I feel like it should be a bigger story that Speaker Hastert sexually abused several high school students. https://t.co/eo4mOGvo6l
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) April 9, 2016
On the one hand, this feels like pious voyeurism. On the other hand, his Repub fellows voted Hastert Speaker (to replace Newt Gingrich, who’d run into trouble over his own sexual/financial shenanigans) while grandstanding about that vile man Bill Clinton, who’d ‘taken advantage’ of a twenty-three-year old intern — a mere child, misled by a powerful older man, we were assured. More importantly, He’s old, he’s sick, he’s very sorry for what happened all those many years ago, is it really important we lock up some poor grampa who’ll never have the opportunity to re-offend? is the argument made every time another Catholic priest or other authority figure is exposed… and the near-universal answer from their victims seems to be “Yes, it’s important.”
From the Chicago Sun-Times, in his old stomping grounds:
… The man who was once second in line to the presidency sexually abused five students while a wrestling coach at Yorkville High School decades ago, according to a new court filing by federal prosecutors.
A sentencing memorandum filed late Friday finally ripped back the curtain on damning sexual abuse claims at the heart of an indictment leveled against Hastert last May — claims that haunted the former U.S. House Speaker enough that he paid a fortune to hide them from the world…
Attorney Steven Block wrote. “While defendant achieved great success, reaping all the benefits that went with it, these boys struggled, and all are still struggling now with what defendant did to them.”
Hastert’s sentencing day will be the worst of his life, his lawyers have acknowledged. They have asked for probation for the ailing, once-beloved 74-year-old pariah in an apologetic plea for mercy filed Wednesday. Hastert has pleaded guilty only to a financial crime…
Politico includes a wealth of detail:
…[E]ven as the prosecution laid out damaging claims that Hastert made sexual contact with at least three members of the wrestling team under the guise of giving them massages, the government stopped short of calling for prison time for the former speaker as a result of his guilty plea last year to a felony charge that he broke a federal law on reporting cash transactions while paying hush money to one of the former students.
The sentencing filing from prosecutors Friday night revealed that when the FBI first learned that Hastert was withdrawing large sums of cash from his bank accounts, he claimed he was being extorted by one of the former students. He even cooperated with the FBI in a sting operation of sorts by making recorded telephone calls to the unnamed man. Prosecutors said that Hastert did not follow the FBI agents’ instructions about what to tell the man and that the man’s “language and demeanor were inconsistent with an individual extorting defendant through threats.”
The FBI then approached the former student in question, who said the payments were part of $3.5 million Hastert agreed to pay in compensation for a sexual encounter initiated by Hastert at a motel on the way back from a “wrestling camp” trip where the then-coach was the only adult…While the statute of limitations for any criminal charges against Hastert relating to his actions decades ago has long expired, prosecutors said the judge can weigh Hastert’s alleged sexual abuse of minors against the more laudable aspects of his public service…
‘Laudable aspects’ such as covering for Mark Foley when he got caught harassing Congressional pages, for instance. But that was in another county, and besides the man is dead. If there were more publicity, does anyone want to bet against other victims showing up, possibly from Hastert’s years in Congress?
And then there’s the question of how a former wrestling coach turned legislator had millions of dollars to spend on attempting to hide his tracks. But that’s just everyday GOP sleaze…
How a high school teacher could end up a multimillionaire in congress seems like a ripe secondary scandal.https://t.co/HrTAwiY5m3
— Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) April 9, 2016
ETA: Missed Josh Marshall’s excellent post earlier today. I’d completely forgotten that Bob Livingston was going to be Newt’s replacement, until Livingston’s sexual history got published by Larry Flynt. And that Livingston’s subsequent resignation led to the election of Diaper Dave Vitter…
… As ironic as it seems today, Hastert was suddenly thrust forward by a House GOP caucus, which had spent the last six to seven weeks decapitating itself, on the belief that he assured steadiness, colorlessness, zero controversy and a total lack of any surprises. Speaking to veteran Republican aides after the initial Hastert revelations last year, I could not find anyone who had the remotest inkling there was even anything very interesting in Hastert’s private life, let alone such a shocking revelation. Indeed, for eight years Hastert provided just what Republicans had hoped from him – colorlessness and non-controversial leadership of the House which was, in procedural terms, fairly effective.
