The reason he achieved a lofty position should have no effect on his sentence.
He should get a separate, and much longer, sentence for his behavior in that lofty position.
Remember how he looked like a regular guy when he got the office? I saw him in a DC steakhouse a few years later and he had become one of the most corpulent pigs I’ve ever seen from years of feasting on lobbyists’ tabs. We probably have an extra trillion in debt from his performance alone, relative to a (hypothetical) Republican who actually walked the walk.
At least once in my lifetime I would like to see someone in a position of power not abuse the hell out of it.
>>> The reason he achieved a lofty position should have no effect on his sentence.
When I heard of this tale of woe, I thought back to his coming to the Speakership. Newt had been thrown out for philandering, and his purported replacement (can’t recall his name) was also thrown out in advance, for the same reason. Along comes Hastert and sails into the speakership.
I’m convinced he got the job PRECISELY because someone had the goods on his peccadillos, and could use that as a lever to keep him in line.
I am convinced that anyone who gets promoted in DC has got skeletons known to the puppeteers.