We do not know the exact actions that Hastert was trying to cover up and speculation is running immediately to the idea of pedophilia, but perhaps that is just the prurient nature we have developed these days about GOP/Tea Party/Christian Conservative values. But, I have a different scenario that would create a great deal more havoc in Mr. Hastert’s life that he might want to have hushed up.
Consider that Mr. Hastert came to power when two other candidates for House Speaker were shown to be involved in extra-marital affairs either during their time in office or while running for office, after Newt Gingrich’s affair came to light at the time of impeachment hearings on Clinton. Hastert was chosen and touted as being squeaky clean and above reproach, i.e. not hypocritical on calling out Clinton’s affair. What if Individual A was Hastert’s mistress, and there are now grown children involved pushing this person to go public, after her own political career has ended.
Republicans are well known for not paying child support and when Hastert hit the post-Congressional gravy train, chances are paying off a mistress was not something on his agenda. Once out of Congress, he returned to Illinois, and the DC mistress and possible children were left high and dry, or without the political backing that was requested to move forward with her career.
His payments at first were $50K, then dropped to $10K about every 6 weeks after the banks got involved. This sounds more like hush money in lieu of child support, and was being paid quietly to keep someone from going public at a time when the GOP already has problems with their family values image. She gave him two choices: she writes a good tell-all (and that includes pillow talk disclosures that could be detrimental to the GOP and the Bush Administration) or start paying up on the child support. It was only when the bank got nosy that the Feds were brought in, and she is probably going the state’s witness route to protect herself and the children from extortion charges across state lines.
While I would not put it past the old cout to have other preferences or skeletons in his closet, this sounds a whole lot more like a woman scorned than an adult going after a pervert. The timing of the payments is more in line with living expense/child support than hush money for illegal dealings. Only time and trials will tell us all, but the media will always have plenty of fodder for speculation.