“Get a rope!”
If you believe in freedom, limited government, and rule of law this case is wrong on many levels.
Consider Hastert is not being charged by the Obama Department of Justice with molesting young boys. Instead he is being charged with structuring withdrawals from his own bank accounts in a way to avoid the withdrawals being reported by the bank to the US government. The crime he is being charged with (withdrawing his own money from his own bank accounts) should not be a crime at all in a free country.
Hastert withdrew the money to pay an extortionist. Extortion is a crime. Yet the DOJ is not bringing charges against the extortionist.
In addition the allegations of sexual misconduct by Hastert are not being made in court. Instead they are being leaked to the press by federal prosecutors (officers of the court). Those who fear the power of an overly zealous government should condemn these leaks and demand the government investigators be disciplined for violating the rights of Hastert, as well as potentially Hastert’s victims, by leaking such information. The place for criminal charges to be heard is not in press, it is in the courtroom. If the attorneys for the government cannot assemble enough evidence about criminal conduct to bring charges they should not be leaking information to the press.
Finally, if the charges that Hastert committed sexual crimes are true, why isn’t the Obama DOJ bringing formal charges? Could it be the sexual conduct involves both pedopehlia and homosexuality? Does the evidence of sexual misconduct show Hastert was a predatory homosexual? That story line doesn’t support the politically correct view of homosexuality.
In no way do I excuse Hastert. If he is, or was, a child molester bring him up on charges for the crime. A government that will spy on its citizens, and secretively leak destructive information about them , without using the due process of law, and with the intent to defame the individual is a government to be feared.
Excellent post.
Hastert was a big drug war supporter. If he didn't like unconstitutional laws such as this, he should have spoken up when he was Speaker of the House. Let him feel the full force of the policies he suported.
People don't pay blackmail money for something that they didn't do. The accusations against him are mostly past the statute of limitations date, but as far as I'm concerned the fact that he was moving money around to pay a blackmailer is an admission of guilt.
You're right that there's a double standard and that the liberals wouldn't be attacking Hastert for this if he were a Democrat. But that's really no different from all of the GOP establishment types who rush to Hastert's defense just because he's one of theirs.