Джон Деннис Хастерт: Саясаткер, педагог және қылмыскер өмірі

American politician (born 1942)

John Dennis Hastert ('/h//æ//s//t//ər//t/; born January 2, 1942) is an American former politician, educator, convicted felon and child sex offender who represented from 1987 to 2007 and served as the 51st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007. Hastert was the longest serving Republican Speaker of the House in history. After Democrats gained a majority in the House in 2007, Hastert resigned and began work as a lobbyist. In 2016, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison for financial offenses related to the sexual abuse of teenage boys. In court submissions filed in April 2016, federal prosecutors alleged that Hastert had molested at least four boys as young as 14 years of age during his time as a high school wrestling coach. At a sentencing hearing, Hastert admitted that he had sexually abused boys whom he had coached. he became the highest ranking elected official in U. S. history to serve a prison sentence. Hastert is of Luxembourgish and Norwegian descent on his father's side, and of German descent on his mother's. Hastert grew up in a rural Illinois farming community. His middle class family owned a farm supply business and a family farm; Hastert bagged and hauled feed and performed farm chores. As a young man, Hastert also worked shifts in the family's Plainfield restaurant, The Clock Tower, where he was a fry cook. Hastert became a born again Christian as a teenager, during his sophomore year of high school. Hastert attended Oswego High School, where he was a star wrestler and football player. In 1967, he received his M. S. in philosophy of education from Northern Illinois University (NIU). One of Hastert's fellow group members was Tony Podesta (then the president of the Young Democrats at University of Illinois at Chicago Circle). Hastert began working there, at age 23, while still attending NIU. Hastert led the school's wrestling team to the 1976 state title and was later named Illinois Coach of the Year. Hastert was a Boy Scout volunteer with Explorer Post 540 of Yorkville for 17 years, during his time as a schoolteacher and coach. Hastert reportedly traveled with the Explorers on trips to the Grand Canyon, the Bahamas, Minnesota, and the Green River in Utah. Hastert served three terms in the state House from the 82nd district, A Justice Department special counsel said there was no reason to believe Hastert had committed any crime in overdrawing his accounts. Hastert developed a close relationship with Tom DeLay, the House majority whip, and was widely seen as DeLay's deputy. On the House floor, Democratic Representative Peter DeFazio criticized the insertion of the provision; Hastert defended it. On the eve of his elevation to Speaker, Hastert was described as "deeply conservative at heart" by the Associated Press. The AP reported: "He is an evangelical Christian who opposes abortion and advocates lower taxes, a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution and the death penalty. He spearheaded the GOP's fight against using sampling techniques to take the next census. Such groups as the National Right to Life Committee, the Christian Coalition, the Chamber of Commerce and the NRA Political Victory Fund all gave his voting record perfect scores of 100. The American Conservative Union gave him an 88. Meanwhile, the liberal Americans for Democratic Action, the American Civil Liberties Union and labor organizations such as the AFL–CIO and the Teamsters each gave Hastert zero points. The League of Conservation Voters rated him a 13." He was a gun rights supporter who voted against the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act and Federal Assault Weapons Ban. In this role, he campaigned to bar needle exchange programs from receiving federal funds, The deal easily passed the divided Illinois Legislature. 101st Congress (1989–1991) – Government Operations; Public Works and Transportation; Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families
102nd Congress (1991–1993) – Energy and Commerce; Government Operations; Hunger
103rd Congress (1993–1995) – Energy and Commerce; Government Operations
104th Congress (1995–1997) – Chief Deputy Majority Whip; Commerce; Government Reform and Oversight
105th Congress (1997–1999) – Chief Deputy Majority Whip; Commerce; Government Reform and Oversight
106th Congress (1999–2001) – The Speaker; Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies
107th Congress (2001–2003) – The Speaker
108th Congress (2003–2005) – The Speaker; Intelligence (ex officio)
109th Congress (2005–2007) – The Speaker; Intelligence (ex officio)

