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Dennis Hastert News. Illinois Republican Politician J Dennis Hastert News.

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Congress.gov biography:

"HASTERT, John Dennis, a Representative from Illinois; born in Aurora, Kane County, Ill., January 2, 1942; B.A., Wheaton College, Wheaton, Ill., 1964; M.S., Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Ill.,1967; teacher; athletic coach; business owner; member of the Illinois state house of representatives, 1980-1986; elected as a Republican to the One Hundredth and to the nine succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1987-present); Speaker of the House (One Hundred Sixth through One Hundred Ninth Congresses)."

Foley Scandal

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20080316
• Dennis Hastert - Money - Accounting - Oil - Iraq - Military - US - Ill - Ark - Va - "Republicans See Storm Clouds Gathering: Week of Bad News Highlights Difficult Challenges for GOP in Fall Elections." ... "It started with the loss last weekend of the seat held for two decades by [Illinois Republican Representative and] former House speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill. [Republican-Illinois]). It got worse when Republicans lost potentially strong challengers to Democratic senators in South Dakota and New Jersey, and failed to field anyone to oppose the reelection bid of [Arkansas Democratic Senator] Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark. [Democratic-Arkansas])." ... "The latest blow came with the revelation that the former treasurer of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) had allegedly diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars -- and possibly as much as $1 million -- from the organization's depleted coffers to his own bank accounts." ... ""It's no mystery," said [Virginia Republican Representative] Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va. [Republican-Virginia]). "You have a very unhappy electorate, which is no surprise, with oil at $108 a barrel, stocks down a few thousand points, a war in Iraq with no end in sight and a president who is still very, very unpopular. He's just killed the Republican brand."" (1, 2) -By Jonathan Weisman with contributions by Paul Kane -WashingtonPost

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20071109
• Dennis Hastert - Politics - Ill - Ore - "Short of cash, NRCC seeks millionaires." ... "Faced with lingering debt and a losing fundraising battle, House Republicans are recruiting a slew of self-funding candidates to run in many of their top races this election cycle." ... "At least seven candidates with the ability to self-fund millions have stepped forward in key districts for the GOP so far, and more could be on the way." ... "Most of the wealthy candidates were recruited by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), but some have stepped forward on their own and gotten the attention of a committee that could use the aid of their pocketbooks in its attempt to recoup its 2006 losses." ... "Five are running against members of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s (DCCC) Frontline program for vulnerable members, while one [Republican Mike Erickson] is running against perennial target Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-Ore. [Oregon]). Another is running for retiring Rep. Dennis Hastert’s (R-Ill. [Illinois]) seat in a race that could become a battleground." -By Aaron Blake -TheHill.com

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20071018
• Randy "Duke" Cunningham - Brent Wilkes - Jerry Lewis - Duncan Hunter - Tom DeLay - Roy Blunt - Dennis Hastert - Money - Politics - Lawmakers - Travel - Flying - Government - Military - Intelligence - San Diego - California - Texas - Missouri - Hawaii - Florida - Nevada - Idaho - Illinois - "Witness: Contractor Gave Lawmaker Perks." ... "[Former California Republican Representative Randy "Duke"] Cunningham, a San Diego Republican who held seats on the powerful House intelligence and defense appropriations committees, was elected to eight terms before resigning in 2005. He pleaded guilty that year to accepting $2.4 million in bribes from [Brent] Wilkes and others and is serving an eight-year prison sentence." ... "[Wilkes nephew and employee Joel] Combs testified Wednesday that his uncle communicated with other prominent lawmakers, including California Republicans Jerry Lewis and Duncan Hunter, former House Majority Leader [Republican] Tom DeLay of Texas, Republican Whip [Missouri Representative] Roy Blunt, and Sen. Daniel Inouye, a Hawaii Democrat." ... "But the relationship with Cunningham was at the center of Wilkes' success in Washington, and Combs said his uncle worked to keep the lawmaker happy - efforts that included staking his nephew money to purposely lose in poker games with the lawmaker." ... "Combs recalled dinners at Washington's fancy Capital Grille restaurant, shooting lessons, and trips to Florida, Las Vegas [Nevada] and Idaho provided by Wilkes for the congressman from 1998 until 2002. During that period, Cunningham made calls to Pentagon officials on Wilkes' behalf and helped secure about $90 million in federal contracts for Wilkes' company." ... "The perks included a $20,000 stay in a private villa at a resort in Hawaii, where Wilkes, Combs and the congressman went diving - an expedition captured in an underwater video that was played for jurors. Combs said he also hired women from an escort service for his uncle and the congressman." ... "Wilkes also paid to fly Cunningham and former House Speaker [Illinois Republican Representative] Dennis Hastert from a golf outing in Palm Springs [California] to San Diego [California] for a reception and then back to Washington on private jets, Combs testified." -By Allison Hoffman -AP via -Guardian.co.uk 

