CHICAGO (AP) — Dennis Hastert’s hush-money case returned to federal court Thursday, with an attorney for the former House speaker telling a judge that Hastert now intends to plead guilty.
If he goes through with a plea, it would avert a trial and keep secret potentially embarrassing details about Hastert’s days as high school coach. The 73-year-old Republican stands accused of breaking banking laws and lying to the FBI in efforts to pay someone $3.5 million to hide claims of past misconduct. The Associated Press and other media, citing anonymous sources, have reported that the payments were meant to conceal claims of sexual misconduct decades ago.
