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Dennis Hastert

John Dennis "Denny" Hastert (born January 2, 1942) is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 2007, representing , and served as Speaker of the House from 1999 to 2007.

Originally elevated to the Speakership on January 6, 1999, he surpassed Joseph Gurney Cannon as the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history on June 1, 2006. Hastert was reelected to an eleventh term in Congress in the 2006 general election, defeating former United States Navy intelligence analyst John Laesch. However, the Republican Party lost its majority in the House and Hastert did not seek a leadership position in the 110th Congress. He resigned his seat mid-session on November 26, 2007. Hastert had endorsed former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination before he withdrew from the race.

Early life

Hastert was born in Aurora, Illinois and grew up in Oswego, Illinois. He was the eldest of three sons of Naomi and Jack Hastert. As a young man he worked in the Plainfield, Illinois, family restaurant "The Clock Tower" as a fry cook. He briefly attended North Central College but graduated from Wheaton College, Illinois, in 1964, and earned a master's degree in education from Northern Illinois University, in 1967. Although Hastert was high school "football and wrestling star" and a wrestler at Wheaton College in the 1960s, he was later injured, and as a result never served in Vietnam.

After a stint teaching English in Osaka, Japan, in the early 1970s, he moved to Yorkville, west of Chicago, and took a job as a government and history teacher at Yorkville High School. He also coached wrestling and football, leading the wrestling team to a state title in 1976. His family owns the locally famous fried chicken restaurant, "The White Fence Farm," in Bolingbrook, Ill.

Illinois House of Representatives

In 1980, he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives and served three terms, becoming the ranking Republican on the Appropriations Committee.

Early congressional career

In 1986, John Grotberg, the Congressman from Illinois's 14th congressional district, was comatose in January 1986 due to a stroke suffered during cancer treatment. Grotberg was kept on life support through the primary election. As this was a politically unique situation, the twelve county chairmen would seek legal guidance on the correct procedure to choose his successor. A DeKalb radio talk show host waged a protest write-in campaign going on the radio stations of the district telling of the GOP chairmen's plan to "hand pick" a congressional successor without the people's vote. Hastert did not live in the congressional district and had to move into it. Hastert was nominated by the Republican congressional district convention held at the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora, Illinois. This convention was attended by all precinct committee members from within the represented district. Each was assigned a weighted vote based upon the total number of Republican ballots cast in their respective precincts in the most recent primary election. Dr. Verbic, a dentist from Elgin, Illinois, was the only other candidate to be nominated that day. Mayor Verbic ran in the 1984 GOP primary which was won by then State Senator Grotberg. After approximately two hours of voting, it became clear that the vast majority of votes were going toward Hastert. A motion was made to suspend voting and to nominate Hastert by acclamation. The convention acclaimed Hastert its nominee to succeed Grotberg. A few Republicans were upset at the fact that they were not going to get a chance to choose their nominee for Congress, although they had all given input to their local committee members. What bothered thousands of GOP rank and file members was the way Grotberg's condition was publicised and the way Mayor Verbic was treated. Initially told it would be an open and fair district convention, calls were made prior to the convention disparaging to Mayor Verbic's age. Because of these reasons, Hastert would face his closest race for Congress. Hastert faced Democrat Mary Lou Kearns, the coroner of Kane County. Hastert ran a sluggish campaign, but the district's strong Republican base enabled Hastert to win with 52 percent of the vote.

After that, he never faced another election nearly that close, especially after redistricting in the 1990s made the district even more Republican.

During his first twelve years in Congress, Hastert worked closely with Illinois Republican leaders, especially Minority Leader Robert Michel. After the Republicans took control of the House in 1995, Hastert was named Chief Deputy Whip, the highest appointed position in the House Republican caucus. In this position, he was chief vote-counter for then Majority Whip Tom DeLay.

Speaker

Election as Speaker

In the aftermath of the 1998 midterm elections, House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia stood down for the Speakership and declined to take his seat for an 11th term. The initial Republican prospect for Gingrich's replacement was Bob Livingston of Louisiana, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, who was unanimously chosen as the Republican candidate for Speaker--and de facto Speaker-elect. However, soon thereafter, Hustler magazine detailed sexual affairs Livingston had in the past while seemingly hypocritically attacking President Bill Clinton for the Monica Lewinsky scandal; Livingston announced he wouldn't seek the Speakership and resigned from Congress.

