House

Hastert to be arraigned Thursday

by Scott Wong - 06/01/15 1:40 PM ET

Former Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) will be arraigned Thursday morning in federal court on charges that he lied to the FBI and made illegally structured payments to a person to compensate for “prior misconduct.”

Hastert is scheduled to appear at the downtown Chicago courthouse at 10 a.m. central time Thursday, said the office of U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin.

The indictment didn’t describe the misconduct, but law enforcement sources said Hastert had been paying off someone identified as “Individual A” who had been sexually assaulted by Hastert when he worked as a high school teacher and coach, before his political career.

Durkin was nominated by President Obama in May 2012 and he was confirmed by the Senate later that year. But campaign finance reports show that Durkin had donated to Hastert twice when he was office — $500 in 2002 and $1,000 in 2004, Politico reported.

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who briefly served as majority leader when Hastert was in the top job, said he was “shocked and saddened” after learning about the indictment last week.

Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters Monday the allegations were “disturbing.”

Tags Boehner John Boehner