hastert is 74. you know who else is 74? this guy, and he seems to be doing pretty well, and this geezer's 72, and he's still jumping off speakers at concerts! so it's not that old. but, obviously, the old man card isn't going to work for such a heinous crime. >> apparently, the judge said because of his-- his-- his older age, you know, he didn't give him more time because it would essentially amount to a death sentence. >> larry: you've got to be (bleep ) kidding me! what do you mean he can't die in jail? his cellmate should be a noose! ( laughter ) ( applause ) all right. i know, i know. i'm sorry. i'm sorry. but at the very least, hastert's reputation is ruined, right? i mean, he's got to be a pariah amongst the politicians who know him. >> on friday, 41 letters were released testifying to the character of hastert. and the letters, written by some very powerful people, asked for leniency. hastert "has never disappointed me in any way," wrote former house majority leader tom delay. "he is a man of strong faith that guides

>> pelley: sentencing day for dennis hastert. a judge calls the man once second in line to the presidency a serial child molester. [bell tolls] parents who lost their son to heroin go public to save lives. >> when you look at this picture, do you see a junkie? >> pelley: and female sports reporters confront hate head on. >> she's a self-important, know-it-all [bleeped]. >> this is ca this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: trump lowered the boom on his opponents last night then lowered the volume today. the shoot-from-the-lip candidate stuck to a script for once in his foreign policy speech. following a five-state sweep, trump is well on his way to the republican presidential nomination. ted cruz's headlights began the fade in the rear-view mirror as the texas senator came in not second but third in four of the five states. major garrett is in indianapolis. >> reporter: <

closely mentored by dennis hastert. the former speaker actually reached out to tom cross for character reference, to be used in today's sentencing hearing. but that reference was never sent. the sister of another victim spoke today in court. her brother died of aids in 1995. >> it wasn't just steve making up the story. >> validation. >> absolutely. >> reporter: today in court the judge asked hastert directly about him. did you sexually abuse him? yes. standing to deliver a statement in a shaky voice, hastert said, i wanted to apologize to the boys i mistreated when i was their coach. still, the judge issued a harsh rebuke, that some actions can obliterate a lifetime of good works. in a statement hastert's lawyer said his client accepts the sentence and hopes he can now focus on fixing the emotional damage he's done to family and friends. so far, authorities have yet to identify the prison where he will serve his time. lester? >> all right. stephanie gosk tonight, thank you. >>> it's been a day of bombshells in the race

hastert hurt his victims many decades ago, but today they struck back. >> reporter: hastert was once a beloved wrestling coach, but today, one of his star athletes, scott cross, broke three decades of silence to describe how hastert abused him in the locker room at the age of 17. now a chicago banking executive and a married father of two, cross, through tears, said, "it was my darkest secret," especially, he said, as hastert jolene burge, whose late brother steve was another one of hastert's victims. she first revealed his story in an interview with abc news last year, describing how her brother confided his secret of being molested by his coach. >> i said, why didn't you ever tell anybody, stevie? i mean, he was your teacher. why didn't you ever tell anymore? and he just looked at me and said, who is ever going to believe me? >> reporter: today, outside court, she told me she's waited 25 years for this day. that no matter your power, or your position, you can't get away with things like this, especially in the molestation of a child. >> reporter: hastert also has his supporters. fo

it knows too much. ( laughter ) ( applause ) now, it might seem weird that a man of dennis hastert's station would risk jail time for breaking treasury laws. but he had under-- i think you might agree-- a perfectly good reason for needing that money. >> federal prosecutors say dennis hastert was paying hush money to a man who was 14 years old when hastert sexually abused him in a motel room decades ago. >> disturbing allegations involving former house speaker dennis hastert that he sexually abused several teenaged boys on the high school wrestling team he once coached. >> trevor: what? the ( bleep )? ( laughter ) a man who for six years was just one pret expel one faulty pacemaker removed from an oval office position is an alleged child molester? laugh i don't understand why this isn't everywhere. this is-- this is shocking. although, technically, we should and could have seen it coming because, let's be honest, whenever there's a news story that starts with the headline, "he was once a high school wrestling coach," the story never ends well. and this story is no exception. >> some o

