Ex-House Speaker Dennis Hastert Prosecuted For Being A VICTIM Of Extortion -- I'm No Fan Of Hastert, Or This Prosecution

I am no fan of Hastert, but he just got prosecuted for being a victim of extortion.

I appreciate when hypocrisy is exposed.  Hastert's public stances on morality are apparently in direct conflict with his behavior.  I believe in the Frank Rule of outing closeted politicians who use their power to hurt members of the LGBT community (and understand it’s dangerous to conflate Hastert's sexual orientation with the alleged crime of child molestation).  At first, I was quite pleased that a politician who had loudly condemned Clinton's misconduct was being outed for much worse misconduct. 

But Hastert was the victim of extortion.  He withdrew his own money to pay those extorting him.  He did so in small amounts so no one would know.  When asked why by FBI agents, he apparently didn’t reveal that he was being extorted (which is understandable).  So he gets charged for not being truthful to the FBI agents.  And for how he withdrew his own money -- under a statute enacted to stop drug dealers and money launderers, that was never intended to criminalize victims of extortion.

I can’t see the DOJ prosecuting anyone else for this.  If it went to trial, he could have won, but the reason he was being extorted -- alleged acts of child molestation -- would have dominated the public discourse, even though they aren’t relevant to the charged offense.  To avoid that public dialogue, over irrelevant facts, he had to plea.  That’s not justice.  That’s blackmail.

I am no fan of Hastert.  But I am no fan of this injustice either.