Trentrunner
My rage knows no bounds. As a 50-something gay man, Hastert’s party has been accusing my ilk of molesting children my entire life.
And he’s “learned his lesson.”
Burn in hell, Hastert.
gogol's wife
This makes me physically ill.
amk
typical iokiyar.
A reminder: Dennis Hastert is able to use public rest rooms nationwide. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/09/us/dennis-hastert-molested-at-least-four-boys-prosecutors-say.html?smid=nytcore-ipad-share&smprod=nytcore-ipad …
lollipopguild
@amk: It’s the rest room in prison that he does not want to be forced to use.
Baud
Still not as bad as Pelosi. /wingnut
bottyguy
I think this tweet needs to be appended to every post where a rich or politically connected man gets off easy:
https://twitter.com/naomiyitna/status/718444070020866048
dr. bloor
That’s odd. I don’t ever recall looking at him and thinking anything other than “greedy, hypocritical and power-hungry bag of pus.”
Darkrose
Un. Fucking. Believable.
Or rather, I wish it were. The horrible thing is that it’s standard .
debbie
Has any serious thought been given to getting rid of statute of limitations?
BottyGuy
Does this work?
Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)
@BottyGuy:
It is annoying to get the site to load, isn’t there a better link to the video?
Shell
Gee, didn’t knw you could balance out justice that way.
Shantanu Saha
Gives new meaning to “the Hastert rule.”
amk
@Shell: compassionate conservatism?
Iowa Old Lady
@Shell: They can go ahead and try to weigh Hastert’s “more laudable” actions, but nothing outweighs abusing children.
Ruckus
@dr. bloor:
Your description seems a lot closer to what I remember.
Shantanu Saha
@Shell: That’s how it works if you’re rich, white, male and Republican. You can spend your entire life defrauding little old ladies of their retirement money, but balance it out with one $100 million gift to Harvard.
lollipopguild
@efgoldman: His worst day was the day he told the FBI that he was a child molester, knowing that it would become public knowledge. “you have been weighed in the balance and found wanting” Having written the hand moved on.
amk
@BottyGuy: Both worked. From the mouth of babes …
amk
Is there even one genuinely likeable rethug critter?
eta: strike that, genuinely decent rethug critter?
redshirt
Sickening.
Also not a very fun topic for a Saturday night.
smith
Hey, wait — how can we know if he deserves no more than a slap on the wrist if we don’t know that JAYSUS has forgiven him? Or is that offer only valid below the Mason-Dixon line?
Mike J
Cheesecake shot of Hillary
Hungry Joe
@debbie: The statute of limitations can be infuriating, but it’s necessary: As time passes it becomes more and more difficult for defendants to gather evidence that might exonerate them. And since defendants (even Denny Fucking Hastert) are innocent until proven guilty, and are up against the power of the state, well … there has to be a time limit.
Baud
@Mike J:
She gaffed, however, by eating it with a fork and knife.
Mike J
@Baud: The proper way is to have your hands tied behind you, like in the pie eating contest at the county fair.
SiubhanDuinne
Superfluous “e.”
Baud
@Mike J:
The proper way to do most things is with your hands tied behind you.
SiubhanDuinne
“Once-Beloved Pariah” would be a great name for a garage band.