With Livingston's departure, the leading candidates for Speaker appeared to be DeLay and House Majority Leader Dick Armey, both of Texas. However, Armey had just fended off a bruising challenge to his majority leader's post from Steve Largent of Oklahoma.

This seemed to open the door for DeLay. However, DeLay was as controversial then as now, and felt that he would be "too nuclear" to lead a closely divided House. The Republican caucus then turned to Hastert as a compromise candidate. He had very good relationships with moderate and conservative Republicans, as well as Democrats. Hastert was then unanimously elected as the Republican candidate for Speaker, all but assuring his formal election as Speaker on January 6, 1999.

Tenure as speaker

In accepting the position, Hastert broke with tradition by delivering his acceptance speech from the floor, and by allowing House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri to preside briefly. Hastert pledged to work for bipartisanship, saying: "Solutions to problems cannot be found in a pool of bitterness. They can be found in an environment in which we trust one another's word; where we generate heat and passion, but where we recognize that each member is equally important to our overall mission of improving the life of the American people." In November 2004, however, Hastert instituted his "majority of the majority" policy, allowing the House to vote only on bills supported by the majority of its Republican members. His policy agenda focused on taxes, education, Social Security, Medicare, and national defense.

Although by tradition, Hastert was the leader of the House Republicans, he adopted a much lower profile in the media than conventional wisdom would suggest for a Speaker. This led to accusations that he was only a figurehead for DeLay. Still, in the months after the September 11 attacks, he met regularly with President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, the two Senate leaders and the House minority leader to shape the national response.

As Speaker, Hastert traditionally did not serve on any committee. He usually did not participate in debate (though he had the right to do so) and almost never voted on the floor.

Hastert has been a prominent advocate of the FairTax proposal to replace the income tax with a national sales tax. He has been a strong supporter of all of the Bush administration's foreign and domestic policies.

On June 1, 2006, Hastert became the longest-serving Republican Speaker of the House in history, surpassing the record previously held by fellow Illinoisan Joe Cannon, who held the post from November 1903 to March 1911.

On October 27, 2005, Hastert became the first Speaker of the House to author a blog on his website called, the "Speaker's Journal. In his first post, he wrote, "This is Denny Hastert and welcome to my blog. This is new to me. I can’t say I’m much of a techie. I guess you could say my office is teaching the old guy new tricks. But I’m excited. This is the future. And it is a new way for us to get our message out.

Rolling Stone rated Hastert the worst congressman in 2006, accusing him of effectively ceding his power to DeLay. It also noted that Hastert inserted $356 million for a highway that will speed the development of several acres of land that he owns.

Controversies

Campaign contributors

According to Federal Election Commission records, Hastert has received campaign contributions from numerous political action committees and individuals. The companies include several with ties to Illinois, such as McDonald's, Caterpillar, and Allstate. Many Fortune 500 companies, medical associations, and agricultural interests have also contributed.

Hastert has declined and returned contributions from the National Rifle Association. He has also returned money from tobacco companies, including Lorillard Tobacco Company and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.

From 1997 to 2001, Hastert received multiple contributions from Enron Corporation and Arthur Andersen; however, the extent of their issues was not fully known at the time. Hastert accepted multiple contributions from Accenture, despite the Government Accountability Office noting Accenture is incorporated in a tax haven country (Bermuda), thereby avoiding federal income tax.

The law firm of Winston & Strawn has made multiple financial contributions. Winston and Strawn's CEO is Republican James R. Thompson who is a former Governor of Illinois.

Hastert received approximately $70,000 in contributions from clients of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who pleaded guilty in January 2006 to defrauding American Indian tribes and corrupting public officials. A Hastert spokesman said the money would be donated to charity; however, the charity was undisclosed.

Contact with Colombian government

In 1997, Hastert led a Congressional delegation to Colombia. At that time, the Bill Clinton administration was concerned about human rights abuses by the Colombian military. Hastert urged Colombian officials to "bypass the U.S. executive branch and communicate directly with Congress.

Support for Turkey

During his time in United States Congress, critics have alleged he is too friendly with Turkey because he has not supported initiatives related to the Armenian genocide of 1915–1923. He has frequently traveled to Turkey.

