Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert wouldn't have been prosecuted had he not been prominent, ABC News Chief Legal Analyst Dan Abrams said Sunday on ABC's
"This Week."
Hastert was indicted on Thursday on charges of bank fraud and lying to the FBI. He reportedly
took money out of various bank accounts in increments less than $10,000 to pay someone who reportedly was blackmailing him for past sexual misconduct with a minor.
The statute of limitations have expired on any state charges that Hastert could have faced for having sex with someone who was underage, and the federal charges likely wouldn't have been filed against a less-noteworthy person, Abrams said.
Hastert's action with the money are "not crimes that are typically charged without more," Abrams said. "I think this is a gotcha prosecution. I don’t think if he was Dennis Higgins, as opposed to Dennis Hastert, they would have charged him here."