CHICAGO (AP) — A judge says he will privately assess records of phone calls between the FBI and a one-time business associate of former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert as part of lawsuit alleging Hastert misused a government-funded office.
U.S. District Judge Charles Kocoras said during a hearing Thursday that he would review the 2011 records before deciding whether to let Hastert’s attorneys see them.
The ex-associate, J. David John, sued Hastert in 2013, alleging the Republican used a publicly funded office to do private business after leaving Congress.
John’s attorney says the FBI calls were unrelated to Hastert’s criminal hush-money case. A criminal indictment filed in May alleges Hastert lied to the FBI after agreeing in 2010 to pay someone $3.5 million to hide past misconduct. He’s scheduled to plead guilty Wednesday.