memeorandum: The Hillary Clinton Paradox (Peggy Noonan/Wall Street Journal)

4:25 PM ET, May 29, 2015

Top Items:

Dennis Hastert paid to conceal sexual misconduct, sources say — Indicted former House Speaker Dennis Hastert was paying an individual from his past to conceal sexual misconduct, two federal law enforcement officials said Friday. — One of the officials, who would not speak publicly …

John Stanton / BuzzFeed:

Investigators Considered Second Alleged Victim In Hastert Investigation But Didn't Include In Indictment — The Illinois Republican is accused of lying to the FBI and evading reporting requirements on cash payments he made. — Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images — What We Know So Far

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, OpenSecrets.org, Scared Monkeys, Daily Kos, Mediaite, PoliticusUSA, CANNONFIRE, The National Memo, Politico, Liberaland, The Atlantic, Hinterland Gazette, The Gateway Pundit and Outside the Beltway

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:

So What Did Hastert Do? — “The Coach”, former House Speaker turned high-priced lobbyist, is the target of a mysterious indictment. The Times has some details (and attaches the indictment) and the WaPo has some speculation that is informative for its omissions. — Background from the Times:

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times and Booman Tribune

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

Creepy C-SPAN Caller To Hastert: Do You ‘Remember Me From Yorkville?’ (VIDEO) — Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) got a strange call from an Illinois resident last year in a C-SPAN segment that surfaced in light of allegations that he agreed to pay $3.5 million in hush money to an individual from the town of Yorkville.

Discussion: TVNewser and Associated Press

New York Times:

Hastert Indictment Shocks His Associates on Capitol Hill — WASHINGTON — The indictment announced late Thursday against J. Dennis Hastert, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, has stunned his friends and former Capitol Hill colleagues, who said they were struggling to make sense of the federal charges against him.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

NBC News:

Dennis Hastert Indictment: Feds Say Cover-Up Was Related to Sexual Misconduct, Report Says — Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert paid a man from his past to conceal sexual misconduct, federal law enforcement officials said, according to a report published Friday.

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications

Michael Falcone / ABC News:
The Note: Welcome To The Martin O'Malley Moment

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Bloomberg Business, Booman Tribune, Hinterland Gazette and Political Wire

Michael Tarm / Associated Press:
The Few Clues In Hastert Indictment

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CANNONFIRE, Daily Kos and Reuters

Monique Garcia / Chicago Tribune:
Hastert statue shelved at Illinois Capitol

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, Chicago and Politico

Lydia Saad / Gallup:

Americans Choose “Pro-Choice” for First Time in Seven Years — Story Highlights — PRINCETON, N.J. — Half of Americans consider themselves “pro-choice” on abortion, surpassing the 44% who identify as “pro-life.” This is the first time since 2008 that the pro-choice position …

Discussion: Religion News Service, Daily Kos, Washington Monthly, Hot Air, The Moderate Voice, The Federalist, PoliticusUSA, LifeNews.com, Mediaite and The Huffington Post

Adam B. Lerner / Politico:
Pro-choice outpolls pro-life for first time in 7 years

Discussion: Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:

The Hillary Clinton Paradox — Is her victory inevitable or impossible? — On the matter of Hillary Clinton's candidacy I find myself holding opposite and irreconcilable views: “That can't possibly work,” and “She's inevitable.” — Her candidacy can't work because of the deep …

Discussion: Hot Air, The PJ Tatler and Cafe Hayek

Byron York / Washington Examiner: If Hillary becomes president, who will make her obey the law?

