Political Skullduggery

Dennis Hastert's criticism of the FBI search of the Capitol Hill office of Congressman William Jefferson (D-LA) has become more understandable in light of the following story.

Speaker of the House Hastert may want to stop such intrusions before he receives a visit of his own.

ABC News is reporting tonight that Hastert has been ratted out by one or more of the cooperating witnesses in the Abramoff lobbying scandal.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, is under investigation by the FBI, which is seeking to determine his role in an ongoing public corruption probe into members of Congress, ABC News has learned from senior U.S. law enforcement officials.

Federal officials say the information implicating Hastert was developed from convicted lobbyists who are now cooperating with the government.

Part of the investigation involves a letter Hastert wrote three years ago, urging the Secretary of the Interior to block a casino on an Indian reservation that would have competed with other tribes.

The other tribes were represented by convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff who reportedly has provided details of his dealings with Hastert as part of his plea agreement with the government.

The letter was written shortly after a fund-raiser for Hastert at a restaurant owned by Abramoff. Abramoff and his clients contributed more than $26,000 at the time...

A spokesman for Speaker Hastert told ABC News, "We are not aware of this. The Speaker has a long history and a well-documented record of opposing Indian Reservation shopping for casino gaming purposes."

In order to successfully bring a case against Hastert, the Justice Department is going to have to find overt acts performed by the Congressman in exchange for consideration given by the lobbyists.

That's why only "part of the investigation" involves the letter he would have likely written without any largesse from the lobbyists.

The former lobbyists, now federal informants, will be expected to provide the evidence that ties the Speaker--if guilty--to lawbreaking in the scandal.