In the aftermath of the 1998 midterm elections, where the GOP lost five House seats and failed to make a net gain of seats in the Senate, House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia stepped down from the speakership and declined to take his seat for an 11th term. In mid December, Representative Robert L. Livingston of Louisiana—the former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and the Speaker designate—stated in a dramatic surprise announcement on the House floor that he would not become Speaker, following widely publicized revelations of his extramarital affairs. Although he reportedly had no warning of Livingston's decision to step aside, Hastert "began lobbying on the House floor within moments" of Livingston's announcement, and by the afternoon of that day had secured the public backing of the House Republican leadership, including Gingrich, DeLay (who was "viewed as too partisan to step into the role of Speaker") and Dick Armey (who was "viewed as too weak" and was damaged by party infighting). In accepting the position, Hastert broke the tradition that the new speaker deliver his first address from the speaker's chair, instead delivering his seventeen minute acceptance speech from the floor. Hastert adopted a conciliatory tone and pledged to work for bipartisanship, saying that: "Solutions to problems cannot be found in a pool of bitterness." Nevertheless, in November 2004, Hastert instituted what became known as the Hastert Rule (or "majority of the majority" rule), which was an informal, self imposed political practice of allowing the House to vote on only those bills that were supported by the majority of its Republican members. The practice received criticism as an unduly partisan measure both at the time it was adopted and in the subsequent years. The same year, the Hastert aide who coined the phrase also stated that the structure was not workable. In any case, a number of bills subsequently passed the House without the support of a majority of the majority party in the House, as shown by a list compiled by The New York Times. In 2013, after leaving office, Hastert disowned the policy, saying that "there is no Hastert Rule" and that the "rule" was more of a principle that the majority party should follow its own policies. Congressional expert Norm Ornstein writes that Hastert "blew up" the House's "regular order," which is "a mix of rules and norms that allows debate, deliberation, and amendments in committees and on the House floor, that incorporates and does not shut out the minority (even if it still loses most of the time), that takes bills that pass both houses to a conference committee to reconcile differences, [and] that allows time for members and staff to read, digest, and analyze bills." Ornstein commented that "no speaker did more to relegate the regular order to the sidelines than Hastert. The House is a very partisan institution, with rules structured to give even tiny majorities enormous leverage. But Hastert took those realities to a new and more tribalized, partisan plane." In 2005, DeLay was indicted by a Texas grand jury on charges of campaign finance violations. DeLay stepped down as majority leader and was replaced in that post by Roy Blunt; DeLay resigned from Congress the following year. Throughout his term, Hastert was a strong supporter of the George W. Bush administration's foreign and domestic policies. Hastert was described as a Bush loyalist who worked closely with the White House to shepherd Bush's agenda through Congress, The two frequently praised each other, expressed mutual respect, and had a close working relationship, even during the controversy over Representative Mark Foley sending sexually explicit text messages to teenage male pages. Hastert even provided Vice President Dick Cheney office space inside the House in the United States Capitol. In 2003, Hastert and Bush met privately at the White House about twice a month to discuss congressional developments.

In March 1999, soon after Hastert's elevation to the speakership, the Washington Post, in a front page story, reported that Hastert "has begun offering industry lobbyists the kind of deal they like: private audiences where, for a price, they can voice their views on what kind of agenda the 106th Congress should pursue." Hastert's style and extensive fundraising led Common Cause to critique the "pay to play system" in Congress. Even though there is no evidence that a payment was made, an official at the Turkish Consulate is said to have claimed in a recording that was translated by Sibel Edmonds that the price for Hastert to withdraw the Armenian genocide resolution would have been at least $500,000.

"Hastert and the senior Republican leadership in the House were able to maintain party discipline to a great degree", which allowed them to regularly enact legislation, despite a narrow majority (less than 12 seats) in the 106th and 107th Congresses. Hastert was a strong supporter of the Iraq War Resolution and the ensuing 2003 invasion of Iraq and the Iraq War. Hastert stated in the House in October 2002 that he believed there was "a direct connection between Iraq and al Qaeda" and that the U. S. should "do all that we can to disarm Saddam Hussein's regime before they provide al Qaeda with weapons of mass destruction." In a February 2003 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Hastert "launched into a lengthy and passionate denunciation" of France's resistance to the Iraq war and stated that he wanted to go "nose to nose" with the country. In 2006, Hastert visited Iraq at Bush's request and supported a supplemental Iraq War spending bill. As Speaker, Hastert shepherded the USA Patriot Act in October 2001 to passage in the House on a 357–66 vote. In a 2011 interview, Hastert claimed credit for its passage over the misgivings of many members. Hastert called the legislation "the worst thing that ever happened to Congress" and expressed the view that there were "constitutional flaws" in the legislation. Supporters of campaign finance reform circumvented Hastert by means of a discharge petition, a seldom used procedural mechanism in which a measure may be brought to a floor vote (over the objections of the speaker) if an absolute majority of Representatives sign a petition in support of doing so. The discharge petition was not successfully used again until 2015.

