Justice Dept. denies Hastert under investigation

[quaoar]

No link yet. This just moved.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department took the unusual step Wednesday of declaring that it was not investigating House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

The statement by department spokeswoman Tasia Scolinos came in response to a broadcast report that Hastert was being investigated as part of a lobbying scandal and amid the furor surrounding the weekend raid on the offices of Rep. William Jefferson, D-La.

Hastert had sharply criticized the raid and called on Justice Department officials to return all the documents that had been seized.

Asked if he was being investigated, Hastert said late Wednesday that he has not received any notice from the Justice Department that he’s being investigated as part of the Jack Abramoff probe.

OK, here's a link to the AP story, even though it's from Fox:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,196871,00.html