In October 2000, Hastert withdrew at the last minute a promised House vote on a resolution to recognize the Armenian killings. Hastert claimed that this was prompted by a telephone conversation with then-President Bill Clinton in which "Clinton said he was 'deeply concerned' about the language in the document... Hastert said Clinton had warned of 'possible far-reaching negative consequences for the United States' if the House voted on the legislation." Hastert defended pulling the vote, saying:

I believe the Armenian people suffered a historic tragedy, and that this resolution was a fitting condemnation of those events. But the president of the United States, the commander in chief of our Armed Forces, has asked us not to bring this resolution to the House floor. This is not an idle request. We all know that the situation in the Middle East is unusually tense.

He blocked similar legislation in 2004.

In August 2005, an article published in Vanity Fair reported that Federal Bureau of Investigation translator-turned-whistleblower Sibel Edmonds has sworn under oath that she listened to wiretaps in which Turkish nationals boasted that Hastert had accepted bribes. A Hastert spokesperson has denied any knowledge of these events even though a National Security Agency investigation is underway. In June 2008, Hastert joined Dickstein Shapiro, a lobbying firm with strong ties to Turkey , sparking protests and renewed calls for an investigation into the Vanity Fair bribery allegations.

Remarks about George Soros

On August 29, 2004, in a Fox News interview, anchor Chris Wallace said, "You know, I don't know where billionaire George Soros gets his money... if it comes overseas or from drug groups or where it comes from." Asked if he thought Soros got money from drug cartels, Hastert responded:

Well, that's what he's been for a number years — George Soros has been for legalizing drugs in this country. So, I mean, he's got a lot of ancillary interests out there. I'm saying I don't know where groups — could be people who support this type of thing. I'm saying we don't know.

Hastert had made similar comments in an August 23, 2004 radio interview.

On August 31, Soros, who had made his money from investments and currency speculation, wrote to Hastert requesting an apology. Hastert replied that Soros had "funded organizations such as The Drug Policy Foundation, The Open Society, The Lendesmith Center, the Andean Council of Coca Leaf Producers, and several ballot initiatives across the country to decriminalize illegal drug use;" he did not apologize. Slate magazine noted that "Hastert's explanation is preposterous. Soros gives money to these groups. He doesn't collect money from them." On September 1, Soros wrote a second letter, again requesting an apology.

In mid-September 2004, Soros filed a complaint with the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, charging that Hastert had slandered him by making comments on radio and television that Soros received drug money.

New Orleans rebuilding

Hastert generated controversy on 1 September 2005 when he said spending federal money to rebuild New Orleans from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina "doesn't make sense to me." Hastert went on to say that "It looks like a lot of that place could be bulldozed."

Hastert's website responds to this controversy with the following statements: "It is important that when we rebuild this historic city that we consider the safety of the citizens first. I am not advocating that the city be abandoned or relocated."

Connection to Jack Abramoff scandal

Hastert, an Illinois Republican, held a fundraiser at Jack Abramoff's Signatures restaurant in Washington on June 3, 2003, that collected at least $21,500 for his Keep Our Majority political action committee from the Abramoff's firm and tribal clients. Seven days later, Hastert wrote Interior Secretary Gale Norton, urging her to reject the Jena tribe of Choctaw Indians' request for a new casino. Hastert's three top House deputies also signed the letter, which said that approving the request would "run counter to congressional intent."

Hastert collected more than $100,000 in donations from Abramoff's firm and tribal clients. On May 24, 2006, ABC News chief investigative reporter Brian Ross reported that the FBI has begun an investigation into Hastert's connections with Abramoff, and the June 2003 letter in particular. The Justice Department quickly issued a denial of the ABC report: "Speaker Hastert is not under investigation by the Justice Department," DOJ Director of Public Affairs Tasia Scolinos said in a one-line statement. Hastert has strongly denied the report. ABC News later issued an updated report that stated that its sources stood by the story. There have been no further developments.

FBI search of a Congressional office

Just prior to the ABC report on May 24, Hastert had been critical of the FBI for its May 20, 2006 search of Rep. William J. Jefferson's Congressional office in a bribery investigation. Hastert contended that the FBI, an agency in the executive branch of the federal government, had no constitutional right to search the offices of Congress, a separate branch. The FBI had obtained a warrant for the search.

A number of conservative pundits have criticized Hastert's position regarding the right of the FBI probe to do such a search. These critics include Ed Morrissey at Captain's Quarters, contributors to National Review and Red State, and talk show host Rush Limbaugh. The Washington Post published an editorial critical of Hastert's anti-FBI stance. Louisiana Republican Senator David Vitter was also sharply critical of Hastert's actions, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Connecticut Republican Rep. Rob Simmons supported the FBI search.

