In his New York Times bestseller Throw Them All Out, Government Accountability Institute (GAI) President and Breitbart News Senior Editor-at-Large Peter Schweizer revealed how former Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) entered Congress with modest means and emerged a millionaire by brokering crony deals to increase the value of his land.
Initially, Hastert’s farm was worth between $50,000 and $100,000. In 2002 and 2004, Hastert bought up Illinois farm land for $15,000 an acre before inserting a $207 million earmark into the federal highway bill to build critical roads near the land to increase its worth as a prospective residential community. The land’s value shot up to $36,000 an acre, a 140% profit.
“According to Haster’s personal financial disclosure, these sales amounted to transactions of between $2 million and $10 million for his personal stake,” writes Schweizer. “Not a bad return for a short-term investment.”
Watch the award-winning 60 Minutes report below to see Schweizer’s explosive revelations about Hastert, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, and others.