# Dennis Hastert: Soros might have made his money in illegal drugs **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 31, 2004, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334 "2004-08-31T00:48:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334/41 "2004-09-01T10:05:58Z")
You can copy and paste from PDF text files. Just click the select text button, select the text, copy it, and then paste. You have to do some cleanup sometimes because it copies the carriage returns. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334/42 "2004-09-01T10:57:45Z")
Interestingly, I got hold of the full transcript of the interview, and there was an interesting conversation caught on tape just before the broadcast. > [@](#): > > [Cellphone rings] > > **Hastert:** Dennis Hastert speaking. > > **Voice:** Hey Denny-boy. > > **Hastert:** Who is this? > > **Voice:** Who the fuck do ya think it is, ya galoot. > > **Hastert:** [Voice quavering] Oh h… h… hi, K… K… Karl. > > **Rove:** [For it is he] Denny. We got a problem. That Hungarian Kaiser Soros dude don’t like us. Been puttin’ bad words in people’s ears. This dude got some serious moulah, and he got cred. He ain’t no Mickey Moore. He’s pumpin’ the enemy full of dough, and people takin’ him serious, like. He could make things pretty tricky for the Family, sorry did I say ‘Family’, I meant Party. > > **Hastert:** Uh huh… > > **Rove:** So we need a… how can I put this. We need to call in a favour. > > **Hastert:** [Gulps] Really? Now? See, the election’s coming up and I- > > **Rove:** We. Need. A. Favour. Capiche? > > **Hastert:** [Nervously] What you got in mind? > > **Rove:** We need you to finger him as a drug dealer. On national TV. > > **Hastert:** [Laughing] Hey, phew, I though you were being serious just then- > > **Rove:** Oh but I am serious, Denny. _Deadly_ serious. > > **Hastert:** But Karl, he’s legit! He’s in forex! He’s a philate… philanth… he gives money to people. Poor people. Kids and shit. Everyone knows. > > **Rove:** Can it Den. You’re gonna do this. > > **Hastert:** No! Karl. Not this time! Not me! I’m Speaker of the House! > > **Rove:** Yeah, and how did a talentless fuckup like you get there? Huh? You got a short memory or something? You feelin’ _ungrateful_? 'Cause you know, if there’s one thing the Fam- Party don’t like, it’s _ingratitude_. > > **Hastert:** But I got a wife and kids! > > **Rove:** Yeah, bitch, and if you wanna see them this side of Lake Michigan, you better get busy. > > **Hastert:** But Karl! Please! > > **Rove:** Do it. Do it now or I will rip out your still-beating heart and eat it like a fucking apple, so help me God. [Click] > > **Hastert:** [Weeping] Oh Christ… > > **Floor manager:** On air in five… four… three… > > **Chris Wallace:** Joining us now is the chairman of the Republican Convention. His day job is speaker of the house, Congressman Dennis Hastert… ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334/43 "2004-09-01T11:18:42Z")
😃 Very good, Jjimm. Slight nitpick: Karl Rove would never say “favour”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334/44 "2004-09-01T11:26:27Z")
Oh bollocks. I was trying so hard too. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334/45 "2004-09-01T14:05:05Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > You can copy and paste from PDF text files. Just click the select text button, select the text, copy it, and then paste. You have to do some cleanup sometimes because it copies the carriage returns. No can do–it was scanned in and contains only dots, not text. Had I more time I’d type it in but… Anyway, I thought Soros got his money from destroying the economies of several Asian nations. No piddly dope money for him! ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334/46 "2004-09-01T14:43:29Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Interestingly, I got hold of the full transcript of the interview, and there was an interesting conversation caught on tape just before the broadcast. ::::Golf clap::::: ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334/47 "2004-09-01T15:26:51Z")
My **transcription** (IOW, I might’ve inadvertently left a word or two out) of Soros’ letter: > [@](#): > > Dear Mr. Speaker: > > Your recent comments implying that I am receiving funds from drug cartels are not only untrue, but also deeply offensive. You do a discredit to yourself and to the dignity of your office by engaging in these dishonest smear tactics. You should be ashamed. > > For the Speaker of the House of Representatives, even in the midst of an election season, to descend to a level of political discourse where innuendo and slander replace reason, truth and argument is unacceptable. > > This past Sunday, on national television, you suggested that I might be a criminal simply because I have exercised my First Amendment rights to dissent from the policies of the Bush Administration. > > I am playing a role in this election because I share the concerns of many Americans and believe President Bush is leading our nation in a ruinous direction on both economic and foreign policy. > > I will continue my work despite this administration’s ongoing efforts to intimidate and bully a long list of people who disagree with it, from Paul O’Neill to Joe Wilson, to Richard Clarke, to John Kerry. > > I must respectfully insist that you either substantiate these claims — which you cannot do because they are false — or publicly apologize for attempting to defame my character and damage my reputation. > > Sincerely, > George Soros ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334/48 "2004-09-01T15:35:55Z")
A piece in [The Hill](http://www.hillnews.com/news/090104/soros.aspx) about Hastert v. Soros. Still nothing in the WaPo. Seems that if Republicans just plain make shit up, that’s no big deal. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334/49 "2004-09-01T15:44:33Z")