Real estate investments

On June 14, 2006, the Sunlight Foundation reported that Hastert has used an Illinois trust to invest in real estate about six miles (10 km) from the proposed site of the Prairie Parkway. Hastert's financial disclosure statements did not list the trust or its value, but did list several transactions done by the trust as if Hastert had done them directly. The House Ethics manual states that "Disclosure of real property should include a description sufficient to permit its identification (e.g., street address or plat and map location). The use of an undisclosed trust to purchase and own land made it impossible to identify the property owned by Hastert.

In the summer of 2005, Hastert personally intervened during House and Senate negotiations over a huge transportation and infrastructure bill to secure $152 million to build the highway project and $55 million for an interchange from his property. President George W. Bush signed the bill into law in September 2005.

On June 15, 2006, the Chicago Tribune reported that Hastert and two partners had sold a parcel to a developer in December 2005 for $4.99 million. The land that was sold came equally from two purchases, in August 2002 and February 2004, and had a total cost of $1.9 million. Hastert's share of the profits was $2.018 million. Critics charged that, by earmarking money to improve the value of his land, Hastert violated House rules prohibiting taking official action for the prospect of personal gain.

2006 House page scandal

In September 2006, it was revealed that Hastert's office had been aware for over a year that Representative Mark Foley (R-Florida) had sent inappropriate e-mails to a 16-year old former congressional page in 2005. Congressman John Shimkus, who chaired the three-member committee overseeing the page program, had told Foley to stop sending inappropriate emails. However, no other action had been taken, nor any further investigation made into Foley's behavior.

Kirk Fordham, a senior congressional aide, said he told Hastert's office about Foley's conduct toward teenage pages more than three years ago, long before officials have acknowledged becoming aware of the issue.

Hastert denied knowledge of any explicit e-mails or instant messages. In a press conference shortly after Foley's resignation, he called the emails "vile and repulsive." He also said that had Foley not resigned, he would have demanded Foley's expulsion from the House.

The Washington Times called for Hastert to resign as Speaker of the House. The editorial stated, "Either he was grossly negligent... or he deliberately looked the other way in hope that a brewing scandal would simply blow away. He gave phony answers Friday to the old and ever-relevant questions of what did he know and when did he know it? Mr. Hastert has forfeited the confidence of the public and his party, and he cannot preside over the necessary coming investigation, an investigation that must examine his own inept performance. Gingrich said that Hastert appropriately handled the aftermath of the scandal involving Foley and explicit instant messages to underage male pages. Gingrich dismissed calls for Hastert's resignation. "I do not agree with that, and I think it's very premature and very inappropriate," said Gingrich.

Angela Marie "Bay" Buchanan, a conservative activist and former Treasurer of the United States, called for Hastert to resign from Congress. Buchanan said that the email that Hastert was informed about — and described as "overly friendly" — "had predator stamped all over it. No one in the country can suggest otherwise." Buchanan said that Hastert and others "failed the parents of this country.

On October 4, 2006, a former aide to the House said he alerted Hastert at least three years ago before the e-mails became public. Two days later, Hastert released a statement that he would not resign over the scandal.

On October 10, Hastert met with Indian-born evangelist K.A. Paul, who said he prayed with Hastert and attempted to get him to resign. Paul played an important role in getting embattled Liberian president Charles Taylor to leave Liberia and go into exile in 2003.

One effect of the controversy was to impair Hastert's ability to help Republican Congressional candidates. Some candidates "disinvited" Hastert from previously scheduled campaign appearances on their behalf.

Joshua Hastert

Dennis Hastert's oldest son, Joshua, is a lobbyist for the firm PodestaMattoon. Joshua Hastert is registered as a lobbyist for clients ranging from Amgen, a biotech company, to Lockheed Martin, a defense contractor. Such family ties are sparking debates about lobbyists. "There definitely should be restrictions" on family members, said Craig Holman, a Congress Watch official who has studied the matter. "This is family members cashing in on connections...It is an ideal opportunity for special interest groups to exploit family relationships for personal gain." Joshua Hastert says he does not lobby House Republican leaders.

US Attorney controversy

On March 14, 2007 Sen. Peter Fitzgerald said he believed senior Bush advisor Karl Rove was trying to influence the selection of U.S. attorneys in reaction to pressure from Hastert and allies of then-Gov. George Ryan, who knew Fitzgerald was seeking someone from outside Illinois to attack political corruption.

