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Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert has died at the age of 84.

Hastert, who served as Speaker from 1999 to 2007, died Saturday of natural causes at his home in Illinois while receiving hospice care, according to Kendall County Coroner Jacquie Purcell.

His death closes the book on one of the more complicated political legacies in recent American history.

For years, Hastert was known as a relatively low-key Illinois Republican who unexpectedly rose to become one of the most powerful politicians in the country.

He took over as Speaker after Newt Gingrich’s resignation and went on to lead the House during President Bill Clinton’s impeachment proceedings.

He later worked closely with President George W. Bush to advance the administration’s agenda, including major tax cuts and an expansion of Medicare prescription drug benefits.

Hastert also became associated with the so-called “Hastert Rule,” an unwritten practice under which House Republican leaders generally avoided bringing legislation to the floor unless it had the support of a majority of the majority party.

But whatever accomplishments Hastert accumulated during his decades in politics were ultimately eclipsed by a shocking scandal.

In 2015, Hastert was charged with violating federal banking laws while making large cash payments to a former student. Prosecutors eventually revealed that the payments were intended to conceal Hastert’s sexual abuse of teenage boys while he was a high school teacher and wrestling coach.

Prosecutors said Hastert had abused at least four boys during his coaching career.

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Because the alleged abuse had occurred decades earlier, Hastert was not prosecuted for those acts. Instead, he pleaded guilty to financial crimes related to the hush-money payments.

He was sentenced in 2016 to 15 months in prison, becoming the highest-ranking U.S. elected official to serve a federal prison sentence at that time. During his sentencing, Hastert apologized to the boys he had “mistreated” as a coach.

The scandal destroyed his reputation.

His portrait was removed from the U.S. Capitol, and Wheaton College removed his name from a public policy center that had previously honored him.

Hastert left Congress in 2007 after Democrats regained control of the House and later worked as a lobbyist.

He is survived by his wife, Jean, and their two adult sons.

Whatever Hastert’s supporters may have remembered about his years in Washington, his final legacy was inevitably defined by the horrific conduct that emerged after his political career had ended.

Dennis Hastert Cause of Death: Child Molester, Former Speaker of the House Was 84 was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

​The Hollywood Gossip

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On Wednesday of last week, Christa Pike was set to be executed.

She would have become the first woman put to death by the state of Tennessee in over 200 years.

Instead, Pike survived the execution and is now fighting for her life.

And her attorney says she may never fully recover from the botched attempt.

Pike remains unconscious and on a ventilator several days after Tennessee attempted to execute her by lethal injection.

Her attorney, Stephen Ferrell, provided the troubling update Sunday while appearing on CNN’s State of the Union.

“We don’t really know the prognosis yet and may not know for several days,” Ferrell said.

Asked whether Pike has regained consciousness since the September 30 execution attempt, Ferrell responded, “Not that I am aware.”

And the uncertainty doesn’t end there.

“I think one of the main things that will leave this up in the air for a while is the fact that we don’t know what the prognosis is,” Ferrell explained. “If she recovers — she may not fully recover. And there may be issues about her competence. We just don’t know any of this.”

That’s a particularly significant issue given that Pike could potentially face another execution attempt if her death sentence remains intact.

Pike’s legal team is instead asking Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to commute her sentence to life in prison.

“She has already endured a torturous attempt at executing her,” Ferrell said.

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The execution attempt reportedly involved two doses of pentobarbital after officials struggled to establish an IV.

Pike’s attorneys have said seven needles were used and that both of her arms were swollen, burned and blistered when she arrived at the hospital. They also said Pike could be heard crying and expressing pain during the procedure.

Tennessee has since halted executions for the remainder of the year while an independent investigation into what happened is conducted. The state’s corrections commissioner, Frank Strada, has also resigned.

Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. She has spent decades on death row and was scheduled to become the first woman executed by Tennessee in more than 200 years.

Now, however, the biggest question may not be when Tennessee will attempt to execute Pike again.

It’s whether she will ever be healthy enough for that question to matter.

We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.

Christa Pike Still Unconscious, May Never Recover From Botched Execution, Lawyer Claims was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

​The Hollywood Gossip