This whole story seems mostly retro to me. Dennis Hastert hasn't been Speaker of the House since 2006, and he left the House that same year. I thought he was a terrible Speaker and I said so at the time. Is it that relevant in retrospect that he was harboring a secret - apparently about sexual misconduct with a (possibly) minor male student dating back to his days as a high school wrestling coach before he was elected to the House, and that he ultimately appears to have paid hush money in an effort to keep the whole thing secret? I think so, but first let's review where we are: