Highest-ranking US official to ever serve jail time, former House Speaker Dennis Hastert dead at 84

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., "passed away at his home due to natural causes," according to Kendall County, Illinois, Coroner Jacquie Purcell.

The brief statement was posted on the coroner’s website early Monday morning.

Hastert was 84 and one of the most ignominious figures to serve in American politics.

He was the longest-serving Republican speaker in history, wielding the gavel from 1999 to 2007. But Hastert’s career featured one of the most disgraceful falls from grace...