his sister said it happened all through high school, though hastert has denied it. today she said the disclosures prove her brother was right. >> it's very validating to me that steve's story is finally being believed and acknowledged. on the same light, it makes me extremely sad for the other boys that have gone through this. >> reporter: hastert pleaded guilty in october to violating bank laws, trying to conceal payments of $3.5 million to one of the victims who confronted him six years ago. the statute of limitations expired long ago on the sexual abuse allegations. the government recommends up to six months on the financial charge, which is what federal guidelines call for. >> this is why the federal judge, or any judge is in an unenviable position, because you have to balance these evil offense versus what is truly good deeds for decades. >> hastert's lawyer say the appropriate punishment is probation. he's humiliated and isolated, his portrait gone from its place of honor in the u.s. capital. his name removed from the center he helped build at wheaton college,

pay a man who was sexually abused by hastert. the statute of limitations has expired but the judge considered the allegations in giving him nearly three times the sentencing recommendation from the federal prosecutor. the lawyer for the alleged victim reacted to the sentence. >> they worked hard to get at the truth and eventually i think they got there. >> reporter: scott cross also wrestled for the yorkville team. now a 53-year-old business man and a father of two. he was referred to as individual "d" by federal prosecutors until speaking out in court. >> after decades of unfathomable silence, he stood up and spoke the truth. >> reporter: at times breaking down with emotion, cross told the judge that coach hastert sexually abused me my senior year of high school. he never told anyone about his darkest secret. even as his brother tom would become the leader of the gop in illinois. closely mentored by dennis hastert. the sister of stephen reinboldt also spoke today in court. her brother died of aids in 1995. >> it wasn't steve mak

>> pelley: sentencing day for dennis hastert. a judge calls the man once second in line to the presidency a serial child molester. [bell tolls] parents who lost their son to heroin go public to save lives. >> when you look at this picture, do you see a junkie? >> pelley: and female sports reporters confront hate head on. >> she's a self-important, know-it-all [bleeped]. >> this is ca

hastert will be sentenced wednesday. the letters, written by some very powerful people, asked for leniency. they were letters written after hastert admitted past wrongdoing but before the latest prosecution filing, so the nature of the charges, although not the details, were known before letters were written. hastert has not disappointed me in any way, wrote tom delay. he is a man of strong faith and great integrity. he doesn't deserve what he is going through. we all have our flaws, but dennis hastert has very few. one of those flaws is no longer prosecutable and that is to assault boys on the wrestling team he used to coach. these include intentional touching of minor's groin area and genitals or oral sex with a minor. a motel room with minors that violated the special trust between those young boys and their coach. speaking of which, former congressman john dolittle writes that hastert in congress was often referred to as coach and was a member's member. he always made sure that congress awarded members their annual c

hastert hurt his victims many decades ago, but today, they struck back. >> reporter: hastert was once a beloved wrestling coach, but one of his star athletes, scott cross, broke three decades of silence to describe how hastert abused him in the locker room at the age of 17. now a chicago banking executive and a married father of two, cross, through tears, said, "it was my darkest secret," especially, he said, as hastert grew more powerful. also testifying there, was another one of hastert's victims. she first revealed his story in an interview with abc news last year, describing how her brother confided his secret of being molested by his coach. >> i said, why didn't you ever tell anybody, stevie? i mean, he was your teacher. why didn't you ever tell anybody? he just looked at me and he said, who is ever going to believe me? >> reporter: outside court, she told me she's waited 25 years for this day. >> that no matter your power or your position, you can't get away with things like this, especially in the molestation of a child. >> reporter: hastert also has his supporters. former cia

either just after he showered or while he changed hastert told b to get on the table so hastert could loosen him up. individual b lay on the table face down. the defendant started massaging him. defendant had individual b turn over so he was lying fate up on the table. hastert then performed a sexual act on the teen. much of thefs allegations, these accusations i should say listed out start the same way in a similar case. hastert offers to massage these teenagers who were wrestlers for him on this high school team and it evolved into an alleged sexual refugee camps are not those who sfled isis. they are those who say isis used them as human shields and didn't let them leave. they are from a handful of villages, the iraqi army recently recaptured from isis. the men are kept at the camp's mosque, a security precaution amid concerns isis fighters may be among them. isis put five families into each home in the middle of the village, this man recalls. like many fear, he does not want his identity reveal. he still has loved ones at the mercy of isis and has already witnessed and lost too mu

