I agree that Hastert was too liberal and that his bank withdrawals shouldn’t have been a crime. Congress shouldn’t have passed that law, since it’s no one else’s business how much someone withdraws from his or her bank account.
Agree with Impy and PhilCollins on this. I definitely have mixed feelings about the outcome.
I have no problem with leaving Hastert to rot in prison for being a sicko predator. As others noted, even before we knew he was a pervert, he was ALWAYS a combiner and sleezy politician (nice job getting this guy on your side, Jim Oberweis...)
The problem is the "crime" they convicted him of was withdrawing the "wrong" amount of money from his own bank account. There's something very Orwellian and creepy if the government is allowed to toss people in prison for that. And why the heck isn't the guy who blackmailed Hastert in the first place ALSO going to prison? Blackmail is a much bigger crime that taking "too much money" out of your own bank account.
There's something very fishy about all of this.