In 2004, Hastert again feuded with McCain amid conflict between the House and the Senate over the 2005 budget. After "McCain gave a speech excoriating both political parties for refusing to sacrifice their tax cutting and spending agendas in wartime," Hastert publicly questioned McCain's "credentials as a Republican and suggested that the decorated Vietnam War veteran did not understand the meaning of sacrifice." Hastert's push to pass the legislation—culminating in a three hour House vote in which the Speaker, "an imposing former wrestling coach, was literally leaning on recalcitrant lawmakers to win their support"—raised the Speaker's profile and contributed to a shift of his image from amiable and low key to more forceful. In 2004, Hoyer called upon Hastert to initiate a House Ethics Committee investigation into statements by Representative Nick Smith, a Republican of Michigan, who stated that groups and lawmakers had offered support for his son's campaign for Congress in exchange for Smith's support of the Medicare bill. Hastert issued a statement supporting DeLay, but the admonishment was viewed as harming DeLay's chances of succeeding Hastert as Speaker. On "Speaker's Journal" on his official U. S. House website, Hastert wrote in his first post: "This is Denny Hastert and welcome to my blog. This is new to me. I can't say I'm much of a techie. I guess you could say my office is teaching the old guy new tricks. But I'm excited. This is the future. And it is a new way for us to get our message out." On June 1, 2006, Hastert became the longest serving Republican Speaker of the House in history, surpassing the record previously held by fellow Illinoisan Joseph Gurney Cannon, who held the post from November 1903 to March 1911. In 2005, following Hurricane Katrina, Hastert told an Illinois newspaper that "It looks like a lot of that place [referring to New Orleans] could be bulldozed" and stated that spending billions of dollars to rebuild the devastated city "doesn't make sense to me." The remarks enraged Governor Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana, who stated that Hastert's comments were "absolutely unthinkable for a leader in his position" and demanded an immediate apology. A spokesman for Hastert later denied the claims, relating them to the Jennifer Aniston–Brad Pitt breakup. Following his congressional career, Hastert received a $35,000 per month contract lobbying on behalf of Turkey. In December 2006, the House Ethics Committee determined that Hastert and other congressional leaders were "willfully ignorant" in responding to early warnings of the Mark Foley congressional page scandal, but did not violate any House rules. In a committee statement, Kirk Fordham, who was Foley's chief of staff until 2005, said that he had alerted Scott B. Palmer, Hastert's chief of staff, to Foley's inappropriate advances toward congressional pages in 2002 or 2003, asking congressional leadership to intervene. The Sunlight Foundation accused Hastert of failing to disclose that the construction of the highway would benefit a land investment that Hastert and his wife made in nearby land in 2004 and 2005. Hastert took an unusually active role advancing the bill, even though it was opposed by a majority of area residents and by the Illinois Department of Transportation. When he became frustrated by negotiations with White House staff, Hastert began working on the bill directly with President Bush. Hastert's ownership interest in the tract was not a public record because the land was held by a blind land trust, Little Rock Trust No. 225. Environmentalists, who opposed the project, celebrated its cancellation.

