Dennis Hastert pleads guilty to lying to the FBI in hush-money case

Former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert pleaded guilty Wednesday to trying to dodge federal banking reporting requirements in a deal with prosecutors that keeps secret details of the unseemly allegations that generated the case. Hunched in between his attorneys, Hastert, 73, told a judge he changed the way he withdrew money from various banks after he learned he might have to report the transactions — although he did not detail why. “I didn’t want them to know how I intended to spend the money,” Hastert said, offering the court scant other details.