Former Speaker Dennis Hastert dies at 84 after historic criminal conviction

Dennis Hastert, the longest-serving Republican Speaker of the U.S. House, died at 84 from natural causes, according to the Purcell County, Illinois coroner’s office. Hastert’s political rise began when he was unexpectedly chosen as Speaker in 1999 after Newt Gingrich’s resignation and a brief candidacy by Bob Livingston. His speakership was later marred by criticism over the Mark Foley texting scandal and the eventual loss of the House in the 2006 elections.

In 2015, federal regulators flagged suspicious cash withdrawals, leading to his admission that he had paid hush money to a victim of sexual abuse he committed as a high-school wrestling coach in the 1970s. He was convicted of banking fraud, serving 13 months in a federal facility in Rochester, Minnesota, and was labeled a “serial child molester” by the presiding judge. Hastert also left a legislative legacy known as the “Hastert Rule,” which guided Republican floor strategy for years after his departure.