker is "profoundly sorry" for the harm he caused others decades ago.
But the former lawmaker's attorneys stopped short of acknowledging accusations he sexually abused students when he was a teacher and wrestling coach at Yorkville High School.
"First and foremost, Mr. Hastert is deeply sorry and apologizes for his misconduct that occurred decades ago and the resulting harm he caused to others," the nine-page filing states. "He regrets that he resorted to structuring the withdrawal of his money from banks in an effort to prevent the disclosure of that misconduct."
The filing states that neither Hastert nor his lawyers "have the present insight to understand and reconcile the unfortunate and harmful incidents he caused decades ago" with the enduring achievements of his public life.
"What we do know is that he will stand before the Court having deteriorated both physically and emotionally, undoubtedly in part due to public shaming and humiliation of an unprecedented degree," the filing said.
Hastert is scheduled to be sentenced April 27. In pleading guilty to an illegal bank structuring charge in October, Hastert admitted he arranged with a person identified only as Individual A to pay a total of $3.5 million to cover up misconduct from decades ago while he was a high school wrestling coach and teacher in Yorkville. He also admitted lying to FBI agents when questioned in 2014 about suspicious bank withdrawals.
Though the plea agreement and the original indictment only hint at the alleged wrongdoing, federal law enforcement sources have told the Tribune that Hastert was paying to cover up the sexual abuse of a student from decades earlier.
Last month, it was revealed in open court that another alleged sexual abuse victim identified only as Individual D had recently come forward and was considering testifying at Hastert's sentencing. In addition, the sister of a now-deceased third victim is expected to tell U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin that her brother had told her Hastert abused him when he was a student wrestler.
The testimony could prove crucial in determining whether Hastert gets prison time. His plea agreement with prosecutors recommends a sentence ranging from probation to up to six months behind bars -- the lowest possible sentence under federal guidelines for a felony conviction.
Prosecutors could reveal more details of the alleged abuse in a sentencing memorandum that's due on Friday.
The defense filing Wednesday said Hastert's "swift and devastating" fall from grace after his bombshell indictment in 2015 left him in a "state of despair caused by extreme isolation and the withdrawal of support from many friends and former colleagues."
With his reputation in tatters, his portrait removed from the U.S. Capitol and his name forever tainted, Hastert brought unwelcome media scrutiny upon his family and the tightknit community he grew up in -- damage he knows cannot be repaired, the filing said.
"Mr. Hastert knows that the days of him being welcomed in the small towns he served all of his life are gone forever," the filing said. "He knows that, for the rest of his life, wherever he goes, the public warmth and affection that he previously received will be replaced by hostility and isolation."
The filing also noted Hastert's fragile medical condition, which was first revealed earlier this year when his attorneys disclosed in court that Hastert had nearly died of a rare blood infection and stroke in November leading Durkin to cancel Hastert's original sentencing date of Feb. 29.
Hastert, 74, was discharged from an undisclosed hospital Jan. 15 and was receiving home care and rehabilitation, including assistance walking, dressing and feeding himself, John Gallo, another Hastert lawyer, told the judge at the time.
Durkin has appointed a doctor from Northwestern Memorial Hospital to review Hastert's health records in advance of his sentencing.
According to the filing Wednesday, Hastert must often use a wheelchair and "continues to need assistance getting out of bed, toileting, bathing and dressing himself."
"Without this assistance, he would be in a nursing home," the filing said.
Hastert admitted in his plea agreement he paid about $1.7 million in hush money to Individual A beginning in June 2010, first by making $50,000 bank withdrawals and giving the cash to Individual A at meetings that occurred about every six weeks.
But after bank officials warned Hastert in April 2012 that such large withdrawals had to be reported to financial regulators, he began illegally structuring the transactions in increments of less than $10,000 to avoid federal reporting requirements, according to the plea agreement. Over the next 2 1/2 years, Hastert made a total of 106 withdrawals in increments of less than $10,000, totaling $952,000.
When FBI agents questioned Hastert about the withdrawals at his Plano home in December 2014, he lied by claiming he was keeping the cash he had been withdrawing "in a safe place," the plea agreement stated. The indictment said Hastert told agents he was wary of the banking system.
jmeisner@tribpub.com
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