Foley, R-Fla., resigns; inappropriate emails to young male Interns

[QueEx]

Republican Foley resigns US House seat

<font size="5"><center>Republican Foley resigns US House seat</font size>
<font size="4">Foley, chairman of the House caucus on missing and exploited children, resigned from the U.S. Congress on Friday following reports he sent
sexually inappropriate e-mails to underage congressional interns</font size></center>

Reuters
Fri Sep 29, 2006 3:59pm ET

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Six-term Republican Rep. Mark Foley of Florida resigned from the U.S. Congress on Friday following reports he sent sexually inappropriate e-mails to underage congressional interns.

Foley, chairman of the House caucus on missing and exploited children, said he would resign immediately after ABC News reported he sent messages to current and former congressional pages with repeated references to sexual organs and acts.

"Today I have delivered a letter to the Speaker of the House informing him of my decision to resign from the U.S. House of Representatives, effective today," Foley said in a statement.

"I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida I have had the privilege to represent."

Foley's decision to resign just five weeks before the Nov. 7 congressional election complicated Republican efforts to retain control of the House of Representatives. Democrats must pick up 15 seats to reclaim a House majority.

Lawyers from both parties were examining Florida election laws to see if his name can be removed from the ballot in his Republican-leaning district, party sources said, but it might be too late.

Foley won re-election in 2004 with 68 percent of the vote and was favored to win in November over Democrat Tim Mahoney, a self-funding financial officer. President George W. Bush carried the district with 54 percent of the vote.

Foley was the author of the key sexual predator provisions of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, which Bush signed in July.

Foley, who represents a district in southern Florida, also was a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees tax and trade policy.

http://today.reuters.com/news/artic...9387735_RTRIDST_0_POLITICS-FOLEY-UPDATE-1.XML

 

[QueEx]

Re: Republican Foley resigns US House seat

<font size="5"><center>Challenger Seeks Probe of Rep. Foley's
E-Mails to Boy, 16</font size></center>

Washington Post
By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 29, 2006; Page A07

The Democratic opponent of Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) is calling for an investigation into an e-mail exchange that Foley conducted last year with a 16-year-old boy who had worked as a congressional page.

Foley, 52, has served in the House for six terms and is seeking reelection. He said that the five e-mails he wrote to the boy were harmless and that their publication is part of an attempt by Democrats to smear him.

"The e-mails in question were a response to a handwritten thank-you letter from a former page," said Jason Kello, Foley's spokesman. "There have not been any allegations made by anyone except by Tim Mahoney and the Democrats who are attempting to misrepresent a series of innocent communications to prop up a failing political campaign."

Jessica Santillo, a spokeswoman for Mahoney, a Venus, Fla., rancher and business executive who is running against Foley, said in a written statement: "This is a matter for the appropriate authorities to investigate."

In the brief but chatty e-mails, which were first reported by ABC News, Foley asked how old the boy was, inquired what he wanted for his birthday, requested a picture of the young man and told him that he had just finished a long bike ride and was going to the gym.

According to ABC, the boy forwarded the e-mail that requested his picture to an unidentified congressional staffer and wrote that the e-mail was "sick sick sick sick sick." In another e-mail to a staffer, ABC reported, the boy wrote: "Maybe it is just me being paranoid, but seriously. This freaked me out."

Kello, the Foley spokesman, declined to identify the boy.

Kello said that around the time the boy was leaving his job as a page, or House floor assistant, in the summer of 2005, the boy handed Foley a card "thanking him for being a friendly face." The boy then returned to his home in Louisiana.

Foley kept in touch with him, especially around the time of Hurricane Katrina. "He was concerned about the kid because he knew he was from Louisiana," Kello said.

The e-mail, which ended "send me a pic of you as well," began, "How are you weathering the hurricane . . . are you safe." Kello said Foley asked what the boy wanted for his birthday because in a previous e-mail, a copy of which has not been published, the boy had informed the congressman that he was celebrating a birthday.

Kello also said that it is not unusual for someone from Foley's office to seek photographs to keep on file in case people seek recommendations.

