Name:   MartiniMan - Subject:   Hastert and the real crime Date:   6/3/2015 5:17:38 PM

There may be multiple crimes here and if Hastert engaged in sexual conduct with a student and that was a violation of the law and it is within the statute of limitations then he should fry.  If it is beyond the statute then shame on the victims for waiting so long.  But blackmail and extortion are also crimes and if the student or students blackmailed him they will likewise need an attorney.  It is ironic that Hastert may have run afoul of the very same law he helped pass.  Poetic justice if he is indeed convicted.  I have no love for the guy as he was a big government Republican.....not my kind of guy.

As for the money, he was earning over $1M per year as a lobbyist and apparently made a ton of money on real estate deals ala Harry Reid.  Since he has been out of office since 2007 he has probably made close to $8M as a lobbyist, not to mention whatever other deals he got involved in (ala Hillary's cattle futures) that people use to buy access and obtain the largesse of the federal government.  Hence my desire for a limited federal government.  The less they control, the less they put into the treasury at the point of a gun, the less need for hiring high priced lobbyists and setting these politicians up with sweetheart deals.  This kind of corruption and cronyism in a bipartisan problem and the only solution is limited federal government......I know, a pipe dream but I need to remain an optimist.