名誉扫地的前众议院议长丹尼斯·哈斯特尔特去世,享年84岁


更新于:2026年10月5日 / 美国东部时间上午9:59 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻

华盛顿讯 伊利诺伊州一名验尸官表示,前众议院议长丹尼斯·哈斯特尔特去世,享年84岁。哈斯特尔特曾在国会代表伊利诺伊州长达20年,后因违反银行法入狱。

作为美国历史上任职时间最长的共和党众议院议长,也是首位入狱服刑的美国最高级别民选官员,哈斯特尔特的身败名裂发生在2016年:他因隐瞒封口费以掩盖自己在高中摔跤教练任内对未成年男孩的性虐待行为,被判处15个月监禁。

肯德尔县验尸官杰奎·珀塞尔周一证实,哈斯特尔特已于上周末在自家死于自然原因,未透露更多细节。

哈斯特尔特1942年出生于伊利诺伊州奥罗拉,在一个农业社区长大。他毕业于惠顿学院,获经济学学位,之后又从北伊利诺伊大学获得教学学位。1973年,他与琼·卡尔结婚,两人育有两个儿子。

哈斯特尔特在伊利诺伊州担任教师并兼任摔跤教练长达16年,1976年被评为“伊利诺伊州年度教练”。40年后,他承认了自己在教练任期间对男孩的性虐待行为。

此后哈斯特尔特进入伊利诺伊州议会任职,并于1986年当选美国众议院伊利诺伊州第14选区议员。

哈斯特尔特1987年至2007年在国会任职。在众议院少数党领袖罗伯特·H·米歇尔的提携下,哈斯特尔特在共和党阵营中声望渐升,1995年成为首席副党鞭。1998年前众议院议长纽特·金里奇辞职后,在鲍勃·利文斯顿因婚外情丑闻决定退出后,哈斯特尔特成为共和党团推举的议长继任第二人选。

这位被称为“意外议长”的人后来成为美国历史上任职时间最长的共和党议长。在其任期内,作为克林顿政府的直言不讳的批评者,哈斯特尔特与前总统乔治·W·布什密切合作推进其政策议程。

哈斯特尔特对众议院最持久的影响之一是以其名字命名的议事规则,该规则非正式要求众议院仅就获得本党多数议员支持的议案进行投票。这项规则因加剧国会党派分裂而饱受批评,近年来也给共和党众议院领导层带来了阻碍。

2006年中期选举共和党失去众议院多数席位后,哈斯特尔特选择离开领导岗位,并于2007年辞去国会职务。


2007年11月15日,前众议院议长丹尼斯·哈斯特尔特前往众议院会场发表告别演说。奇普·索莫德维拉/盖蒂图片社

卸任后,哈斯特尔特成为说客和顾问。2013年,联邦调查局和美国国税局开始调查这位前议长,怀疑他非法拆分银行交易。2015年,哈斯特尔特因拆分银行交易以规避报告要求及向联邦调查局作虚假陈述被起诉。

2015年,哈斯特尔特对违反银行法的指控认罪,其多次大额现金取款行为被曝光是用于支付其中一名受害者的封口费。庭审期间,哈斯特尔特承认了自己在教练任期间对男孩的性虐待行为。在宣判时,美国地区法官托马斯·M·德金称哈斯特尔特为“连环恋童癖者”,判处其15个月监禁、25万美元罚款,并要求其参与性犯罪者矫治项目。由于诉讼时效已过,哈斯特尔特未面临性犯罪相关指控。他于2017年获释前,在联邦监狱服刑13个月。

伊利诺伊州北区联邦检察官扎卡里·法登在哈斯特尔特被判刑后表示,“这场风波没有赢家”。

“哈斯特尔特的传奇与声誉荡然无存,取而代之的是一个破碎、蒙羞的男人,”法登说,“本应如此。”

Dennis Hastert, disgraced former House speaker, dies at 84

Updated on: October 5, 2026 / 9:59 AM EDT / CBS News

Washington — Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, who represented Illinois for two decades in Congress and was jailed for violating banking laws, has died, a coroner in Illinois said. He was 84.

Both the longest-serving Republican House speaker and the highest-ranking elected U.S. official to serve a prison sentence, Hastert’s stunning fall from grace came in 2016, when he was sentenced to 15 months in prison on charges related to his concealment of hush money payments made to cover up his sexual abuse of teenage boys during his time as a high school wrestling coach.

Kendall County Coroner Jacquie Purcell confirmed Monday that Hastert died at his home over the weekend due to natural causes. No further details were given.

Born in 1942 in Aurora, Illinois, Hastert grew up in a farming community. He went on to graduate from Wheaton College, where he received a degree in economics, before earning a teaching degree from Northern Illinois University. Hastert married Jean Kahl in 1973. The couple had two sons.

Hastert worked as a teacher in Illinois for 16 years while coaching wrestling. In 1976, he was named Illinois Coach of the Year. Four decades later, he would admit to sexually abusing boys during his time as a coach.

Hastert then served in the Illinois legislature, before going on to be elected to represent Illinois’ 14th district in the U.S. House in 1986.

Hastert served in Congress from 1987 to 2007. With the mentorship of House Minority Leader Robert. H Michel, Hastert’s profile grew among the GOP ranks, and in 1995, he became chief deputy whip. When former House Speaker Newt Gingrich stepped down in 1998, Hastert became the conference’s second choice for his successor, following Rep. Bob Livingston’s decision to step aside amid a scandal over extra-marital affairs.

Known as the “accidental speaker,” Hastert would go on to become the longest-serving Republican speaker in history. During his tenure, Hastert, who had been a vocal critic of the Clinton administration, worked closely with former President George W. Bush on his policy agenda.

Among Hastert’s most enduring imprints on the chamber is the rule that bears his name, which informally requires that the House vote only on measures that have a majority of support from the majority party in the chamber. The rule, which has faced criticism for making Congress more partisan, has posed hurdles for Republican House leadership in recent years.

After House Republicans lost the majority in the 2006 midterm elections, Hastert opted to leave leadership, before resigning from Congress in 2007.

Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert on his way to the House floor to make his farewell address to Congress on Nov. 15, 2007. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Hastert became a lobbyist and consultant after leaving office. In 2013, the FBI and IRS began investigating the former speaker surrounding suspicions that he was illegally structuring bank transactions. In 2015, Hastert was indicted for structuring bank transactions to evade reporting requirements and making false statements to the FBI.

Hastert pleaded guilty in 2015 to violating banking laws by making repeated large cash withdrawals, which were revealed to be going to one of his victims. During the hearing, Hastert admitted to sexually abusing boys during his time as their wrestling coach. At his sentencing, U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin called Hastert a “serial child molester,” and sentenced him to 15 months in prison, a $250,000 fine and ordered him to participate in a sex offender program. Hastert was not charged with sex-related crimes, as the statutes of limitations had expired. He served 13 months in a federal prison before his release in 2017.

Zachary Farden, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said after Hastert was sentenced that there are “no winners in any of this”

“Mr. Hastert’s legend and legacy are gone, and in its place are a broken, humiliated man,” Farden said. “That is how it should be.”

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