 Let's Git-R-Done! |
Posted on 06/02/2015 8:04:06 AM PDT by B4Ranch
J. Dennis Hastert, the longest-serving Republican House speaker in history, was swept from leadership in 2006 on a wave of Republican revulsion over what critics saw as a legislative favor factory he presided over in Congress. That wave deposited him on K Street, a prime address for the capital's lobbyists, where his influence and good name kept the favors flowing – including into his bank accounts.
Federal law enforcement agents say Mr. Hastert's years as a lobbyist and rainmaker explain how he was able to promise $3.5 million in cash to a former student who claims Mr. Hastert sexually molested him decades ago...
With a salary of probably $1 million, compensation for serving on boards of directors, speaker's fees and a book deal, the money was there to pay in cash what law enforcement officials say Mr. Hastert paid, said former Representative Jack Kingston, a Republican who led the Appropriations Committee.
"Yeah, it's possible he could amass in a 10-year period a nest egg of $5 to $10 million," he said. "I'm not saying it's easy, but it's not that hard." – New York Times, May 31, 2015
Former House Speaker Denny Hastert's indictment is remarkable for several reasons, not least being the way it exposes the U.S. government's inherent corruption.
Why is it that former senators and representatives so often become wealthy? It is because they can deliver government favors to private interests. That they can get millionaires doing this is less significant than the fact that these favors exist in the first place.
If Washington lacked power to grant these favors, businesses wouldn't pay to acquire them and people like Hastert wouldn't get wealthy delivering them. The root problem is the favors, not the way they are distributed.
Nonetheless, Representative Kingston's comment is instructive. He says earning as much as $10 million within a decade of leaving office is "not that hard," and he is probably right. If a company can spend $1 million on a lobbyist and earn $100 million in government contracts, most will gladly pay. The real mystery is why the lobbyists don't charge even more.
We can also look at the Hastert case as an example of karmic justice. The speaker who pushed through financial monitoring provisions of the USA Patriot Act found himself ensnared in the same law. By "structuring" his cash withdrawals to avoid reporting requirements, he aroused suspicions at his bank and gave the FBI reason to investigate.
As delightful as it is to see the mighty brought low, Hastert may also be victim of a grave injustice. This is the main lesson we should draw.
We do not know for sure whether Hastert sexually molested anyone. The indictment says only that he sought to conceal "past misconduct." Some person or persons inside the investigation leaked the lurid details that now dominate headlines.
If the government thinks it can prove Hastert committed a sex crime, the right course would be to file charges and let a jury decide. They didn't do that. They instead filed minor charges and enhanced them by spreading unprovable allegations that will tarnish Hastert's reputation and harm his entire family.
The people who did this to Speaker Hastert can do the same to anyone they please.
Every American is guilty of breaking some provision of the bloated federal code. The FBI and other agencies can destroy virtually anyone's life simply by taking notice.
Law enforcement now has the power to bypass courts and inflict punishment without trial. Before we relish Hastert's downfall, we should remember that any one of us could be next.
Paging Dr. Floyd Ferris...
Why is it the writer limited this indictment to congressmen? Why did he not include ex-presidents?
Duh.
Maybe he can get together with Linda Graham for a blow by blow discussion on RINOness?
Interesting that Newt Gingrich was “expelled” by Hastert (a Illinois repubbie insider) because of the “leadership” issues Newt supposedly had ...
“The ominous warning is that the Democrat-Media Complex can identify a Republican with dirty laundry in his closet and launch it around the globe to knock every other story off the front page any damned time they feel like it.”
It seems that there was a great deal of dirty laundry involved in the Hastert matter, both his and the dirty laundry of his students.
The author of this articles sounds a little worried.
I say the bastards shouldn’t be so dirty that they CAN be blackmailed. If they’d keep their noses clean they wouldn’t have to worry about it. But, it’s obvious we can’t find 535 moral men and women to run for office.
To echo Buckeye’s observation, the warning is DO NOT CROSS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES WITH FBI FILES.
“Covering up misconduct” means that She Who Must Not Be Named had the goods on him, no matter how he tried to pay someone off to keep it quiet.
It’s payback for the impeachment, and a head-on-a-pike warning to anyone who dares stand in Her way.
“The FBI and other agencies can destroy virtually anyone’s life simply by taking notice.”
On the other hand, so can we.
Let's Git-R-Done! |
Since these payments were made over a period of time,
it will be interesting to see if they were extorted,
which last I remember being a crime.
Need more facts, which will no doubt be forthcoming.
Makes me wonder what the have on Boner and McConnell.
And we all know such vehemence isn't directed towards Democrats.
The MEDIA is a weapon. We need to blunt theirs and sharpen one of our own. The power of the media is currently destroying the country, and until we destroy their ability to promulgate their message while suppressing ours, we are going to continue to lose ground until all is lost.
The Liberal Democrats who run the media are the PRIMARY ENEMY of this society and this nation. We need to destroy them.
The political parties have a desist policy with each other lest the accidentally trigger a mutual destruction. Political "hits" have to be approved at the highest levels. This is one of many hits that had probably been saved until needed as a distraction.
Gee, I wonder what Tom Foley is doing these days?
And Roberts
Regardless of whether there’s any merit to the accusations against Hastert, the sudden revelation and prosecution here smells to me like the Clinton camp making use of material from those FBI files they got their hands on, and it’s being used to “remind” everyone of how mean and nasty Republicans are, rather than paying attention to the increasing revelations about Bill and Hillary’s recent shenanigans.
Conveniently it also knocks the Clinton Family Crime Foundation/FIFA Scandal out of the headlines.
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