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Dennis Hastert's weird 2014 call on C-SPAN
The Hill ^ | May 29, 2015 | Ben Kamisar

Posted on 05/29/2015 8:44:27 AM PDT by maggief

There was an odd exchange between former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and an unidentified C-SPAN caller from his hometown in light of Thursday’s surprise indictment that he illegally transferred $3.5 million to a Yorkville resident to “conceal prior misconduct.”

The call came in while Hastert appeared on CSPAN’s "Washington Journal" on Nov. 13, a week after last year's midterm elections. The caller identified himself only as “Bruce" from Illinois.

“Hello, Denny,” the caller said.

“Do you remember me from Yorkville?” he added, before laughing and hanging up. CSPAN’s host Pedro Echevarria immediately moved onto the next caller and Hastert had no significant reaction to the call than other than indicating he knew "Bruce."

There’s no evidence linking the caller to Hastert’s alleged illegal activity, but the strange clip was posted onto the “My-CSPAN” video library by a C-SPAN viewer the day that the indictment was announced.

Hastert’s alleged misconduct isn’t detailed in the indictment and the person he is accused of paying off is not identified outside of being a long-time acquaintance of Hastert who lives in his hometown of Yorkville.

Buzzfeed News reported Friday that federal prosecutors agreed not to include the details of the allegations after a request from the former Speaker’s lawyers.

The Justice Department accuses him of agreeing to pay hush money in 2010 and adds that the FBI and IRS began investigating him in 2013 for making a series of cash withdrawals that the government alleges was meant to avoid required disclosures of withdrawals of $10,000 or more.

Hastert is also accused of lying to agents during the investigation. He’s since stepped down from his role at the lobbying firm Dickstein Shapiro.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: hastert
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1 posted on 05/29/2015 8:44:27 AM PDT by maggief
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To: maggief

So....I’m just guessing here but I’d suspect that this isn’t a case of “I screwed some HS coed and knocked her up” or anything normal like that. I’m surprised that he was able to hush this up that long. The Dems probably tagged him early on and blackmailed him to do what they wanted.

When I get the time, I’m gonna go back and look at his Speakership and see how much RINO behavior could have been attributed to blackmail by Dems.


2 posted on 05/29/2015 8:49:24 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: maggief

Tends to lend creedance to allegations of widespread sexual depravity of DC govt “leaders”.


3 posted on 05/29/2015 8:49:48 AM PDT by Paladin2
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To: maggief

I don’t mean this to be interpreted as any kind of defense of Hastert, but...

Do you think if this story was about some former speaker with a (D) after his name, they would be labelled a victim of blackmail, after choosing to pay off some despicable informant?

But since it’s a former speaker with an (R) after his name, it’s a case of hush money?


4 posted on 05/29/2015 8:50:53 AM PDT by GreenAccord (Bacon Akbar)
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To: maggief

Tends to lend credance to allegations of widespread sexual depravity of DC govt “leaders”.


5 posted on 05/29/2015 8:50:53 AM PDT by Paladin2
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To: maggief

Tends to lend credence to allegations of widespread sexual depravity of DC govt “leaders”.


6 posted on 05/29/2015 8:51:20 AM PDT by Paladin2 (Ive given up on aphostrophys and spell chek on my current device...)
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To: maggief

Must be homo stuff if the prosecutors are holding back info on “Bruce.”


7 posted on 05/29/2015 8:51:27 AM PDT by jimbo123
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To: maggief

Was he selling favors to Arab State for ‘speeches’?? Or was he sexually harassing powerless citizens like Bill?


8 posted on 05/29/2015 8:51:28 AM PDT by GOPJ (When Hillary can't 'throw the game' NOT ONE Arab hellhole will pay her for 'speeches'...)
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To: maggief

Remind me. Didn’t we all know what a crook Hastert was back when he was Speaker? I sure did. His land deals really stunk up the place.


9 posted on 05/29/2015 8:52:36 AM PDT by InterceptPoint
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To: Gaffer

Further and more importantly, where in the hell does a former HS teacher and wrestling coach exactly GET $3.5 Million Dollars to be paying out secret payoffs in the first place. Hello!!!!! Is anybody out there?


10 posted on 05/29/2015 8:52:47 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: Paladin2

Another Sandusky?


11 posted on 05/29/2015 8:53:04 AM PDT by jimbo123
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To: maggief

So the blackmailer is being protected by the FBI? Why?


12 posted on 05/29/2015 8:53:46 AM PDT by oldbrowser (We have a rogue government in Washington.)
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To: jimbo123
Especially if "Bruce" was underage at the time.
13 posted on 05/29/2015 8:53:53 AM PDT by CaptainK (...please make it stop. Shake a can of pennies at it.)
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To: CaptainK

“Bruce” is probably one of his former students.


14 posted on 05/29/2015 8:54:48 AM PDT by jimbo123
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To: oldbrowser

Because he was getting buggered by Hastert while he was an underage student?


15 posted on 05/29/2015 8:55:51 AM PDT by jimbo123
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To: Paladin2

I’ve always said that we, the people, should elect our representatives and house them in the nearest military barracks in DC and bus them to work in the morning and back to base/post/station at night. Feed them in the chow hall, tell them where to go, what to wear and what to do. And, give them all a damned buzzcut on their heads....2 years for the Reps and 6 years for those greedy bastard Sens.

Just like most of us had to do when the rewards were far less than what these crooks and pervs have now.


16 posted on 05/29/2015 8:56:12 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: Gaffer

We think along the same lines.


17 posted on 05/29/2015 9:00:26 AM PDT by wally_bert (There are no winners in a game of losers. I'm Tommy Joyce, welcome to the Oriental Lounge.)
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To: maggief

3.5 million = Something really, really bad.

Sounds like the statute of limitations have run out on anything other than a capital offense. Is he that worried about his reputation only, or going to prison?

Avoiding prison would be worth 3.5 million but saving a reputation, not so much.


18 posted on 05/29/2015 9:02:23 AM PDT by ImJustAnotherOkie
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To: ImJustAnotherOkie

$3.5 mill = homo perv category.


19 posted on 05/29/2015 9:03:54 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: jimbo123

That seems to be where all the arrows are pointing.


20 posted on 05/29/2015 9:04:31 AM PDT by CaptainK (...please make it stop. Shake a can of pennies at it.)
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