Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert Paid Money To Cover Up Past Sexual Misconduct: Report

WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) - Former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert, indicted on Thursday on federal criminal charges, was paying a male from his past to try to conceal sexual misconduct, the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday, citing two unnamed federal law enforcement officials.

One of the officials cited by the newspaper said the alleged misconduct involved a male and occurred during Hastert's time as a high school wrestling coach and teacher in Yorkville, Illinois, before becoming a lawmaker.

The Justice Department said the charges related to Hastert's alleged effort to hide $3.5 million in payments he was making to a person to conceal past misconduct, but did not detail the nature of the misconduct. Asked why Hastert, a Republican from Illinois, was making the payments, the official told the Times that it was intended to conceal Hastert's past relationship with the male. (Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Sandra Maler)