Former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Dennis Hastert is expected to plead guilty for his actions in a hush-money case after reaching a plea bargain deal with prosecutors.
It is unknown what charge or charges Hastert intends to plead guilty to. It is also unknown if Hastert will have to serve time in prison as part of the deal.
Hastert, who is a Republican, served as Speaker of the House from 1999 to 2007.
Hastert was charged in May for attempting to hide large cash transactions that were a part of a hush-money scheme. Hastert has also been charged for lying about the scheme to the FBI.
The plea deal is expected to be submitted to the United States District Court on Monday. Judge Thomas Durkin is overseeing the case.
Hastert, who is 73 years old, is currently free on bond. He pleaded not guilty to the two charges in June. He has not commented on the situation since his indictment.
The guilty plea from Hastert is expected to take place on October 28th.
Hastert was the Speaker of the House for eight years, making him the longest-serving Republican to hold the position. After he left Congress in 2007, Hastert became a powerful lobbyist.
Wheaton College, the alma mater of Hastert, previously removed his name from the college’s policy center.
Hastert has been accused of offering to pay $3.5 million to a person from his hometown of Yorkville, IL in exchange for concealing some of his prior misconduct. The person has not been identified in court hearings.
Some media outlets have reported that Hastert was attempting to hide acts of sexual abuse that occurred when he was a high school wrestling coach. Hastert was a teacher at Yorkville High School in the 1960s and 70s.
The indictment shows that Hastert took out large amounts of cash from his bank accounts from 2010 to 2014. He allegedly structured the withdrawals so that he wouldn’t have to report the transactions.
Hastert faces up to ten years in prison and a maximum fine of $500,000 for his two charges.
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