Before the 2006 elections, Hastert expressed his intent to seek reelection as Speaker if the Republicans maintained control of the House. Hastert was reelected for an eleventh term to his seat in the House with nearly 60 percent of the vote, but that year the Republicans lost control of both the Senate and the House to the Democrats following a wave of voter discontent with the Iraq War, the Federal response to Hurricane Katrina, and a series of scandals among congressional Republicans. The day after the November election, Hastert announced he would not seek to become minority leader when the 110th Congress convened in January 2007. Later that month, John Boehner of Ohio defeated Mike Pence of Indiana in a 168–27 vote of the House Republican Conference election to become minority leader for the 110th Congress. The House Democratic Caucus unanimously selected House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to be Speaker (succeeding Hastert) for the 110th Congress. On November 15, 2007, Hastert delivered a farewell speech on the House floor, emphasizing the need for civility in politics; Hastert's speech was followed by remarks from Pelosi praising Hastert's service. On November 26, 2007, Hastert submitted his resignation. Financial disclosure documents indicate that Hastert made a fortune from land deals during his time in Congress. Hastert entered Congress in 1987 with a net worth of no more than $270,000. In December 2007, Hastert endorsed Oberweis in the primary, and Burns withdrew from the race. In a rematch in the November 2008 elections for a full two year term, Foster again defeated Oberweis.

In May 2008, six months after resigning from Congress, the Washington, D. C. based law firm and lobbying firm Dickstein Shapiro announced that Hastert was joining the firm as a senior adviser. Hastert waited until the legally required "cooling off period" had passed in order to register as a lobbyist. According to Foreign Agents Registration Act filings, Hastert represented foreign governments, including the government of Luxembourg and government of Turkey. The ServiceMaster Co.; In April 2013, Hastert and Gephardt traveled with eight members of Congress to Turkey, with all expenses paid by the Turkish government. While members of Congress are generally prohibited from corporate funded travel abroad with lobbyists (a rule enacted after the Abramoff scandal), the law permits lobbyists to plan and attend trips overseas if paid for by foreign countries. Hastert and Delahunt were criticized by watchdog groups who "questioned whether Hastert was violating" these rules,

In addition to his lobbyist job, Hastert established his own consultancy, Hastert & Associates. On May 29, 2015, following his indictment, Hastert resigned from the board, effective immediately. Under a 1975 federal law, Hastert, as a former House Speaker, was entitled to a public allowance (about $40,000 a month) for a five year period to allow him to maintain an office. Hastert denied that he had engaged in any improper conduct. This suit was filed under the qui tam provision of the False Claims Act (FCA), an anti fraud statute that allows a private party to pursue a case on behalf of the federal government. In the suit, John asserts that he told the FBI in 2011 that "he had knowledge that Hastert was using federally funded offices, staff, office supplies and vehicles for personal business ventures." In April 2017, Judge Kocoras dismissed the suit, finding that John did not qualify as a "whistleblower" under the FCA. John's attorney said that an appeal was possible. Kocoras held that John had falsely claimed that he had told the FBI about possible misuse of federal resources by Hastert.

According to a 2017 interview with the two special agents leading the investigations—one each from the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division—"Hastert had been on the FBI's radar as early as November 2012—even before the FBI and IRS began investigating the suspicious cash withdrawals that were Hastert's downfall." The indictment charged Hastert with unlawfully structuring the withdrawal of $952,000 in cash in order to evade the requirement that banks report cash transactions over 10,000 (Title 31, United States Code, Section 5324(a)(3)), and making false statements to the FBI about the purpose of his withdrawals (Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001(a)(2)). The indictment alleges that Hastert agreed to make payments of $3.5 million to an unnamed subject (identified in the indictment only as an "Individual A" from Yorkville, Illinois, who was known to Hastert for "most of Individual A's life"). The indictment stated that the payments were to "compensate for and conceal [Hastert's] prior misconduct." Federal authorities began investigating his withdrawals in 2013. In late 2014, after being questioned about the withdrawals, Hastert said that he did not trust banks; shortly afterward, Hastert changed his story, saying that he "was the victim of extortion by Individual A for false molestation accusations." On May 29, Hastert was released on his own recognizance on a preliminary bail of $4,500 set by a magistrate judge. In June The New York Times reported that Hastert had approached a business associate, J. David John, in 2010, to look for a financial adviser to come up with an annuity plan that would "generate a substantial cash payout each year." This request was the same year that prosecutors say he agreed to start paying hush money to the person he allegedly committed misconduct against. John told the Times that "I did not think much about it at the time, but looking back at it, it does seem strange. He just said he needed to generate some cash." On the same day, the Los Angeles Times reported that investigators had spoken with another former student who made similar allegations that corroborated what the first student said. Hastert admitted to committing sexual abuse during sentencing on the structuring charge. On June 5, 2015, ABC News' Good Morning America aired an interview with Jolene Reinboldt Burdge, the sister of Steve Reinboldt, who was the student equipment manager of the wrestling team at Yorkville High School when Hastert was the wrestling coach. Hastert also ran an Explorers group of which Steve Reinboldt was a member and led the group on a diving trip to the Bahamas. ABC News reported that "for years, Jolene watched helplessly as Hastert basked in fame and power, seated to the left of the president for years in the early 2000s, during the nationally televised State of the Union address".

