Controversy finds Hastert as former Bush loyalist becomes critic

WASHINGTON — When House Republican leaders gathered for a news conference on the steps of the Capitol last week, it was supposed to be a Memorial Day salute to veterans.

But the event quickly deteriorated as reporters crowded around a beleaguered House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. They shouted questions about whether he was under investigation as part of a lobbying scandal and whether he would sue the television network that reported he was.

"That's something my lawyers are taking care of right now," answered Hastert, who was so pressured by the media swarm that he had difficulty shaking hands with the veterans being honored.

It was a telling moment in a week that saw Hastert, who has been a Bush loyalist and a calming influence in his party, turn into a vocal critic of the administration and become the center of controversy himself.

Hastert threatened to sue ABC for libel after the network aired its report — later denied by the Justice Department — that he was under investigation in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal. And Hastert angrily accused department officials of trying to intimidate him by leaking a false accusation to ABC.

Earlier, the speaker had taken the lead in challenging the FBI's authority to raid the congressional office of Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., who is being investigated in a corruption probe. He pressured President Bush to agree Thursday to seal records seized from Jefferson's office and negotiate with Congress about how to handle them. That happened even as top law-enforcement officials threatened to resign before they would give back the records.

House Republicans cheered Bush's decision to seal the records seized from Jefferson's office, because they believed the raid violated Congress's prerogatives.

But some worried that the constitutional victory for Hastert would be a public-relations problem for the rest of them. They fear that the nuances of constitutional principle will mean little to voters who conclude that the GOP, which aims to be the "law-and-order" party, is now on the wrong side of the law by challenging law-enforcement officials pursuing a bribery investigation.

"It's a challenge" to explain to constituents, said Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif. "People are painting this as members of Congress being above the law."

Hastert, 64 — a steady and well-liked leader who could bring party factions together with the team-building skills he honed as a high-school wrestling coach — was viewed as so important to Bush's second term that the White House urged him to set aside thoughts of retiring before 2008.

Public support for the president and his policies has dropped precipitously, even among conservatives. House Republicans — including Hastert — increasingly see their political interests as distinct from Bush's, because he will never again stand for election.

At a time when Hastert's support is more important than ever in maintaining party unity, the speaker has been increasingly willing to defy the White House. He was a leading critic of an administration plan to let an Arab company manage several U.S. ports. He criticized the administration's choice of Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden to replace Porter Goss (a Hastert friend and former congressman) as director of the CIA.

Hastert also opposes the administration's plan to allow illegal immigrants to become citizens, a view shared by most House Republicans.

Hastert surprised many when he criticized the FBI raid on Jefferson's office, because he seemed to be siding with a Democrat accused of corruption. Hastert argued it was his job to defend Congress' prerogatives and said the search violated the constitutional separation of powers. He took his case directly to Bush in at least two conversations last week, according to a Hastert aide.

The issue prompted Hastert's staff to make a rare effort to reach out to House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., with whom Republicans have been locked in partisan combat for years. The adversaries worked together in Hastert's Capitol office Wednesday to craft a joint statement asking the FBI to return the materials seized from Jefferson's office.

But Hastert's drama for the day did not end with his rare appearance with Pelosi as they announced their joint statement.

That evening, ABC reported that Hastert was under investigation as part of the Abramoff inquiry because of a letter he had signed urging the Interior Department to block an Indian casino opposed by one of Abramoff's clients.

The usually unflappable speaker became furious. He denied the report flatly, and soon the Justice Department issued a statement backing him up. By Thursday morning, he suggested to Chicago radio listeners that the report was based on a leak intended to intimidate him because he was challenging the FBI's raid.

The episode sent a wave of anxiety among some lawmakers who thought Hastert was scrutinized for what they saw as a routine comment letter. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., said the letter Hastert had signed was one he would have signed "in a heartbeat."

"There but for the grace of God go I,' " Boehlert said.