Joe Conason / Politico:
The fake Clinton scandals are back

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Atlantic, Slate, The National Memo, Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Daily Mail and Liberal Values

Deborah Sontag / New York Times:

An Award for Bill Clinton Came With $500,000 for His Foundation — To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Petra Nemcova, a Czech model who survived the disaster by clinging to a palm tree, decided to pull out all the stops for the annual fund-raiser of her school-building charity, the Happy Hearts Fund.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Mediaite, Fox News, National Review, American Spectator, Hot Air, Bloomberg Business, The Week, Althouse and Politico

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Rand Paul's money problem — Behind the Kentucky senator's NSA ‘filibuster’ lies a desperate quest for cash. — In a presidential campaign defined by billionaire sugar daddy donors, Rand Paul has a problem: He doesn't seem to have one. — While his rivals cultivate wealthy backers …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Bloomberg Business, Hot Air and Washington Monthly

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
Pro-Paul group unleashes fiery attack ad

Discussion: Hot Air and Politico

Dan Merica / CNN:

Bernie Sanders distances himself from ‘dumb’ 1972 essay on rape — Bernie Sanders wrote about rape fantasies in 1970s 06:17 — New York (CNN)Bernie Sanders' campaign tried on Thursday to distance the presidential candidate from a 1972 essay in which he wrote — among other things …

Discussion: TheBlaze.com, Daily Mail, The Hill, Seven Days, Taylor Marsh, Hinterland Gazette, Shakesville, BuzzFeed and BarbWire.com

Katie McDonough / Salon:
Bernie Sanders exposed! A shocking look at his views on rape and violence against women

Discussion: Hullabaloo, CNN and Shakesville

Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review:
Let's Not Crucify Bernie Sanders for His Sexual-Fantasies Essay

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, BREITBART.COM, NewsBusters, Ace of Spades HQ, Jezebel, Patterico's Pontifications, No More Mister Nice Blog, Vox, Hot Air, BarbWire.com, Mediaite, alicublog, American Spectator, Twitchy, Althouse and mrctv.org/videos

Politico:

Lincoln Chafee to announce presidential run on June 3 — Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee will officially enter the presidential race on June 3, a source with knowledge of his plans told POLITICO. — He'll make the announcement in a speech he's scheduled to deliver next Wednesday …

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, OnPolitics, Towleroad News #gay, The Week and The PJ Tatler

David Wasserman / FiveThirtyEight:

The Supreme Court Could Give The GOP Another 8 Seats In Congress — This week, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a lawsuit filed by conservative activists in Texas that could redefine the principle of “one person, one vote” as we know it. And if the Court sides with the plaintiffs …

Discussion: Election Law Blog, Political Wire, AMERICAblog News and Daily Kos

Rasmussen Reports:
Most Democrats Think Illegal Immigrants Should Vote

Discussion: American Spectator and Hot Air

Nelson D. Schwartz / New York Times:

U.S. Economy Contracted 0.7% in First Quarter — The economy got off to an even weaker start this year than first thought, the government reported Friday, as economic activity contracted amid a disappointing trade picture and continued caution on spending by businesses and consumers alike.

Discussion: White House.gov Blog, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Washington Monthly, Truth Revolt, Scared Monkeys and The Week

Wall Street Journal:
U.S. GDP Swings to Contraction in First Quarter

Discussion: Forbes, Outside the Beltway and NPR

Matt Richtel / New York Times:

Windshield Devices Bring Distracted Driving Debate to Eye Level — In a widely watched YouTube video, a man is driving around Los Angeles when his phone rings. On a small screen mounted on the dashboard, an image of the caller, the man's mother, appears. — But there's an optical twist …

Discussion: Boing Boing and Eschaton

Daniella Silva / NBC News:

Beer Giant Stops Production to Give Water to Storm Victims — Beer giant Anheuser-Busch stopped production at its Georgia brewery this week to instead produce drinking water for those affected by a deadly bout of historic flooding and storms in Texas and Oklahoma.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, US News, The Week, Washington Post and BizPac Review

Jeff Rathke / US Department of State:

Rescission of Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism — Press Statement — Director, Office of Press Relations — Washington, DC — In December 2014, the President instructed the Secretary of State to immediately launch a review of Cuba's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism …

Discussion: Telegraph, Daily Mail, Common Dreams, mrctv.org/videos and The Week

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

The Insecure American — America remains, despite the damage inflicted by the Great Recession and its aftermath, a very rich country. But many Americans are economically insecure, with little protection from life's risks. They frequently experience financial hardship …