The case was assigned to U. S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin. However, on May 29, 2015, CBS Chicago reported that Hastert had privately told close friends that "I am a victim, too" and that he was sorry they had to go through the ordeal. Hastert hired attorney Thomas C. Green, a white collar criminal defense lawyer and senior counsel at the Washington, D. C. office of the law firm Sidley Austin, to defend him. The prosecutors assigned to the case were originally Assistant United States Attorneys Steven Block and Carrie Hamilton. Hamilton left the U. S. Attorney's Office in July 2015 after being appointed as a judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County; Diane MacArthur replaced Hamilton on the Hastert prosecution team. The Chicago Tribune reported: "Hastert's entrance and exit from the courthouse touched off a wild scene as federal Homeland Security agents escorted Hastert and his attorneys to and from a waiting vehicle amid a crush of television news crews and photographers." At the hearing, Hastert entered a plea of not guilty. Durkin set a $4,500 unsecured bond as well as various other conditions of pretrial release, and Hastert surrendered his passport. At the arraignment, Durkin disclosed that he had contributed $500 in 2002 and $1000 in 2004 to the Hastert for Congress campaign; the contributions were made while Durkin was a partner at the law firm Mayer Brown, before he was appointed to the federal bench in 2012. Hastert's son, Ethan, was a partner at Mayer Brown. On June 11, federal prosecutors and Hastert's lawyers filed notices waiving any objection to Durkin presiding over the case. On June 12, federal prosecutors, with the agreement of Hastert's attorneys, filed a motion for a protective order seeking to bar the public disclosure of the identity of "Individual A" and other sensitive information. The motion states that "the discovery to be provided by the government in this case includes sensitive information, the unrestricted dissemination of which could adversely affect law enforcement interests and the privacy interests of third parties." but did not sign such an order. At a status hearing on July 14 (which Hastert again did not attend), the parties updated the court on preparations for trial. At the hearing, Green said: "The indictment has effectively been amended by leaks from the government. It is now an 800 pound gorilla in this case. It has been injected in this case I think impermissibly. (The question is) whether I wrestle with that gorilla or I don't wrestle with that gorilla." Green also said that the defense would file a motion to dismiss the indictment, possibly under seal. A Federal Elections Commission report lists the defense fund's address as a Sunapee, New Hampshire property owned by Republican donor and ex Gerald Ford White House staffer James Rooney. On September 22, the parties filed another joint motion requesting another two week extension (from September 28 to October 13); the motion said that the parties were discussing issues that Hastert "may raise in pretrial motions" but provided no details. At a hearing on September 28, Hastert's attorneys and the government confirmed that they were discussing a possible plea agreement. Judge Durkin said that if no plea agreement was reached, he wanted the case to go to trial in March or April 2016. Pretrial motions were due on October 13, but none were filed, indicating that Hastert and the government "were nearing a plea deal." The charge of "making false statements" (lying to the FBI) was dismissed. Hastert said in court: "I didn't want them [bank officials] to know how I intended to spend the money. I withdrew the money in less than $10,000 increments." The plea agreement allowed Hastert "to avoid a potentially long and embarrassing trial" and was thought to enable him to "keep secret information that he has hidden for years." In March, Judge Durkin ordered the appointment of a medical expert to review Hastert's health in preparation for sentencing. Later in March, Judge Durkin postponed the sentencing hearing (over the objection of Hastert's attorneys) to April 27 so that a man who alleged sexual abuse by Hastert (identified as "Individual D" in court) could testify at the sentencing. In early April, the parties filed submissions in court ahead of sentencing. Hastert did not provide details. Prosecutors asked for a six month sentence, as called for under federal sentencing guidelines. prosecutors noted in their court filing that he could receive medical treatment while incarcerated, if necessary. Of the 41 letters that were made public, several were from current or former members of Congress: Tom DeLay, John T. Doolittle, David Dreier, Thomas W. Ewing, and Porter Goss (who also is a former CIA director). The Chicago Tribune noted that DeLay and Doolittle "have had legal troubles of their own" stemming from the Abramoff scandal, although DeLay's conviction in that scandal was later overturned and Doolittle was never charged. The second witness was Scott Cross ("Individual D") who publicly identified himself for the first time. Cross gave emotional testimony, telling the court that Hastert, whom he had trusted, had abused him and caused him to experience "intense pain, shame and guilt." Cross's oldest brother is longtime Illinois House of Representatives Republican leader Tom Cross, a political protégé of Hastert's.