Ruckus
@debbie:
Lawyers could better explain but you want statutes. Yes some will go free or not be prosecuted for their crimes but without them there would be witch hunts, trying to find something on someone who doesn’t deserve it and wasting limited resources on prosecuting people who no longer threaten anyone or where the evidence is thin or unreliable. That’s not to say that for some crimes the statute should not be longer, say in child molestation. But the concept that this asshole is sorry, which I don’t recall hearing, or old or ill or rich, means that he shouldn’t serve time for the crime he is convicted of is just wrong. But someone on the coal mine thread said it best, we should not penalize people with harsher penalties for crimes they can be tried for because we can’t prosecute them for other crimes. That asshole mine owner in WV is an example. But Blankenship got the maximum at least for the crime he could be convicted of.
The world is not perfect and I think we have to sometimes just move on. I don’t believe in the death penalty either. It is not preventive, it is only retributive and many times applied to the wrong person. That isn’t the society that I want to live in. It is the one many of us do live in. We can do better and we should.
Keith G
Judging from the news accounts, Hastert was certainly a freak. I do wonder what turned his freak motor on. Was it something that happened to him as a youngster or was he one of those folks who just randomly becomes a monster?
But I won’t wonder about it too long since I have movies to catch up with.
A Ghost To Most
“The devil says there’s only one thing buggin’ him,
Hell’s fillin’ up with Republicans”
BillinGlendaleCA
@Mike J: That’s the way Baud! eats cheesecake.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@redshirt: Perhaps that’s why the title is Saturday Evening Horrorshow. For entertainment, there’s a Bundy Bunch Update immediately preceding this post.
smith
@Hungry Joe: But aren’t the crimes for which there is no statute of limitations also the ones for which potential punishment is most severe, and the consequences of not being able to mount an adequate defense also most problematic? It seems that in deciding on statutes of limitation, the harm to the victims is also taken into account.
SiubhanDuinne
@efgoldman:
This, yes, like, QFT, second, cosign.
smintheus
What?! How is it possible that the worst day of Hastert’s life will not be ONE of the days he raped a school kid? There appear to be dozens or hundreds of such days to choose from when he disgraced himself; but his worst day turns out to be the day when he’s sentenced for trying to cover up his crimes?
Ruckus
@Shell:
His public service wasn’t at all great so that shouldn’t be helping him. Of course he was a powerful, and is a rich person, so there is a probability it will.
Hungry Joe
@smith: Your point is a good one. It is also WAY beyond my area of expertise. (Now that I think about it, I’m not sure I even have an area of expertise.)
Mandalay
@Mike J: She always looks very fetching in her 80s Star Trek costume. No matter how many times she wears it.
Just One More Canuck
@dr. bloor: tomato, to-maht-oe
Mike J
@smintheus:
d.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfpPArfDTGw
Mike J
@Mandalay:
Emerald City Comicon this weekend.
Mandalay
@smintheus:
Jesus sheds light on your conundrum: “It is more blessed to give than to receive”.
He’ll be receiving in the slammer.
lollipopguild
@BillinGlendaleCA: Baud! does not actually eat cheesecake, he has people on his staff who do it for him. he does not want any pictures published of him cramming cheesecake down his piehole. See M. Bachman eating a corn dog.
Ruckus
@smith:
This is true but those crimes are also generally the ones that cost someone their life. There is no easy answer, everything will be a compromise in one direction or the other. I’ve thought about this a lot as a moral issue and I don’t have any better answer than statutes. I’d be happy to have a thread about this and a real discussion about the law, how it works and how it’s applied. And why.
delk
He brought a La-Z-Boy chair into the boys locker room to watch them shower. Andy Richter, a graduate of that school remembers it. Purportedly to stop fighting.
smith
@Hungry Joe: IANAL either. It just irritates me no end that until recently our society thought of child sexual abuse as no big deal.
bystander
“Once beloved”? Other than by his mother? Gack.
Throw him on the dung heap,
The Republic, Blah Blah Blah...
@Shell:
Laudable aspect? You mean, like resigning before his final term was up?
Know what’s extra nice about this? Hastert, and anyone who loaned him any part of the hush money, is STILL out that $3.5MM…
divF
@Hungry Joe: Your area of expertise is Stuff.
smintheus
@delk: What kind of a coach permits his own players even once to get into fights with one another? You don’t need a La-Z-Boy in the showers to stop fighting, you just threaten to toss any troublemakers off the team.
debbie
@Ruckus:
If only the victims could.
