Social media has been buzzing over the ABC interview of Jolene, the sister of the late Steve Reinboldt, an alleged victim of Dennis Hastert. I won’t rehash the whole interview, instead letting you watch it here. But there is something that I think merit’s a deeper look. This was part of what Jolene said:

Her brother also spent time with Hastert as a member of an Explorers troop, which Hastert ran. Photos taken by her brother show Hastert with a group of boys on a diving trip to the Bahamas.

So Hastert lead an Explorers troop? For those not familiar, Explorers are part of the Boy Scouts of America. For example. a lot of police departments have Police Explorer troops, letting young men and women go out and learn more about law enforcement and work around the police station, as well as ride along. 

Now let’s start putting this into a little perspective. Hastert was indicted on May 28th. The FBI spoke to the family two weeks prior. Right in the middle of that, on May 21st, some other news came out. Robert Gates, the head of the Boy Scouts of America, announced that the scouts will end their ban on gays. Remember, Robert Gates is a Republican and former Defense Secretary. He’s also been a Washington Insider for decades. 

So could it be that Gates had an idea this was coming out, and decided to make his announcement? It’s purely speculation and could easily be just a coincidence, but knowing how Washington works and that there never really is a “secret”, I almost have to believe that perhaps the timing of Gates announcement was deliberate, to coincide with the case of a former scout leader, who everyone thought was straight, having a boy problem, especially given the political and DC ties the two have.

Just something to ponder until we find out more.