and hastert was forced to face his accusers this time. another victim, scott cross who is now 53, tearfully recalled a lifelong trauma from being abused by his coach at the age of 17. it was my darkest secret, he said. i was devastated. jolene burdge testified on behalf of her brother, stephen reinboldt who died of aids in 1995 after having told her hastert abused him throughout high school. you were supposed to keep him safe. pamela youngville voted for hastert many times. >> you can't begin to talk of the be trail that's, everything he claimed to be and turned out to be. >> reporter: in sentencing the 74-year-old hastert, the judge exceeded the recommendations of the prosecutors. while the statute of limitations on hastert's now admitted sexual misconduct ran out a long time ago, the judge said there are some things that are unforgi unforgivable no matter how old they are. dean reynolds reporting for us, dean, thank you. >>> tonight, two law enforcement sources have told us that prescription medications were found in prince's possession

to a federal judge, calling hastert mr. main street america. >> a lot of the secret life was known when the congressmen wrote letters of support, right? so what did they actually say? >> the five letters, all former congressmen, no current elected officials, were written in february, they were in a stack of 60 letters sent to the judge on behalf of hastert, basically asked for leniency. some passages stand out. porter gos, former director of the cia, said he was known as mr. main street america and that he was a rock solid guy with center of the country values. he went on to say how much better things were with him in congress. without his good influence, today's house of representatives appears diminished. perhaps the most stunning letter, anderson, from tom delay, former texas congressman who had his own issues in congress. delay never mentioned victims, lies, secret payoffs. he wrote this. he, hastert, has never disappointed me in any way. he is a man of strong faith that guides him and then adds this. we all have our fl

hastert was forced to face his accusers this time. another victim, scott cross, who is now 53, tearfully recalled a lifelong trauma from being abused by his coach at the age of 17. "it was my darkest secret," he said. "i was devastated." jolene burge testified on behalf of her brother, steven reinbolt, who died of aids after telling him hastert had abused him throughout high school. "you were supposed to keep him safe, not violate him," she said. >>> sources reveal to cbs news that investigators looking into prince's death asked the u.s. drug enforcement agency for help. investigators want to know what painkillers the pop icon was taking and where he got them. an autopsy was performed friday, but it will be weeks before the results are released. a trust company to oversee prince's multimillion dollar estate and manage his businesses. so far, no will has turned up. his sister claims the singer did not have one. >> we have decided after spending three or four days together now grieving over the loss of prince that we would like to come

they say he came to an agreement with denny hastert that hastert would pay him $3.5 million in cash have having molested him as a teenager. hastert paid about $1.7 million to individual a before he was caught by the fbi and charged with official crimes for what he did. one of the amazing trailing ends in this story is that individual "a" in civil court has now sued denny hastert to get the rest of his money. denny hastert promised him $3.5 million. he only paid half of it. individual "a" wants the rest. the story of the longest serving republican speaker of the house ever in american history turns out to be upsetting and disgusting and tragic, but it also turns out not to be over yet. watch this space. that does it for us tonight. now it's time for the last word with lawrence o'donnell. >> it's thursday, april 28th, right now, the donald gets knighted as the front-runner. sets his sights on indiana while ted cruz tries to control the day with his vp pick who offered the crowd this unusual little number. ♪ i know two girls that i just adore ♪ ♪ i'm so happy i can see them more ♪ >

at least four other young boys allege similar things happened to them at the hands of hastert. he has never specifically admitted to any of these sexual molestation cases, only responding a couple days ago through his attorney saying mr. hastert is deeply sorry and apologizes for misconduct that occurred decades ago and resulting harm caused to others. he won't be facing charges. statute of limitations passed. prosecutors say banking laws have to do with these cases in the past, he was trying to cover it up. >> with the details, now with the apology from hastert's attorney, we have to ask our legal guys that are coming up after a break about whether this could potentially open up some sort of legal case down the road. we will be right back. ♪ in new york state, we believe tomorrow starts today. all across the state, the economy is growing, with creative new business incentives, and the lowest taxes in decades, attracting the talent and companies of tomorrow. like in buffalo, where the largest solar gigafactory in the western hemisphere will soon energize the world. and in syr

