Opinion of "Individual A"

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Big time FF, a victim who struck back and did good for himself.

[Oakvale]

Blackmailing gold diggers are terrible people.

e: Hilarious and telling that he waited 30-some years before beginning to extort the (alleged) nonce in question.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Can someone explain who this is?

[The Other Castro]

He's a victim but a criminal nonetheless.

[Simfan34]

Can someone explain who this is?

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

He was smart to wait until after Hastert retired from politics and became a lobbyist. That is where the real money is.

[Maxwell]

FF for revealing a man who historians would've just let go into the history books in a positive or neutral light.

[Mr. Smith]

FF for revealing a man who historians would've just let go into the history books in a positive or neutral light.

Rare occurrence, but I agree with this.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Isn't there an "Individual B" and maybe C, D, or E as well?

[Cory]

Blackmailing gold diggers are terrible people.

e: Hilarious and telling that he waited 30-some years before beginning to extort the (alleged) nonce in question.

[Joe Republic]

His name is Bruce, it would seem.

[DrScholl]

Blackmail is illegal, but I don't think this individual is a horrible person for sticking it to his abuser and I'm not going to call him bad names.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

His name is Bruce, it would seem.

The C-SPAN incident was hilarious, as are 30% of the calls to Washington Journal.

[Likely Voter]

What he did is about the same as all those formerly abused kid who got out of court settlements with the Catholic church and signed NDAs. Apparently the feds saw this deal with Hastert as a mutual agreement and not extortion (at least not strictly legally) and that is why he wasn't charged.

[The Mikado]

So this guy is apparently abused in 1970-ish, waits until 2010, after Hastert has been Speaker of the House 1999-2007 and after Hastert became a millionaire in his last years as Speaker and in retirement, and goes up and asks for 3.5 million dollars.

This is the most patient blackmailer ever. This guy, who is now past 60, waited 40 years and after Hastert's public life ended to try to get Hastert to cough up, presumably because, while powerful, Hastert was not exactly Mr. Moneybags in his Speaker years.

Now I'm not exactly a time heals all wounds guy, but when your reaction to this isn't wanting to bring down this incredibly powerful man so he never hurts anyone again but is instead to wait until he's rich and retired and try to cash in while trying to leave Hastert's reputation intact, I'm not exactly going to applaud you.

[Torie]

Vile.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

This really depends on what he was blackmailing Hastert about, and what Hastert's specific role was.

[Ban my account ffs!]

He's a victim but a criminal nonetheless.

[pbrower2a]

What he did is about the same as all those formerly abused kid who got out of court settlements with the Catholic church and signed NDAs. Apparently the feds saw this deal with Hastert as a mutual agreement and not extortion (at least not strictly legally) and that is why he wasn't charged.

He might have squealed when he was threatened with a prison term for tax evasion. That's all that I can figure.

So pay back taxes and squeal on someone who becomes a high-profile target for prosecution... and avoid a prison term.

My once-neutral opinion of Dennis Hastert has gone to ' full-blown sociopath'.

[RFayette]

I don't agree with the concept of blackmail, but he is an FF for outing an abuser.