Dennis Hastert, seen here walking toward the courthouse before pleading guilty, faces up to five years in prison. | Getty Dennis Hastert pleads guilty in hush money case

CHICAGO — Sunken-faced and barely audible, former House Speaker Dennis Hastert pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday morning to a felony charge of evading bank reporting laws, but in a brief statement to the court he failed to address underlying allegations of sexual misconduct -- the biggest question surrounding the $3.5 million hush-money case.

The brief court hearing for the longest-serving Republican House speaker took place as GOP lawmakers in Washington were behind closed doors putting the final touches on the most recent change in House leadership: the selection of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis) as the next speaker.


U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Durkin told the 73-year-old Hastert it's possible he could receive up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, but both sides in the case told the judge that federal sentencing guidelines call for a sentence of zero to six months in custody and prosecutors agreed not to ask for more than that. The judge set sentencing for Feb. 29.

By pleading guilty, Hastert escaped a public trial that would have aired a secret past he’s accused of desperately trying to hide.

In court, Hastert read a sanitized, three-sentence statement only addressing his guilt with regard to banking charges: “I have been withdrawing money from the bank in $50,000 increments." He went on to admit that after he was warned by bank officials about requirements to report cash transactions of more than $10,000, he shifted to smaller amounts.

Prosecutors said Hastert was trying to cover up conduct “that had occurred several decades earlier.”

Prosecutors said Hastert provided cash to the unnamed “Individual A” at prearranged meeting places and times and, ultimately, “agreed to provide $3.5 million in order to compensate for and keep private past misconduct against Individual A.”

Sources have alleged that Hastert was paying off a longtime male associate to keep sexual misconduct against him secret. The relationship dated back to Hastert’s years as a wrestling coach and teacher at Yorkville High School. In addition, the sister of a former Yorkville student and wrestling team manager has publicly alleged that her brother claimed years ago to have had a sexual relationship with Hastert. A source with knowledge of the investigation told POLITICO that before filing charges against Hastert, investigators interviewed a second individual who corroborated similar sexual misconduct allegations against Hastert.

The former speaker has not responded publicly to those claims, but Hastert's defense attorney Tom Green has objected to leaks to the media about the alleged sexual aspects of the case.

Despite the salacious allegations, Hastert’s court encounter on Wednesday lasted just over 20 minutes and produced little fanfare. He left the federal courthouse flanked by attorneys, none of whom stopped to speak to the media.

Hastert initially spoke so softly, Durkin intervened, saying: "Please keep your voice up so the court can hear you."

Asked about his occupation, Hastert said: "I’ve been a consultant the last few years."

Hastert acknowledged that he had taken pharmacueticals in the last 24 hours without saying which ones, but when asked if he's in good health, he said: "

"Considering I'm 73 years old, yes.”

Hastert was charged in May in an indictment that alleged he agreed to pay $3.5 million to a person identified as "Individual A" and described a longtime associate of Hastert. Prosecutors alleged that he paid out about $700,000 of that in cash by taking $50,000 bank withdrawals, but reduced the withdrawals to less than $10,000 at a time after a bank official told him that larger transactions are reported to federal authorities. The indictment charges Hastert took out $952,000 in those smaller withdrawals and gave the money to his associate.

Under the plea deal, a separate felony charge Hastert faced of lying to the FBI will be dropped.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago issued a brief statement Wednesday acknowledging Hastert's plea.

“Now that Mr. Hastert has pled guilty, and the Court has accepted his guilty plea, the case will proceed to sentencing," a spokesman said. "As part of the sentencing process in this case, as in all cases, we will provide the Court with relevant information about the defendant’s background and the charged offenses, and the defendant will have an opportunity to do the same, so that the Court can impose an appropriate sentence taking into account all relevant factors in the case. We have no further comment about the matter at this time.”

