Transfer of title
It's been clear for quite a while that most "news" items above the level of car crashes and storms involve blackmail in one form or another. Either (1) the Federal Bureau of Instigation creates a blackmail situation, forcing some dumb would-be criminal into an "act" of "terrorism", or (2) some politician makes a mistake that leads to the cashing-in of a blackmail. He votes the wrong way, and the embarrassing or illegal fact pops into the "news".

The Hastert mess looks like the latter, but there's an added element that puzzled me. One expert said that Hastert would probably cop a plea, leading to the underlying fact remaining hidden. But it's not hidden. It's already popped into the "news".

What's happening here?

Oddly, an old episode of 'This is your FBI', from the era when FBI was the Federal Bureau of Investigation, gave the answer. In the 'Red-headed Blackmailer', a lady is being blackmailed by a former boyfriend who understands that the lady's husband is an important politician. Nothing illegal about an affair, but it was highly embarrassing in 1952. She runs out of money and patience, so she hires a sleazy private eye who promises to get rid of the problem. The implication is that he will beat the blackmailer into submission.... but in fact he acquires the compromising love letters and immediately starts blackmailing the lady himself.

Aha! Same as Hastert! It's a transfer of blackmail title, similar to a debt collector acquiring a bad debt from a bank cheaply. The government wants to acquire title to Hastert's embarrassment so it can continue to blackmail him for other illegal or embarrassing items.

That's the modern way of doing things.

In 1952 the narrator pleaded with listeners: Call the law as soon as you receive any indication of blackmail. If the issue is embarrassing, the government will keep it secret; if it's illegal, the government will prosecute you as it should anyway, but it will try to keep things as quiet as possible.

Long time ago, wasn't it?

  ¶ 3:11 PM