Indited for taking money out of the bank improperly

Do you think that government isn't too big these days?

Do you have money in your bank account that you might want to take out and spend some day?

Did you know that if you take out or deposit more than $10,000 your bank has to report that to the IRS, even though it is your money and perfectly legal?

Did you know that you can be charged with a crime if the government thinks that you are taking your money out in smaller chunks in order to avoid the reporting requirement?

What the hell business is it of the government how you save or spend your money?  It is your money.  If they think you are doing something illegal they should get a warrant and investigate you but this type of fishing expedition is an outrage.  The original idea behind the law was to crack down on drug dealers and money launderers.  Yet another casualty of the War on Drugs.

Why is this in the news now?  Well Denny Hastert, former Speaker of the House, has apparently been paying someone to keep their mouth shut about something he may have done in the past.  It isn't illegal to pay someone to keep their mouth shut, although it may be illegal to take money to not report a crime and it is definitely illegal to extort someone in exchange for not reporting a crime.  Not sure that I agree with either of those laws either, but that's a topic for another post.  The reality here is that we don't know what he may or may not have done (although there seems to be no shortage of people willing to engage in speculation) but we do know that he took the money out in increments smaller than $10,000 to avoid the reporting requirement.

Who cares?

Only the federal government which has charged him with "structuring of withdrawals to evade reporting requirements".

Oh, and apparently when they asked him about it, he lied to the federal agents.  F... them.  Why is it that the police can walk up to you on the street and lie to you in an effort to get you to incriminate yourself but if you lie to them they can charge you with a crime?  But wait, that's yet another topic for another post.

Focus, must focus.  In the words of the Ace of Spades, Hastert has been indited for "withdrawing money from his bank".

I don't give a fig about Dennis Hastert or his legal troubles, but it's hard to argue that the federal government isn't too big and doesn't have too much power.