Is this actionable? Because if I were Soros, I’d sue the motherfucker 'til his ears rang. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334/50 "2004-09-01T16:20:16Z")
> [@World Eater](#): > > ::::Golf clap::::: I’m unfamiliar with the phrase. Is this a good thing, as it “oh well done”, or a bad thing like a ‘cricket clap’ - a desultory, half-hearted round of applause executed by three geriatrics and a dog, as a man who’s just been caught out for no runs trails his bat forlornly back to the pavilion? ---
**Author:** ![peri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/67e7ee/32.png) [@peri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peri)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334/51 "2004-09-01T16:44:49Z")
My take on it is that Hastert meant groups pushing to decriminalize marijuana. Wallace was the one who used the word cartels. Hastert _may_ have been thrown by that question, but his subsequent silence allows the implication to stand. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334/52 "2004-09-01T17:34:59Z")
> [@vibrotronica](#): > > Is this actionable? Because if I were Soros, I’d sue the motherfucker 'til his ears rang. Problem is, Soros & Co need a way to make this blow up in Hastert’s face (and by extension the rest of the GOP smegmagnets) **now.** Trying to drag it through the courts will do two things, neither positive: First, there’s a large middle-class constituency that hates lawyers (witness the gratuitous lawyer-bashing here on the SDMB every time an opportunity arises), and a lawsuit can be spun as “running to the attorneys to let them fight his battle,” which in turn can be spun to imply some legitimacy to the charges, else why would Soros hide behind his lawyers? And second, any outcome will take months or years to resolve, during which time the original accusation can hang out there and echo dully across the political landscape. This is why throwing slime is such a common political tactic: unless the charges are so completely and utterly ridiculous (“Soros takes his orders from three-eyed Venusians who want to capture our children to eat their boogers!”) that they bounce back to impact the speaker’s credibility, the bottom line is that they’re a lot easier to levy than refute. Welcome to the Politics of Karl Rove, Prince of Lies and Darkness. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334/53 "2004-09-01T19:08:39Z")
> [@](#): > > Conservatives have sought to discredit Soros by attacking his foreign and Jewish roots and his support of liberal causes, and by saying that his currency speculation actually hurt the very people he claims to want to help. > > “No other single person represents the symbol and the substance of globalism more than this Hungarian-born descendant of Shylock. He is the embodiment of the Merchant from Venice,” wrote GOPAC, an organization that helps elect GOP candidates, on its website last year. Buncha frickin’ anti-Semites. Dumb, too. Shylock was _not_ the title character of _The Merchant of Venice_; that would have been Antonio, the fellow who wound up owing Shylock a pound of flesh. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334/54 "2004-09-01T20:07:25Z")
For the record- it wasn’t GOPAC, it was a website called GOPUSA which is privately run and has no offical affiliation with the GOP. And apparently the guy who wrote it is anti-neocon (I got all this from [thejewishweek.com](http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=8769) article). While I don’t think Hastert’s comments are legally actionable since he stuck weaselly qualifiers in there, he should apologize- immediately, publicly, and clearly. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334/55 "2004-09-01T21:01:03Z")
> [@Mojo](#): > > For the record- it wasn’t GOPAC, it was a website called GOPUSA which is privately run and has no offical affiliation with the GOP. And apparently the guy who wrote it is anti-neocon (I got all this from [thejewishweek.com](http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=8769) article). I stand corrected. The Hill is generally a reliable source, but they got that one wrong. I’ve emailed the article’s author with your link, and requesting that The Hill publish a correction. There’s a BIG difference between the two organizations: GOPAC is pretty strongly entwined with the GOP power structure, and as you say, that’s not true of GOPUSA. So it’s not a trivial mistake. > [@](#): > > While I don’t think Hastert’s comments are legally actionable since he stuck weaselly qualifiers in there, he should apologize- immediately, publicly, and clearly. I’d agree with that. > [@peri](#): > > My take on it is that Hastert meant groups pushing to decriminalize marijuana. Wallace was the one who used the word cartels. Hastert may have been thrown by that question, but his subsequent silence allows the implication to stand. Except that Hastert was clearly focusing on where Soros got his money _from_, using phrases like “where he gets his money” or “where his money comes from” **three** times: > [@](#): > > "HASTERT: …you know, I don’t know **where George Soros gets his money**. I don’t know where– **if it comes overseas or from drug groups or where it comes from**. And I… > > WALLACE: Excuse me? > > HASTERT: Well, that’s what he’s been for a number of years–George Soros has been for legalizing drugs in this country. So, I mean, he’s got a lot of ancillary interests out there. > > WALLACE: You think he may be getting money from the drug cartel? > > HASTERT: I’m saying I don’t know where groups–could be people who support this type of thing. I’m saying we don’t know. The fact is **we don’t know where this money comes from.**" Bolding mine. There isn’t enough money in drug legalization for Soros’ bank account to even notice; Soros may _support_ drug legalization, but that’s not where his money comes from. At any rate, [Hastert’s spokesman has acknowledged](http://www.forbes.com/2004/09/01/cz_mm_0901soros1.html) that Soros doesn’t make his money from drugs, but Hastert’s not going to apologize: > [@](#): > > With a few days to think about his comments, and an angry letter from Soros to mull over, Hastert has decided not to apologize. > > “Of course the Speaker doesn’t think he gets money from drug cartels,” says Hastert’s press secretary, John Feehery. Slimy bastard. ---