Friedman
A little something to think about: how can you defend Bill Clinton while bashing Hastert?
Progressive hypocrisy, example 1,546.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@smintheus: That will be Hastert’s worst day, since the worst day of his life is viewed from his perspective. Any of the days he raped a school kid were among the worst days of those kids’ lives. May he die in prison in fear of the historically delivered punishment by other residents to those who committed the crimes for which he could not be prosecuted. Note that I said in fear of, because I cannot in good conscience wish for -r condone – physically delivered revenge. Would that all prisons were as safe as federal penitentiaries, but there are no genuinely safe prisons for chomos.
smintheus
@Mandalay: And Jaysus will soon forgive Hastert, if He hasn’t already.
NotMax
If memory serves, Hastert was tapped for the Speaker post to replace Bob Livingston, who had his own dire baggage and was forced to step down nearly immediately after he was chosen to replace Gingrich.
Baud
Who trolls on Saturday night?
Calouste
@Friedman: Consent, a concept unknown to conservatives both in theory and practice.
amk
@Friedman:
aaand the vermins are here. just like the clockwork.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: Correct. We also learned during all of that that Congressman Hyde had been having an affair for several decades. The only thing in his defense is that his mistress was much, much closer in age to him than the women that Speaker Gingrich and Congressman Livingstone were involved with. And that unlike Speaker Gingrich, Congressman Hyde was faithful to his one mistress. Not so much to Mrs. Hyde.
The Republic, Blah Blah Blah...
Is this one of those logical fallacies?
Miss Bianca
@SiubhanDuinne: Yeah, back when they were just “Once-Beloved” they got to practice in the living room…
Svensker
@Baud:
He trolls for thee.
Miss Bianca
@Friedman: My God…Uncle Miltie, is that *you*? NOOOOOOO…..
NotMax
@Baud
Watch the first episode of the first season of Man Seeking Woman for the answer.
;)
dmsilev
@The Republic, Blah Blah Blah…: Well, the conservatives keep trotting that one out as if it proves something, so perhaps “reductio ad nauseum”?
smith
@Adam L Silverman: Also recall that Henry Hyde excused his affair as a “youthful indiscretion” that took place when he was in his forties. Not like that vile Bill Clinton whose, um, relationship with Lewinsky started when he was 49.
Miss Bianca
@Baud:
You know, this is the kind of statement that could bring down your presidential campaign…or, on the other hand, make more people inclined to vote for you.
Princess
Does anyone seriously think he stopped molesting boys when he left his coaching job?
redshirt
@Adam L Silverman: Could you post a happy cheery open thread so we can talk about something other than the horrors of child sexual abuse?
Ruckus
@debbie:
Agreed 100%. Still I don’t have a better solution. They will always be victims, no matter the time, money or prison sentence. Now if we could also work out some sort of mental health help for them rather than just penalizing someone for harming them. I see it somewhat like combat. You never forget what you’ve seen and done and had done to you. All the political rhetoric in the world won’t change that. You have to learn to live with it. Some do this well, some not at all. Would this change that they shouldn’t have been assaulted in the first place, of course not, nothing will change that. Can we work towards finding ways to stop the majority of crimes against people, especially vulnerable people? I’d like to think so but I think it will be difficult and probably take a long time, many humans having the nature they do.
Adam L Silverman
@smith: All the proper forms must be observed!
Calouste
OT, but UK Prime Minister David Cameron seems to be in a spot of bother after it came out that his (now deceased father) was mentioned in the Panama Papers.
In other UK news, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the Church of England, had a DNA test done and it turned out that despite being born about 9 months after his parents’ wedding, his mother’s husband was not his father.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud:
Republicans.
