Judge to Receive Hastert Plea Today

By Nick Gale, WLS News

(CHICAGO) The judge in former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s bank fraud case is expected to receive a copy of a plea agreement that the prosecution and defense have agreed to.

Judge Thomas Durkin is expected to see the plea deal for the first time today with Hastert expected to plead guilty on October 28 to charges that he paid $3.5 million in hush-money to cover up alleged wrongdoing from his years as a high school teacher.

According to the charges, Hastert lied about the reasons he withdrew the cash when he was questioned by the FBI in December. Prosecutors say he violated banking laws when he split up the withdrawals to evade the bank’s reporting requirements.

Listen to Nick Gale’s report for WLS News radio:

The plea agreement avoids a trial in which potentially embarrassing details could spill out to the public.  A person who was interviewed by the FBI raised allegations that the wrongdoing was sexual in nature.

Hastert does not have to appear today and hasn’t been in court since his initial hearing.

@ 2015 WLS News