I agree. It is a crime but it shouldn’t be. It is illegal to take your own money out of the bank in such a way as to avoid reporting limits. That’s crazy.
I can see lying to the FBI being a crime. I also thought Clinton was guilty of a crime when he lied under oath.
I worry that Hastert will commit suicide. He looks terrible. Anyone who would pay that much money to keep something quiet is going to be very devastated when it goes public. It apparently happened around 40 years ago.
This day and age they should just argue that blackmail, bribing, lying, etc all all innate human traits that people are born with and cannot help. So we should be celebrating it rather than shaming it and making it illegal. Maybe we should be giving it some sort of tax benefits.
The only lie was him not telling the FBI why he was taking out the money, that’s ridiculous.
This law is flat out wrong.
I can understand they want to know and may want to investigate suspected money transfers etc for organized crime/drug reasons, but once they conclude that the money isn’t being used for any illegal purpose, to then charge someone with a crime for moving their own money around is ludicrous and wrong!!
I have no doubt whatever he agreed to pay to cover up is probably not pretty, but to be charged with a crime because you are doing legal things with your own money and don’t want to tell the busy body fed what it was is repugnant.
The lying to the FBI however, was only a result of them investigating his money transfers... so its a garbage prosecution on all counts. Why should he have to explain what he is doing with his own money? If the fed investigates and can’t prove what he was doing with the money is illegal, then that’s it.
This is insane at every level.
This is clearly an abuse of the law, and not what this law was put on the books for. It is on the books to catch criminals, nothing that Hassert did with the money was illegal, so once the FBI determined that, that should have been the end of it.
To do something legal with your own money, should not be putting you at risk for jail time... this is wrong, in every aspect.
I have no doubt whatever he paid to keep quiet will be ugly, and probably sexual in nature, but what he has been charged with should not be a crime.