they say he came to an agreement with denny hastert that hastert would pay him $3.5 million in cash have having molested him as a teenager. hastert paid about $1.7 million to individual a before he was caught by the fbi and charged with official crimes for what he did. one of the amazing trailing ends in this story is that individual "a" in civil court has now sued denny hastert to get the rest of his money. denny hastert promised him $3.5 million. he only paid half of it. individual "a" wants the rest. the story of the longest serving republican speaker of the house ever in american history turns out to be upsetting and disgusting and tragic, but it also turns out not to be over yet. watch this space. that does it for us tonight. now it's time for the last word with lawrence o'donnell. >>> this is the day where i heard the phrase hail mary more than i've heard since any super bowl game. >> guilty. >> i want to kind of reclaim it. hail mary was the very first prayer that the sisters of st. joseph's taught me in first grade and that's not a whiff of desperation in that prayer. not a whiff

hastert plead guilty to violat violating financial reportingiap laws last fall. prosecutors say he was workingor to pay millions in hush moneyh m after abusing at least foureastu students when he was a high w ag school wrestling coach in south chicago from 1965 to 1981. along with the 15 mon sentence, the judge orderedju o hastert to under go sex offender treatment, also, pay a 250 thust san dollars fine and spend two years on supervised release. >> mr. hastert's legend andte lg legacy are gone and in its place are a broken humiliated man. m that is as it should be. >> reporter: hastert did say he is quote deeply ashamed and admitted he mistreated some ofde the athletes he coached. his attorney say the former speaker accepts his sentence ane is now focused on healing the emotional damage. shawn? >> sarah simmons, thank you.mon >>> still ahead tonight ted cruc pick his running mater today.ay and more on his decision to put carly fiorina on his tick coming up.up >> plus donald trump was in thet district truoday to outline hiss foreign policy plans.. what the gop fr

and eventually, hastert did admit to it. it became this very, very pointed, dramatic court hearing where the victims were just feet away from hastert himself, and there was a very direct confrontation there. >> sreenivasan: you had one of the victims directly, had one of the victim's family members. and it seemed that dennis hastert was actually asking for support, a letter of support from one of those victims' brothers. it just is appalling. >> you know, that really seemed to rub the judge the wrong way. because i think hastert going in, his lawyers had been making, you know, this argument that all of this conduct was old. it was decades old. but the judge said he was so disturbed by that specifically, that he called, you know, this-- a politician well known here in illinois, tom cross, who used to be the leader of the g.o.p. in the illinois house. hastert was a mentor to tom cross. he called him and asked him for a letter. instead, the cross family contacted federal authorities and scott cross, tom's brother, came forward

. >>> victim "a" who accused dennis hastert of sexually abusing him as a teenager is now suing hastert for nearly $2 million. this just two days before hastert is to be sentenced for lying to investigators about the alleged hush money he paid to keep it quiet. nbc's stephanie gosk has the details. >> reporter: the anonymous man who received payments from dennis hastert that prosecutors say was used as hush money is now suing the former speaker of the house. the lawsuit claims hastert, a wrestling coach at yorkville high school at the time, sexually abused the man when he was just 14 years old, in a hotel room they shared during a wrestling camp. the man referred to in the complaint as james doe was not yet in high school. he's now suing for $1.8 million. the remainder of what the complaint describes as an oral agreement that hastert would pay doe $3.5 million. for years after the incident, the complaint said doe faced, among other things, severe panic attacks, bouts of depression, and long-term psychiatric treatment. today his lawyer spoke publicly about her client for the first time.

the first time dennis hastert was paying hush money to a man who was 14 when hastert sexually abused him in a hotel room decades ago. hastert has contact with two other wrestlers while he was the coach. some incidents happened in the team locker room. these disclosures come in court filings ahead of his sentence later this month. the justice department lawyer say the victims struggled with what happened and still struggling now. hastert pleaded guilty to bank law violations structuring withdraws to conceal the fact he agreed to pay $3.5 million to one of the victims. the statute of limitations has long since expired on the sexual abuse charges. for the bank law violation, the law recommends up to six months in prison. that is federal guidelines. hastert's lawyers say the appropriate punishment is probation because he has suffered humiliation and isolation since the incidents came to light and he is age 74 in very poor health. he will be sentenced in two and a half weeks. these new details from the government seem to add to his shame. the prosecutor says it is important to know what h