Following the sentence, the Chicago Tribune editorial board praised "the bravery of the victims and their families who confronted the man who was once second in line to be president" and wrote of the sentence: "The enduring impact is that the truth has been revealed. And for as long as the name Dennis Hastert is recalled, the man once respected as a leader will be known as a criminal, a scoundrel, a child molester." The Washington Post editorial board hailed the sentence, writing that Hastert's victims "should not have had to struggle with what Mr. Hastert did to them all the while they watched him rise in stature and power." The Post called for extending statutes of limitations in sex abuse cases to give victims more time to come forward and prosecutors more time to pursue perpetrators. Bruni also critiqued the testimonials that prominent Republicans submitted on Hastert's behalf before sentencing, saying that these "affirm the degree to which pacts rather than principle govern partisan politics today." Conor Friedersdorf of The Atlantic expressed similar views, writing: "The alarming aspect of this case is the fact that an American is ultimately being prosecuted for the crime of evading federal government surveillance." The Hastert scandal was one motivation for the advance of legislation in the Illinois General Assembly to eliminate the statute of limitations for all felony child abuse and sexual assault offenses. The measure unanimously passed the state Senate in March 2017.

Hastert did not appeal his sentence. Shortly after being sentenced, Hastert paid the $250,000 fine and was ordered to report to prison on June 22, 2016. On that date, Hastert reported to the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minnesota to begin his prison term. In July 2017, after serving about 13 months of a 15 month sentence, Hastert was released from federal prison and returned to Chicago under "residential re entry management" supervision.

In April 2016, "Individual A" sued Hastert for breach of contract in Illinois state court, in Kendall County. "Individual A" (suing under pseudonym "James Doe") sought to collect the remaining $1.8 million in "hush money" allegedly promised to him by Hastert. In the complaint, "Individual A" alleged that he was molested at age 14 by Hastert and that he confronted Hastert after speaking with another of Hastert's alleged victims in 2008. In November 2016, the court denied Hastert's motion to dismiss. In September 2019, the court denied motions for summary judgment by each side. In September 2021, days before trial was set to begin, Hastert reached a settlement with the plaintiff for an undisclosed amount. A Kendall County judge granted the man's motion to proceed anonymously under the "Richard Doe" pseudonym.

Hastert has been married to Jean Hastert (née Kahl) since 1973. representing clients ranging from Amgen, a biotech company, to Lockheed Martin, a defense contractor. This provoked criticism from Congress Watch: "There definitely should be restrictions [on family members registering as lobbyists] This is family members cashing in on connections [and it] is an ideal opportunity for special interest groups to exploit family relationships for personal gain." Joshua Hastert responded to the allegation by saying that he did not lobby House Republican leaders. Hastert's son Ethan ran in 2010 as a Republican for his father's old congressional seat (Illinois' 14th congressional district), but was defeated in the primary by Illinois State Senator Randy Hultgren. Hultgren received 55 percent of the vote, while Hastert received 45 percent. Ethan left the Elburn village board in 2014 because he and his family moved to nearby Campton Hills. As of 2015, Ethan was a partner at the Chicago office of the law firm Mayer Brown.

Hastert suffers from type 2 diabetes and requires daily insulin injections. Because of his condition, he sometimes walked with protective coverings on his feet to avoid foot problems. In November 2015, the week after entering a guilty plea in federal court, Hastert suffered a stroke and was hospitalized until January 15, 2016.