Adam L Silverman
@Princess: There’s some speculation that the reason the House page texting scandal was such a big deal is that there were concerns that Hastert wasn’t just covering up for one of his caucus. I don’t think it went anywhere beyond speculation. As Josh Marshall indicates in his editor’s note that AL linked to, no one ever thought Hastert was anything but dull and boring.
bmoak
@Princess: He might not have had as much easy access to boys after his coaching job.
Baud
@Calouste: Sins of the father … and the mother …
Adam L Silverman
@redshirt: It looks like Anne Laurie is working up the next thread now. From what I can see of the title in Dashboard, you’re going to be very, very happy with it. If nothing goes up in the next 1/2 hour or so, I’ll intervene.
dogwood
I guess I’ll take some satisfaction in the fact that Hastert was exposed and humiliated. There are plenty of predators among us who are neither rich, nor powerful who never face any consequences for what they do to the young and vulnerable.
opiejeanne
@Mike J: That’s a great photo.
Baud
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Sad. No wonder they are always so bitter.
smith
Well, looks like Hillary might as well just pack it in. Sanders won in Wyoming with a whopping 56%, gaining one delegate on Clinton. The Guardian headline is, “Bernie Sanders just won his seventh straight victory. Is he unstoppable?.”
ETA: Agree that the other new from the UK is worth watching. New revelations every day about Cameron’s finances, thousands protesting outside No. 10.
Baud
@smith:
I’m surprised he didn’t do better. He’s strong in those Western states.
redshirt
@Adam L Silverman: Dank Shane.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud:
with caucuses.
Adam L Silverman
@redshirt: Don’t thank me. AL is doing the work. I’m merely the messenger.
Friedman
@Calouste:
Lewisnky was an employee of the White House. If it were Ted Cruz instead of Clinton you would be screaming about abuse of power.
also I assume you have never heard of Juanita Broderick.
Gerald
HUMPT …a den of sexually depraved, lying molesting, hypocritical thieves and domestic terrorist!
These GOP/Republicans lack of human morality and their governance is a clear and present danger to US(America)!
Ben Cisco
@The Republic, Blah Blah Blah…: More like an illogical fallacy.
Gravenstone
@Friedman: Um, it’s called consent, sweetheart. Monica Lewinsky was well above the age of majority and able to make her own choices. Hastert’s multiple victims were neither of age nor capable of providing consent. Now, you sick fucking pederast apologist, go die in a fucking fire!
Ben Cisco
@redshirt: I second this. Maybe an open one?
Ben Cisco
Looks like it’s time for some more stupid sumbitches to eat some pie.
Baud
@Ben Cisco:
Preferably cheesecake.
Mike J
@smith:
No, it was 7-7. Sanders is only at 92% of his target, and we’re going into states with closed primaries and black people.
Adam L Silverman
@Ben Cisco: Its up. Have fun!
Gravenstone
@Friedman: Oh look, our new troll is going to be breaking out the Greatest Hits of the 90’s Clinton Witch Hunt. Original thought, on the other hand appears to be beyond its ken.
lollipopguild
@Miss Bianca: @redshirt: Dank Shane? I am not sure that Wayne Newton knows that version.
smith
@Mike J: I stand corrected. An earlier report I saw said 7-6. Looks like there’s no question about his stoppability.
Omnes Omnibus
@lollipopguild: It’s a hip-hop cover.
Princess
@Mike J: And in fact the four super delegates went for Clinton so the final total was Clinton 11, Sanders 7.
Miss Bianca
Some bitter twisted part of me wonders if Hyde ever needed to purchase his mistress an abortion…
Mike G
It’s a joke to think of the Hastert-era (and today’s) congressional Repukes’ self-service looting and vandalism job of making the country worse for everyone but their tribe, as “public service”.
smith
@Mike G: Especially as Hastert’s “public service” apparently left him with 3.5 mil in expendable cash.
