Dennis Hastert and the chain of congressional corruption - CSMonitor.com
Dennis Hastert, a former speaker of the House, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly structuring bank withdrawals of large sums of cash to evade federal law.
Dennis Hastert has not been a member of Congress since 2007...
That said, his indictment has created a situation that appears very serious and perhaps dark.
Since 2010, the Illinois Republican and former speaker of the House has paid $1.7 million to an unnamed person to “conceal his [Mr. Hastert’s] prior misconduct,” according to the indictment...
Thus it’s possible Hastert may soon enter an unenviable fraternity: national-level lawmakers convicted of crimes.
The bad news is that this is not a tiny group.
The good news is that in the United States, such bad actors can be brought to account.
...At least 10 US lawmakers have been convicted of felonies since 2000, according to a quick and non-comprehensive review of federal records.
While most resigned following their convictions, one – ex-Rep. James Traficant (D) of Ohio – was expelled from the House by a floor vote.
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