April 23--Nearly four dozen letters in support of former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert were made public Friday evening in advance of his sentencing on hush money charges next week, including one from his former congressional colleague Tom DeLay.
"We all have our flaws, but Dennis Hastert has very few," wrote DeLay, who served as the Republican majority leader under Hastert in the early 2000s. "He is a good man that loves the Lord. He gets his integrity and values from Him. He doesn't deserve what he is going through. I ask that you consider the man that is before you and give him leniency where you can."
Among other notable politicians to write in support of Hastert were former U.S. Rep. Porter Goss, also a former CIA director, who spoke of Hastert's reputation in Congress as "Mr. Main Street, America," and Tyrone Fahner, a former Illinois attorney general, who recounted the speaker's steadfast leadership during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
"Whatever conduct is alleged, I know Denny as a kind, strong, principled, and unselfish man," Fahner wrote in a letter dated March 8. "I urge the court to permit him to live the rest of his life in freedom with his family and friends, and all those who love and admire him."
Also included were letters from Hastert's wife of 42 years, Jean, and his two sons, Joshua and Ethan, who wrote of his devotion to his family and his good deeds as a coach, teacher and later as a politician. They also wrote of concerns over his failing health -- Hastert's lawyers have said he suffered a stroke and near-fatal blood infection last year that left him hospitalized for weeks.
"This has taken a terrible toll on our family," wrote his wife. "I am particularly worried that if he is taken from his home and the care he needs, his health will continue to deteriorate."
The letters were filed on the court docket a week after U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin told Hastert's attorneys he would not consider them unless they were made part of the public record.
Originally, Hastert's lawyers had filed 60 letters under seal with the probation department as part of Hastert's argument for probation. After the judge ordered them made public, his lawyers reached out to all 60 writers for authorization and received authorization from 41 of them. That means 19 did not want their letters made public.
"To the extent that a letter writer did not respond to defense counsel or requested at some point after submission that the letter be withdrawn, defense counsel has not included those letters," his attorneys wrote in a filing included with the letters Friday.
Hastert, 74, faces probation to up to five years in prison when he is sentenced Wednesday, although his plea agreement with prosecutors calls for a sentence of no more than six months behind bars. He pleaded guilty in October to one count of illegally structuring bank withdrawals to avoid reporting requirements, admitting in a plea agreement that he'd paid $1.7 million in cash to a person identified only as Individual A to cover up unspecified misconduct from decades earlier.
In a 26-page filing earlier this month, prosecutors alleged Hastert sexually abused five students when he was a teacher and wrestling coach at Yorkville High School. The abuse allegedly occurred in hotel rooms during team trips and in empty locker rooms, often after Hastert coaxed the teens into a compromising position by offering to massage them.
Prosecutors alleged that Hastert performed a sex act on two wrestlers at separate times and inappropriately touched two other wrestlers once each while giving them massages. The filing also alleged that Hastert set up a recliner chair outside the locker room showers in order to sit and watch the boys.
Federal prosecutors have confirmed that another alleged Hastert victim, identified as Individual D, will testify under oath at the sentencing hearing.
Jolene Burdge, the sister of another alleged victim, Stephen Reinboldt, is also expected to tell the court how her now-deceased brother told her Hastert had sexually abused him throughout high school, prosecutors said. He was equipment manager for the wrestling team.
Once one of Illinois' most popular and powerful politicians, Hastert has been abandoned by many of his friends and former colleagues since his bombshell indictment on hush-money charges in May 2015, his lawyers wrote in a recent court filing seeking probation.
"Mr. Hastert knows that the days of him being welcomed in the small towns he served all his life are gone forever," the filing stated.
In asking for probation, Hastert's attorneys have said that the former speaker was "profoundly sorry" for harming others and that he had chosen a career path designed to make a difference in the lives of youths. They said his accomplishments and lack of a previous criminal history should be considered when it comes to deciding how he should be punished.
Letters of support often play a key role in sentencings in federal court, and two cases in recent years in Chicago show their influence can be controversial.
In 2009, U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur caused a public uproar when he gave Chicago political power broker Edward "Fast Eddie" Vrdolyak probation in a multimillion-dollar real estate fraud case. Shadur cited the dozens of letters he received supporting the former alderman -- including glowing notes from then-Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher and former Bear Terry "Tank" Johnson. The appellate court later reversed Shadur's sentence, and another judge gave Vrdolyak 10 months in prison.
A similar scenario played out in 2014 when U.S. District Judge Charles Kocoras gave probation to Ty Warner, the billionaire creator of Beanie Babies, for skirting nearly $5.6 million in federal taxes by hiding a fortune in Swiss bank accounts. Kocoras had said he was swayed by 70 letters detailing Warner's acts of kindness. Prosecutors appealed, but the sentence was upheld.
jmeisner@tribpub.com
