ILL-inois: Hastert feels "deeply sorry" over crimes

Here's another guy who is probably only sorry because he was caught.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Ten months after the feds shattered Dennis Hastert's legacy with a devastating indictment, lawyers for the once-powerful Republican said he is "deeply sorry," "overwhelmed by the guilt he feels,"and "prepared to accept the consequences."

Then they asked a judge not to send the former U.S. House speaker to prison.

"Despite his mistakes in judgment and his transgressions, for which he is profoundly sorry, we implore this court, in imposing sentence, to consider the entirety of Mr. Hastert's life," Thomas Green, one of Hastert's lawyers, wrote in a highly anticipated court filing Wednesday that sought probation.

Hastert's legal team made the plea for mercy in a nine-page sentencing memo, noting Hasterts "fall from grace has been swift and devastating." It also, for the first time, both apologized for Hastert's conduct and described the calamitous effect of his prosecution on the former speaker, his family and his reputation.

Prior to his entry into politics Hastert was a teacher and a state championship wrestling coach in rural Yorkville. The root of the financial scandal was that he was being blackmailed over a sexual relationship with a male student at Yorkville High.

And there were other sexual encounters Hastert had with students.