victim "a" who accused dennis hastert of sexually abusing nornw suing hastert for nearly $2 million. this just two days before hastert is to be sentenced for lying to investigators about the alleged hush money he paid to nbc's stephanie gosk has the details. >> r the anonymous man who received payments from dennis hastert that prosecutors say was used as hush money is now suing the former speaker of t. he said hastert sexually abused a man when he was just 14 years d, in a hotel room they shared during a wrestling camp. the m referd to in thwee complaint as james e was not yet in high school. he's now suing for .8 milln. th..e remainder of what the complaint s as an oral agreement that hastert was paid $3.5 million. the complaint said doe faced, among other things, severe panic attacks, bouts of depression, and toda his lawyer spoke publicly about her clie for the first time. he's a very private yo rson and never sought out this kind of publicity. i can't tell you he's glad it came to light. >> reporter: the complaint claims james doe did not speak up at the time of the abuse because

also tonight, more sex abuse allegations against former speaker of the house dennis hastert ahead of his sentencing. ♪ some people call me the space cowboy ♪ >> quijano: a rock star rants as he enters the hall of fame. >> the whole process needs to be changed from the top to the bottom. >> quijano: and the search for a cuddly little mascot lost at the edge of captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news." >> quijano: good evening. i'm elaine quijano with a western edition of the broadcast. the elusive terror suspect known as "the han in the hat" is under arrest. mohamed abrini was detained yesterday after a raid in belgium. today, authorities say, abrini confessed to being the third attacker seen in surveillance video at the airport in brussels where 16 people were killed on march 22. abrini is also linked to the attacks in paris last november that killed 130 people. jonathan vigliotti has more. >> reporter: mohamed abrini's confession not only gives a face to the man under the hat. it also reveals a terror cell authorities say was responsible for both the brussels b

. >> hastert was not convicted of sexual abuse though. the statute of limitations ran out on that offense a long time ago. instead he pleaded guilty to violating banking laws by repeatedly trying to hide large cash withdrawals and lying about why to the fbi he lied because he was trying to cover up his sexual abuse involving at least four wrestlers and the team's equipment manager. all minors. he was paying one of his victims to stay quiet. in court wednesday. 53-year-old. scott cross another hastert's victims tearfully testified he strugdled with the trauma of the aboss for years. it was my darkest secret. i was devastated. >> there is no joy in this. there are no winners in any of this. >> reporter: through all of it, hastert sat staring into the distance. prison looms on the horizon. dean reynolds, chicago. >> the "cbs overnight news" will be right back. sir, this alien life form is growing at an alarming rate. growing fast, you say? we can't contain it any long... oh! you know, that reminds me of how geico's been the fastest-growing a

hastert wasn't convicted of molestation. in fact, he wasn't even charged with that conduct. he pled guilty to violating banking laws. hastert's downfall began when he started making cash withdrawals of his own money in $10,000 increments. that automatically triggered a report from his bank to the treasury department. the government monitors such large withdrawals to detect illegal activity and then when questions, hastert lied. here's my concern. what business is it of the government if americans want to withdraw their own money in any amount from their own bank? why should we all be presumed to be criminals for seeking access to our own currency? the law that requires the reporting was first passed in 1970, was later amended by the patriot act. the $10,000 threshold for reporting has remained constant despite the changing value of a dollar. assuming an annual rate of inflation of about 4%, 10 grand in 1970, that would be more than 60,000 today. congress should end the requirement for reporting cash transactions from one's own account to the government. at a minimum, they sh

hastert's lawyer say he is profoundly sorry to his victims and others affected. these new allegations intended to add to his needs to know all of this when he's sentenced. >>> another victory for bernie sanders who has won today's democratic caucuses in wyoming over hillary clinton. the candidates now in an intense battle in new york ahead of its april 19th primary. when "nightly news" continues on this saturday, the only woman on the fbi's most wanted list, it takes a lot of work... to run this business. but i really love it. i'm on the move all day long... and sometimes, i just don't eat the way i should. so i drink boost to get the nutrition that i'm missing. boost complete nutritional drink has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a great taste. i don't plan on slowing down any time soon. stay strong. stay active with boost . i' ve been blind since birth. i go through periods where it' s hard to sleep at night, and stay awake during the day. learn