CHICAGO _ Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert pleaded guilty Wednesday to evading currency-reporting requirements, but no further details came out about the underlying wrongdoing that led him to withdraw nearly $1 million in cash from four banks over 2 years.
"Guilty, sir," Hastert said during his hearing before a judge in Chicago federal court. Hastert admitted he knew his conduct was wrong.
The judge set sentencing for Feb. 29. Hastert faces probation or up to 6 months in prison. Neither side anticipates calling witnesses for the sentencing.
Hastert, 73, read a brief statement saying that he didn't want officials to know how he intended to spend the money he withdrew.
The hearing got underway about 8:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin. Hastert was asked a series of questions about his competency to plead guilty and the rights he was giving up by doing so.
"I understand, your honor," Hastert said. He said no one was forcing him to plead guilty.
Prosecutors allege that Hastert had been paying hush money for four years by the time federal agents came knocking at his door last December. When the FBI arrived at Hastert's Plano, Ill., estate on that Monday morning, he had already been questioned by banks about a series of unusual $50,000 cash withdrawals he had made two years earlier.
Still, he tried to keep his secret hidden, telling agents he was trying to store his own money because he didn't feel safe with the banking system, according to prosecutors.
"Yeah ... I kept the cash. That's what I'm doing," Hastert was quoted by prosecutors as saying to the agents.
A bombshell indictment alleged he was making the withdrawals as part of an agreement to pay a total of $3.5 million to a longtime acquaintance, identified only as Individual A, to cover up wrongdoing from years ago.
Though the indictment only hints at the alleged wrongdoing, federal law enforcement sources have told the Tribune that Hastert was paying to cover up the sexual abuse of a student when Hastert was a wrestling coach and teacher at Yorkville High School.
Among the mysteries that could well remain unresolved is Individual A's identity. That has been kept a well-guarded secret despite a concerted attempt by media outlets across the country to confirm who was allegedly receiving the payments from Hastert.
The longest-serving Republican House speaker in history, Hastert was elected to the U.S. House in 1986 after serving three terms in the Illinois legislature. Hastert was dogged by scandal near the end of his term as speaker over the response of Republican leadership to improper advances toward underage male pages by then-Rep. Mark Foley of Florida.
Controversy also followed Hastert after he left the speaker's office. In 2012, a Tribune investigation found that the former legislator had conducted private business ventures through a little-known, taxpayer-financed office.
Meanwhile, a former business partner, J. David John, had brought the questionable expenditures to the attention of the FBI. In 2013, John filed a federal lawsuit asking the U.S. attorney's office to intervene. But after looking over the case, prosecutors in early 2014 declined to get involved, records show.
By that time, the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service had launched an investigation into whether Hastert's bank withdrawals were illegal, according to the indictment.
John's lawyer, Michael Goldberg, told the Tribune on Tuesday that despite the coincidence in timing, he couldn't say whether Johns' allegations about Hastert's finances had prompted the criminal probe.
"I was shocked when Mr. Hastert was indicted, and to this day I have no way of knowing whether his case and John's lawsuit are connected," Goldberg said.