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334/56 "2004-09-02T01:32:26Z")
You need to understand where Hastert is coming from – For a guy like Hastert, all money comes from someone with an agenda, and all positions are arrived at based on the agenda of the people with the money. Hastert supports corn subsidies, because he gets money from ADM. He’s against allowing the federal government to negotiate lower prescription medication prices, because he gets money from drug companies. Like most politicians, his brain has been trained to see the world from that perspective. So, anyone that supports the legalization of drugs must be getting money from “drug groups”. The idea that Soros made his money honestly, by himself, without pandering to someone for it is not an idea that Hastert can easily grasp. Even more difficult, perhaps, is the idea that Soros has a position on the legalization of drugs which is based on a thoughful consideration of the issue, rather than a position based on the the agenda of someone with money. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334/57 "2004-09-02T15:15:38Z")
**Cervaise** , I see you point. But it seems to me the argument you make applies to politicians running for office. Soros is not a politician, and he’s not running for anything. He’s got time, money, and anger to burn. And Hastert is vulnerable here. The narraitve the Republicans are trying to establish is “The Democrats and their supporters are immoral and corrupt,” and Democratic counter-narrative should be “The Republicans are liars.” Dogging Hastert with a slander lawsuit that won’t go away would play right into that, along with the absence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the Swift Boat bullshit. And Soros has very little to lose. If he doesn’t push back at this aggressively, they’ll continue to hit him. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334/58 "2004-09-02T15:37:07Z")
[Hastert has responded](http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/9/1/220848.shtml) (it’s NewsMax, I’m so sorry). Here’s a very modest list of web news outlets reporting on this item: [http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=hastert+soros&btnG=Search+News](http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=hastert+soros&btnG=Search+News) Only 8 articles on Google News (search terms “Hastert Soros”) as of right now. Yesterday there were only 3. Where’s that damn Liberal Media, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334/59 "2004-09-02T15:46:48Z")
> [@masonite](#): > > [Hastert has responded](http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/9/1/220848.shtml) (it’s NewsMax, I’m so sorry). > > Here’s a very modest list of web news outlets reporting on this item: [http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=hastert+soros&btnG=Search+News](http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=hastert+soros&btnG=Search+News) > > Only 8 articles on Google News (search terms “Hastert Soros”) as of right now. Yesterday there were only 3. Where’s that damn Liberal Media, anyway? Hastert’s response doesn’t make much sense. He says he was talking about advocacy groups promoting drug legalization (actually, he says they promote drug use, but we’ll confine ourselves to one logical fallacy at a time). But this makes no sense. Soros gives money to advocacy groups, not the other way around. How on earth could Soros’ money come from advocacy groups? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334/60 "2004-09-02T17:29:34Z")
> [@vibrotronica](#): > > Soros is not a politician, and he’s not running for anything. He’s got time, money, and anger to burn. True dat. > [@](#): > > _Dogging Hastert with a slander lawsuit that won’t go away would play right into that_ It would, except that the way our court system works, the moment the lawsuit is filed, it disappears into the black hole of legal maneuvering, about which neither party can talk publicly when the judge imposes the inevitable gag order, until such time as either a trial is held or a settlement is reached, which result will take a minimum of six months and probably more like two years. > [@](#): > > _If he doesn’t push back at this aggressively, they’ll continue to hit him._ I agree completely. But the sad fact is, if he wants to push back using means that will have any sort of impact on the election just two short months away, a lawsuit, unfortunately, is not the way to go. And really, given your “nothing to lose” observation, there’s really no compelling reason he has to push back that hard, anyway. He’s a money guy behind the scenes. The Democrats have gotten zero traction hitting the same people on the right, like Scaife. There’s no reason to think Hastert’s attack will have any more effect than that, and really, if Soros can make himself a lightning rod, that means less attack dogs throwing the actually sticky mud at Kerry and Edwards. Not sure I see a downside here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-soros-might-have-made-his-money-in-illegal-drugs/262334.md?page=4)