Gex
@debbie: Yes. The Catholic Church has thrown lots of money into fighting extending the statute of limitations for child abuse. (For example in Wisconsin where a connected politico was party to helping them hide their money in the cemetery fund so that the thousands of allegations that were to come to light in the Milwaukee Diocese after Dolan left could be met with a “welp, we’re out of money to pay to the victims!” response.)
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Princess:
No, but he no longer had an easily groomed and available supply. May he die in pain and fear.
martian
Yeah, Hastert’s definitely a crook as well as a filthy child rapist. I’m reluctant to give a lot of details, but it might be fruitful for some enterprising journalist to look at Hastert’s involvement in the awarding -and redirecting – of federal contracts to cronies.
burnspbesq
Lot of people advocating for this terrible idea.
Davis X. Machina
@lollipopguild: It’s “Shank a Dane” — a new production of Hamlet set in the prison at Pelican Bay…
redshirt
I’m sure you’re all curious what the Free Republic take on this subject would be.
I assumed it would be “Hastert is a liberal”, but no. Not at all. They’re more a “pox on all the houses” and apparently if you’re a senator or congressman you are such only because you’re blackmailable.
Also, homosexuals. They sure do hate Justice Roberts and assume he’s not only a homosexual, but also a pedophile who adopts kids for such purposes.
lollipopguild
@Davis X. Machina: Is it a musical?
lollipopguild
@redshirt: Roberts was supposed to be gods gift to conservatives on the Supreme Court.
redshirt
@lollipopguild: And he mostly is. It’s always a bit shocking to wade into the cess pool of the other side and find out they hate Republicans too. They just want something much worse.
The Republic, Blah Blah Blah...
@dmsilev: I’d say there were actually multiple ones in that statement.
The Republic, Blah Blah Blah...
@Ben Cisco: Well, yes… that’s rather a given…
Probably even a feature and not a bug…
different-church-lady
Up to that point, that is.
Other than that I don’t think I can add anything to what’s already been said.
Ruckus
@burnspbesq:
I’ve expressed my thoughts on why this would be a bad idea, maybe you as a practicing lawyer might tell us more, since you think it’s such a horrible idea.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ruckus: Basically, for the reasons you set out.
eemom
@Ruckus:
Eliminating the SOL is NOT a bad idea in the case of child molestation, as I believe you said yourself above. And there are plenty of reasons it’s a good idea.
As for why Burns thinks it’s a horrible idea, that reason is because he’s an apologist for the Catholic Church.
Omnes Omnibus
@eemom: Eliminating them in general is a bad idea. Expanding them for child abuse cases is not necessarily a bad idea.
PhoenixRising
Yeah, I do. He had a stream of possible victims as a HS wrestling coach. Luckily for the Boy Scouts he also led during that period of his life. As he turned 40, he aged out and moved up to elected office at once. That’s my long-distance DX.
Also, Jesus, these people. Republican Speaker of the House, corrupt, now we have to add ‘no, the child molester’? Really?
Eric U.
@efgoldman: it actually is a logical fallacy, albeit one often used by trolls. False equivalence, the specialization of College republicans everywhere.
nutella
Don’t forget another gross aspect of the case: Nobody is punishing the bankers who participated in his financial crime:
And another, that prosecutors recommended the lowest possible sentence for a guy who deliberately and frequently broke a banking law in order to hide other crimes and lied to the FBI about it. Or maybe they figure they couldn’t get more than the minimum for a rich white man?
(Quotes from Chicago Tribune.)
Ruckus
@Omnes Omnibus:
@eemom:
Not sure that eliminating those for child molesting is all that good but extending them I think is. There may be other instances where this is also true.
I also just wanted burnsy to actually come up with an explanation as to why he as a lawyer thinks it’s a horrible idea after dropping that here with none. Debbie raised a very valid question and deserves a more nuanced explanation than mine.
boatboy_srq
@Darkrose: Anywhere else, where sexually repressed Xtians are in a minority, this would be a triumph following years of hidden horror. In the U.S., it’s just Saturday.
RaflW
If only Hastert had abused those boys while he was in drag. Then we could throw the N.C. book at him.
