Denny Hastert is Contemptible, But His Indictment Exemplifies America’s Over-Criminalization

[Bluenorthwest]

19. I do not agree. Let's review. Hastert exits the House early, as former Speaker he is entitled to a

40k a month budget to maintain an office for 5 years. Hastert opens such an office, the bulk of the budget spent on 'salaries'. At the same time, Hastert engages in major league high dollar lobbying of the Congress he just left. Questions are raised about the use of the tax payer funded office and the color of authority that comes with it in his Lobbying business. Attention is drawn. Hastert becomes a lobbyist for the Turkish government and organizes a trip to Turkey for current Members of Congress on which Hastert accompanies them. That sort of lobbying comes with a great deal of regulation, and just as with the use of his office, many questions were raised about the propriety of his actions.
Now. Hastert started taking large amounts of cash out of the bank in yes, a furtive manner shortly after the end of his 40K a month revenue stream from the taxpayers.

I am simply not persuaded that officials should be able to leave high office, take massive office budgets, open lobbying groups to represent foreign governments, flout or push many rules and regulations and expect to not have any inspection from the People. He's not some guy. His post Congressional occupation was not just some gig.
To take a man like that and claim his actions are common to millions of people is pretty disgusting actually, even if perfectly legal Hastert's income streams, the nature of his work, and the massive amounts of money he was gaining are not at all common.

What you are saying is Boehner resigns today, he should be able to lobby and run offices and take officials on trips and move masses of cash around and to even make note of his actions is somehow wrong because such officials should have impunity?
I really do not get this routine of pushing fat cat ex official Lobbyists as if they were 'millions of Americans'.