Dennis Hastert, disgraced longtime House speaker, dies at 84

The longest-serving Republican House speaker who was later accused of molesting high school athletes during his prior career as a teacher and wrestling coach, has died at 84, a coroner said Monday. Dennis Hastert died Saturday of natural causes at his home while receiving hospice care, according to Kendall County Coroner Jacquie Purcell.

He served as speaker of the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007. But, in 2016, he became one of the highest-ranking American politicians ever sent to prison as he was sentenced to more than a year behind bars.

What did he do while in office? In the late 1990s, Hastert rose through the Republican ranks after Newt Gingrich lost support over ethics violations. Republicans chose Hastert as his successor in 1999 as the Senate held President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial. After Republicans reclaimed the White House, Hastert helped advance President George W. Bush’s legislative agenda.

What was the scandal that landed him in prison? In 2015, he was accused of evading banking regulations as part of a plan to pay hush money to conceal prior misconduct. Nearly a year later, prosecutors said Hastert’s alleged misconduct involved the sexual abuse of teenage boys on his wrestling team in Yorkville, a small town west of Chicago. In the hearing transcript, he never referred directly to sexual abuse, instead saying that he mistreated and took advantage of some of his athletes. He said he was deeply ashamed. Hastert agreed to plead guilty to evading banking laws and was sentenced to 15 months in prison.