Fmr. Dem Rep Heard ‘Unseemly’ Hastert Rumors 15 Years Ago

In the earliest stages of Dennis Hastert‘s speakership, Mel Watt was serving North Carolina in the House of Representatives. Watt, now the Director of the the Federal Housing Finance Agency, responded to a Huffington Post article on Tuesday stating that had previous knowledge of the sexual misconduct allegations against Hastert.

After The Huffington Post first reported the claims on Tuesday, Watt sent a statement saying that he had, in fact, heard about Hastert’s actions during the early days of his speakership. Watts attributed the information to one of many rumors about congressional colleagues, saying it appeared neither reliable nor serious enough to prompt action at the time.

“Over 15 years ago I heard an unseemly rumor from someone who, contrary to what has been reported, was not an intermediary or advocate for the alleged victim’s family,” Watt said. “I had no direct knowledge of any abuse by former Speaker Hastert and, therefore, took no action.”

Sam Stein‘s article reported a source’s account of how Watt was approached by a third party who told him of the abuse allegations. The informant withheld his name due to the sensitive nature of the incident, but said that he was sent by the victim’s family due to an informal acquaintance with Watts. HuffPost sent a request to Watt’s office for further clarification, but has not received any response.

Hastert, the longest-ever serving Republican Speaker, was indicted on Thursday for charges stemming from his alleged agreement to pay $3.5 million to “compensate for and conceal prior misconduct.” Later reports indicated that the misconduct was sexual abuse towards one of his former students.

[h/t Talking Points Memo]
[Image via U.S. Congress]