Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert has agreed to plead guilty to charges that he lied to the FBI about money he pulled from his bank accounts. He allegedly used the money to keep allegations of sexual misconduct, stemming from his time as a high school wrestling coach in Illinois, quiet.
According to the New York Times, a federal prosecutor said that the plea deal should be written-up for a judge by Monday. There will be another hearing on Oct. 28, when Hastert will formally plead guilty.
NBC News reports that it’s not known if the deal does include prison time. Still, the deal will mean he can avoid a trial, which would have likely made the allegations he tried to hide in the first place public.
The former Republican congressman was indicted in June. He was accused of making large bank withdrawals in such a way to avoid sparking attention from authorities. He then lied to the FBI about what he was doing.
Court documents showed that a mysterious man identified as “Individual A” was receiving the money in exchange for keeping quiet about sexual misconduct by Hastert. Authorities did tell the media that the individual was a student at Yorkville High School when Hastert was a coach during the 1960s and 1970s.
Hastert was the longest tenured Republican House Speaker and was elected to the role in 1999 when Newt Gingrich stepped down. He was first elected to the House in 1986 and decided to retire from Congress in 2008.
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