Hastert Closes PAC, Moves $10,000 to Defense Fund

Federal election records indicate that former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert has closed his political action committee and moved $10,000 of the money to his legal defense fund.

The Chicago Tribune  reports that Federal Election Commission records show the indicted Illinois Republican closed his Keep Our Mission PAC on June 30 and moved $10,000 to the J. Dennis Hastert Defense Trust.

Hastert has pleaded not guilty to violating banking laws and lying to the FBI.

A federal indictment says Hastert agreed to pay $3.5 million to someone identified only as "Individual A" to hide past misconduct. The Associated Press and other media, citing anonymous sources, have reported the payments were intended to conceal claims of sexual misconduct.