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20070814
• J Dennis Hastert - DeLay - Foley - Cunningham - Ney - Legislation - History - Illinois - Texas - Ga - La - Florida - California - Ohio - "Hastert Planning to Retire at End of 2008, GOP Sources Say." ... "After less than a year as a rank-and-file House member, former Speaker [Illinois Republican Representative] J. Dennis Hastert is expected to call an end to a political career that made him the longest serving Republican Speaker in the history of the House of Representatives." ... "Hastert, 65, was first elected to Congress in 1986 after GOP [Illinois Republican Representative] Rep. John E. Grotberg retired. He quietly worked his way up the ranks in the House, propelled into the Republican leadership in 1994 by then-Rep. [Texas Republican Representative] Tom DeLay, R-Texas." ... "Hastert ran DeLay’s successful upstart campaign for majority whip after Republicans captured control of Congress, and DeLay in turn named Hastert as his chief deputy. Four years later, in 1998, DeLay helped to elevate Hastert to Speaker after [Georgia Republican Representative] Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., stepped down following the loss of GOP seats in that year’s elections and [Louisiana Republican Representative] Robert L. Livingston, R-La., withdrew abruptly from contention after acknowledging an extramarital affair." ... "Throughout his time as Speaker, Hastert was personally popular with rank-and-file Republicans, who never saw him as part of the ethics problems that plagued DeLay and former [Florida Republican Representative] Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla. (1995-2006), or the criminal misdeeds of former [California Republican Representative] Reps. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, R-Calif. (1991-2005) and [Ohio Republican Representative] Bob Ney, R-Ohio (1995-2006)." ... "He also set a standard for the GOP majority by only allowing legislation on the floor of the House that was backed by the “majority of the majority,” [of Republicans] an approach that all but denied Democrats a chance to help shape legislation." ... "The minority party had little say in conferences with the Senate during Hastert’s tenure, because conference committees became an after-the-fact formality that rubber-stamped deals worked out by a handful of House and Senate Republican members who operated under the thumb of party leaders." -By Jonathan Allen with contributions by Alan K. Ota, Martin Kady II, and David Nathe -CQPolitics.com 

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20061025
• Hastert - Foley - Reynolds - Boehner - Illinois - Florida - New York - Ohio - "Hastert testifies in sex scandal investigation: Presses panel to move quickly." ... "Speaker J. Dennis Hastert [Illinois Republican] yesterday became the first leader of the House of Representatives in a decade to testify before its ethics committee, fielding hours of questions about what he knew about former [Florida Republican] representative Mark Foley's inappropriate approaches to teenage pages and when he knew it." ... "At least two Republican leaders -- Representative Thomas M. Reynolds of New York, who is leading the party's House reelection effort, and House majority leader John Boehner of Ohio -- have said they told Hastert last year that they were concerned about Foley's behavior after they learned about "overly friendly" e-mails that Foley, a Florida Republican, sent to one former male page." ... "Hastert has said he does not recall those conversations, but he does not dispute that he may have forgotten them." -By Maura Reynolds -LAtimes via -BostonGlobe 

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