Ex-US House speaker's indictment offers few clues about case

A newly unveiled indictment against former US House Speaker Dennis Hastert accuses the Republican of agreeing to pay USD 3.5 million in hush money to keep a person from the town where he was a longtime schoolteacher silent about "prior misconduct."
But it offers few hints about a central question: What was the alleged wrongdoing?
The concise federal grand jury indictment handed down yesterday accuses Hastert of agreeing to pay the money to a person identified in the document only as "Individual A," to "compensate for and conceal his prior misconduct against" that person.
It notes that Hastert was a high school teacher and coach from 1965 to 1981 in suburban Yorkville, west of Chicago. It goes on to say Individual A has been a resident of Yorkville and has known Hastert for most of Individual A's life, but it does not describe their relationship.

Legal experts say the fact that federal prosecutors noted Hastert's tenure in Yorkville in the indictment's first few sentences strongly suggests some connection between the allegations and that time and place.
"Notice the teacher and coach language," said Jeff Cramer, a former federal prosecutor and head of the Chicago office of the investigation firm Kroll. "Feds don't put in language like that unless it's relevant."

No one has contacted the school district where Hastert worked to report any misconduct involving him, school officials today said in a statement. The district did not learn of the indictment until it was made public yesterday.

Hastert, who has not been arrested, was a little-known lawmaker from suburban Chicago when chosen to succeed conservative Newt Gingrich as speaker. Hastert was picked after favoured Louisiana Rep. Bob Livingston resigned following his admission of several sexual affairs.
As speaker, Hastert pushed President George W Bush's legislative agenda, helping pass a massive tax cut and expanding federal prescription drug benefits. During those years, he was second in the line for the presidency, after the vice president.