During the Tony Rezko trial in April, 2008, Assistant U.S. Atty. Carrie Hamilton told U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve that witnesses were ready to testify about a clique of connected Illinois Republicans working behind the scenes with Karl Rove to dump U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald and replace him with a compliant functionary. Witnesses said these Republicans included former House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

Post-Speakership career

Hastert was reelected to his seat by a margin of 59.75 percent vs. 40.25 percent in the 2006 election, but that year the Republicans lost control, and soon after, Hastert announced he would not run for the post of Minority leader. He had long made it known that the 2007-09 term (110th Congress) would be his last. On June 1, 2007, State Senator Chris Lauzen declared his intention to seek the Republican nomination from Hastert's district. On July 2007, three-time statewide candidate Jim Oberweis also declared his intention to seek the Republican nomination from Hastert's district. The next month, Geneva mayor Kevin Burns became the third Republican candidate in the race to succeed Hastert.

On Aug. 10, 2007, Hastert's office sent letters to his supporters stating that he would announce whether he would be running for another term as congressman of the 14th district. The press conference was set to take place at the Kendall County Courthouse in Yorkville, Illinois on August 17 at 10 a.m. According to sources, Hastert usually announced his intention to run by sending out a press release. On August 14, 2007, a blog reported that Hastert was planning to retire from politics at the end of his term.

On October 17, 2007, the political newspaper Roll Call announced that Hastert would resign from the House before the end of 2007. He gave a farewell speech on the House Floor on November 15, 2007, which was followed by remarks from current Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Finally, on November 26, 2007, Hastert submitted his resignation, effective at 11:59pm that day, to Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, explaining that the timing allowed the governor to set the primary for the special election to fill out the remainder of his term on February 5, 2008, the same day as the primary for the November general election. Gov. Blagojevich, however, chose to name a special and separate election on Saturday, March 8, 2008 for this remainder of Hastert's term. This created great controversy as the expense to the county election services involved was construed by many as being of Hastert's making, when he had purposefully resigned with adequate time to have his position filled by special ballot on the day of the regular Illinois Primary on February 5. Ultimately, the special election was held on March 8, 2008 and the Democratic candidate, Bill Foster, prevailed over the Republican candidate, Jim Oberweis.

Electoral history

Illinois House of Representatives: 39th district

1980 election (top three candidates elected)

Suzanne L. Deuchler (R), 34.87%
Dennis Hastert (R), 29.06%
Lawrence Murphy (D), 21.81%
Dwain Givens (D), 14.26%

Illinois House of Representatives: 82nd district

1982 election

Dennis Hastert (R), 67.84%
James E. McCauley (D), 32.16%

1984 election

Dennis Hastert (R) (inc.), 100.0%

U.S. House of Representatives: Illinois's 14th district

1986 election

Dennis Hastert (R), 52.36%
Mary Lou Kearns (D), 47.64%

1988 election

Dennis Hastert (R) (inc.), 73.70%
Stephen Youhanaie (D), 26.30%

1990 election

Dennis Hastert (R) (inc.), 66.90%
Donald Westphal (D), 33.10%

1992 election

Dennis Hastert (R) (inc.), 67.32%
Jonathan Reich (D), 32.64%
Yvonne Dinwiddle (write-in), 0.02%

1994 election

Dennis Hastert (R) (inc.), 76.48%
Steve Denari (D), 23.52%

1996 election

Dennis Hastert (R) (inc.), 64.39%
Doug Mains (D), 35.60%

1998 election

Dennis Hastert (R) (inc.), 69.77%
Robert A. Cozzi, Jr. (D), 30.23%

2000 election

Dennis Hastert (R) (inc.), 73.99%
Vernon DelJohnson (D), 26.01%

2002 election

Dennis Hastert (R) (inc.), 74.14%
Lawrence Quick (D), 25.86%

2004 election

Dennis Hastert (R) (inc.), 68.63%
Ruben Zamora (D), 31.37%

2006 election

Dennis Hastert (R) (inc.), 59.79%
Jonathan Laesch (D), 40.21%

Quotes

The sport of wrestling is a tremendous builder of the values and characteristics which are needed to succeed in any walk of life. Much of what I have managed to achieve in life I owe directly to the years I spent in the wrestling room, as an athlete and a coach. Wrestling is a great educational tool.