The former student at the center of the Dennis Hastert hush-money case still wants the disgraced politician to pay up, according to new court documents.
The man known only as Individual A has vowed to "go public" and sue if Hastert doesn't make good on their arrangement and give him more than $1.8 million, defense lawyers said.
The former House Speaker originally agreed to give Individual A $3.5 million to cover up allegations he sexually abused him on a wrestling-team trip in the 1970s, according to federal prosecutors.
Hastert forked over $1.7 million before investigators got suspicious about the way he was withdrawing cash from his bank accounts and launched a probe.
A court filing by Hastert's legal team, which was unsealed Wednesday, says Individual A wants the balance.
"Individual A may still go public if he pursues Mr. Hastert civilly, as his lawyer has threatened to do if Mr. Hastert does not pay Individual A the remaining $1.8 million from their initial arrangement, plus statutory interest," Hastert's lawyers wrote.
The documents don't disclose whether Hastert has any intention of paying the money. Chicago attorney Kristi Browne confirmed she is representing Individual A but said she isn't making any statements. Prosecutors also declined to comment.
Individual A is one of four former Yorkville High School students allegedly molested by Hastert when he was a teacher and a wrestling coach before he became a politician.
According to a pre-sentencing report filed by prosecutors, Indvidual A claims Hastert arranged for them to share a room during a wrestling trip and molested him under the guise of a massage for a groin pull.
Sometime after 2010, he confronted Hastert and asked for $3.5 million in compensation, prosecutors said. Hastert balked at getting lawyers involved and began making cash payments, via unusual bank withdrawals drew the attention of regulators.
After FBI agents questioned Hastert about the bank transactions in December 2014, he had his lawyers tell them he was being extorted by a former student who was pressing a false claim of being molested, prosecutors said.
The agents then recorded calls between Individual A and Hastert and decided the arrangement did not amount to extortion.
The judge who will sentence Hastert signaled Wednesday that he may use Hastert's extortion claim as grounds for a harsher penalty than the six months in jail recommended by the government.
Hastert's attorneys say it shouldn't be held against him, that his fear of being exposed was "genuine."
"Mr. Hastert did actually fear that Individual A could destroy him if he went public," they wrote.
Hastert, 74, who served as House Speaker from 1999 to 2007, will be sentenced April 27. He has asked for probation, citing poor health and his expressions of remorse.
The documents unsealed Wednesday show that prosecutors, in addition to recommending six months jail time, think Hastert should undergo a sex offender assessment and a lie-detector test to reveal "any recent misconduct." Defense lawyers responded that "both of these measures are unnecessary."