/snark
Dude should do time. I don’t care if he’s old. He was a disgraceful predator, by the sounds of it, and his later life doesn’t give him a pass (which is why he was paying the hush money, obviously!)
Ruckus
@nutella:
Only thing I can think of is they may think he isn’t well and a longer sentence may end up being a life sentence. That isn’t a fitting sentence for the crime he was convicted of. It may be for the crimes he couldn’t be prosecuted for. On the other hand he was convicted of a crime and the crime has the time, why does he get a pass by the prosecution for reasons not having to do with the crime? Also, I don’t think the judge has to agree with the prosecution and can give any sentence within the federal guidelines.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ruckus: I didn’t suggest eliminating them. Looking into extending them, though, is worth a look.
Ruckus
@Omnes Omnibus:
I know but I was talking to both you and eemom at the same time so I just acted like you did also. Look how long my posts would be if laid out all the details.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ruckus: No problem. It is complex question. A witness’s memory of seeing a murder is likely to last longer than his/her memory of a petty theft. And that is the basis of statues of limitation. If you can no longer get reliable witness testimony, you can’t get a conviction.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ruckus: @Omnes Omnibus: Also too, it becomes about the cost/benefit of pursing the case.
Omnes Omnibus
@Omnes Omnibus: pursuing…. Fuck.
rikyrah
He has admitted to destroying the lives of those children. I don’t for one minute believe that it was only four.
Ruckus
@Omnes Omnibus:
Of course my understanding is that it’s damn hard to get reliable witnesses no matter how long it’s been, 1 week, 1 decade. How many murder cases were slam dunks from witnesses and DNA evidence exonerated the defendant or convicted?
As I said earlier I think the basis for statutes is that at some point you just aren’t going to get a conviction, be it finding witnesses, believing their testimony, the costs in hours taken away from other cases, the cost in money for a trial that will not get a conviction, the basic fairness of a speedy trial, etc, etc. And that has to be balanced against having a livable society. Look at the crime bill from the 90s. Something was needed, in hindsight this wasn’t it. And yet, looking backwards all the time isn’t any healthier than ignoring the present or the possible. I think it was debbie up thread who said something like all those victims still are and she is right, but there are limits to what we can do. We don’t have to not do anything for fear of limits but we should be aware of that there are limits and we don’t always know what they are when we need to and the old ways of responding to situations don’t usually work out any better than they did when they were used before.
Ruckus
@rikyrah:
If we only knew of one, maybe I could believe that was it. Maybe. But we know of 4 and that is a pattern. There may not be more but he was successful at what he wanted to do (as bad as that is, and it’s very bad) and being successful at a pattern usually means the pattern is repeated, either till it fails or is no longer possible. This really is the basis of the Peter Principle. Keep doing the same thing till it no longer works.
mohagan
@smith: Absolutely – there is no statute of limitations on murder. Period.
eemom
@mohagan:
Nor on income tax evasion.
david10
The way it used to work, and as far as I know still does does, is that campaign funds leftover when the congressperson retires becomes his personal property to do with as he wishes. Have you ever wondered why people who get re-elected with 75-80% of the vote continue to fundraise so voraciously? They’re working on their retirement funds.
When Paul Douglas died in office his family found shoe boxes filled with money-over a million dollars-stacked in his closet.
nutella
@nutella:
I take back part what I said about the bank’s culpability. Apparently they weren’t as awful as described by the Tribune story and apparently Hastert withdrew cash from several banks.
So it was one of the nosy requirements of his very own PATRIOT act that got him.
Quotes from Gawker.
momus
A Tribune columnist, pointed out that corrupt Illinois politicians and gangsters are notorious for developing severe medical problems in advance of sentencing,
maurinsky
I think public figures who commit crimes should be punished more severely. The brazenness of going on to a public life after doing this shows he had no remorse, because he didn’t think his victims would ever speak up. He only feels bad now because he got caught.