Worse than FoleyGate-Denny Hastert's dodgy real estate deals. (TNR)

[kpete]

Denny Hastert's dodgy real estate deals.
Worse than FoleyGate
by Norman Ornstein & Scott Lilly
Only at TNR Online | Post date 10.06.06


Until last week, the broad image of House Speaker Dennis Hastert was of an affable, even grandfatherly figure. But Hastert's response--or lack thereof--to the Mark Foley scandal has suddenly put him in the hot seat, requiring even President Bush to defend him. The Speaker's reputation has taken a serious hit. Still, the image remains of an amiable guy, whose sins are more of sloth than malevolence.

Speaker Hastert, however, is no passive figure. When it comes to running the House, Hastert has, in fact, been an aggressive partisan. Recall, for instance, that he personally fired the chairman and two Republican members from the House Ethics Committee after they had the effrontery to rebuke Tom DeLay for misconduct. And when it comes to real estate, he has been a downright wheeler-dealer. Virtually overnight, the speaker's net worth went from approximately $300,000 to at least $6.2 million--thanks, in no small part, to an earmark he authored.

Hastert's real estate transactions have been reported extensively in the Chicago press and picked apart in a June report issued by the Sunlight Foundation. But they have been largely ignored in the national media. A careful examination of the facts in the case, however, leads to the conclusion that there are compelling reasons beyond the Foley case to call for the speaker's resignation from the post.


Here are the essential facts: In August, 2002, Hastert bought 196 acres of land in rural Kendall County, Illinois for $2,125,000. According to the Chicago Tribune, Hastert bought the plot in two separate transactions. The first deal gave him a house, barn, swimming pool, and 17 acres of land for $1.2 million. In the second deal, he obtained an additional 179 acres on an adjacent property for a little less than $5,200 per acre. The least valuable portions of the second deal were two fields, separated from the rest of the farm by a stream and inaccessible by road.

more (registration required) at:
http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=w061002&s=lillyornstein100606

[roguevalley]

1. he's also owned by the Turkish government.

[Erika]

2. The truth is finally coming out.

No wonder Hastert kept his mouth shut about Foley. The GOP has been very good to him. The heck with kids.

[rodeodance]

3. There were seveal articles about this a bit ago-seemed to blow over, but

maybe it will become an issue again.

[DianaForRussFeingold]

4. Bill MOYERS ON "Capitol Crimes"

"Although Jack Abramoff and Tom DeLay have been brought down, the system remains as vulnerable as ever," says Bill Moyers. "The scale of corruption still coming to light dwarfs anything since Watergate. In one sense it's the age-old tale of greed, but greed encouraged now by the way our system works. Deep in the plea agreements of Jack Abramoff and his cronies is the admission that they conspired to use campaign contributions to bribe politicians; campaign finance is at the core of the corruption. They took great pains to cover their tracks, and they might have pulled it off except for a handful of honest people, and the work of some enterprising print reporters, Senate investigators, and the ethics team at the department of justice. Following the money in this story leads through a bizarre maze of cocktail parties, golf courses, private jets, four-star restaurants, sweatshops - and the aura of chandeliered rooms frequented by the high and mighty of Washington." VIDEO-- http://www.pbs.org/moyers/moyersonamerica/media_players/chapter1-1.html Or PBS Great Documentary http://www.pbs.org/moyers/moyersonamerica/index.html

[Mnemosyne]

5. kick and nom. for visibility n/t

[ms liberty]

6. Have you sent this to Olbermann? Might be good for him...

I'm sure he could get Norm Ornstein for an interview. More of their dirty dealings need to come out!

[The Count]

7. When * defends someone, you can be sure a tangled web connects them

Didn't * also defend Delay? And the "naughty e-mails"?

[madokie]

8. I just googled dennis hastert and land deals

127,000 hits, wow. How can the press not care?

[mopinko]

9. that dog wont hunt

this type of profit on old farm land that is being developed around here is not uncommon. this is mc mansion central. forget it.