Foley was familiar and friendly in his e-mails. In one, he wrote, "did you have fun at your conference" and "what stuff do you like to do." In another, he wrote, "Glad your home safe and sound" and "its nice here . . . been raining today." In a third, Foley referred to someone named Will and said, "hes such a nice guy . . . acts much older than his age . . . and hes in really great shape."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/28/AR2006092801764.html

 

[Makeherhappy]

Re: Republican Foley resigns US House seat

It comes down to what's in the emails

 

[Makeherhappy]

Re: Republican Foley resigns US House seat

[FRAME]http://198.65.131.81/board/showthread.php?t=108591[/FRAME]

 

[Armageddon]

Re: Republican Foley resigns US House seat

It's just soooo funny that it's the Republicans that keep stressing "family values" and yet only very few stand up to the litmus test!
The funniest of all was Newt Gingrich going on his own personal witchhunt of Clinton cheating in the White House and he was cheating on his wife the whole time with a young chippie!
And lest we forget Mr. Rush "All drug addicts should be in jail" Limbaugh, the same guy who was/is addicted to oxycodone but refers to that as a "private matter"

Geez, it's getting so that the word Republican is becoming synonymous with hypocrite!

 

[African Herbsman]

Re: Republican Foley resigns US House seat

politician is synonymous with hypocrite.

 

[muckraker10021]

Re: Republican Foley resigns US House seat

[wm]http://movies.crooksandliars.com/ABC-RossFoley.wmv[/wm]

 

[Armageddon]

Re: Republican Foley resigns US House seat

politician is synonymous with hypocrite.

Truism!

 

[QueEx]

Re: Republican Foley resigns US House seat

<font size="5"><center>Behind Foley's Swift Fall From Grace</font size>
<font size="4">Thanks to his previous work against pedophiles,
the Florida congressman who sent possibly inappropriate
emails to a teenager had little choice but to resign.
Now the GOP has yet another vulnerable seat to defend</font size></center>

By TIM PADGETT/MIAMI
Posted Saturday, Sep. 30, 2006

Opinion may be divided over whether the e-mails Florida Representative Mark Foley sent a teen-age male congressional page last year were inappropriate or even constituted outright sexual harassment. But most observers would agree that what was almost as surprising as the allegations themselves was how swiftly the six-term Republican congressman from West Palm Beach quit a thriving career on Capitol Hill after the e-mails were aired Thursday night on the ABC evening news. And a big reason for his abrupt exit, say Florida pundits, is that Foley, 52, was staring at the elements of a perfect political storm that not even a candidate from a hurricane-prone state could withstand in today's nasty election climate: not only possible accusations of pedophilia, but also the possible stain of gross hypocrisy, given Foley's high-profile legislative crusade against child sex offenders. "I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida," Foley said in a statement confirming that he would not seek re-election next month.

His work against child sex offenders is certainly the most glaring irony of the emerging Foley scandal. Foley is a founder and co-chair of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus and has played key roles in recent legislation to protect kids - including the Volunteers for Children Act, which gives organizations that work with youths access to FBI fingerprint checks to make sure they don't hire child molesters.

Foley's Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, which has passed both the House and Senate, overhauls the national monitoring system for predatory pedophiles by closing legal loopholes, setting minimum registration standards and better coordinating law enforcement; he also co-sponsored measures to eliminate child pornography and exploitive child model sites on the Internet — and he has worked closely with the likes of John Walsh, host of Fox TV's popular America's Most Wanted.

Foley's aides insist that the e-mails in question do nothing to belie his commitment to child protection issues, saying the exchanges between the congressman and the page - in which Foley asks what the boy would like for his birthday and requests a picture of him - were innocuous and "nonchalant" chat. But the boy, a page in the office of Louisiana Representative Rodney Alexander, also a Republican, e-mailed other colleagues saying Foley's messages "freaked me out," and he repeatedly called the photo request "sick."

In other e-mail exchanges with the page, Foley discusses another boy who he remarks is "in really great shape -- i am just finished riding my bike on a 25 mile journey now heading to the gym -- what school like for you this year?" As a result, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a left-leaning congressional watchdog group, has asked the House Committee on Standards and Official Conduct to investigate, saying the legislators have "an obligation to protect the teenagers who come to Congress to learn about the legislative process." The committee, it said, "must investigate any allegation that a page has been subjected to sexual advances by members of the House."

Washington was rife with speculation that Foley resigned so quickly Friday because there might be similar e-mail or instant messages lying in the hard drives of other teens in the capital. But another reason is just as likely: Foley, a bachelor, has frequently worked to squelch rumors that he is gay. In 2003, he called a press conference expressly to insist that he would not answer questions about his sexuality as he prepared for a possible, but ultimately aborted Senate run in 2004.

Despite his earnest reputation on family values issues, Foley's orientation was an issue that Florida Republicans - whose leadership, including outgoing Governor Jeb Bush, has taken a sharp right turn in this decade - wrestled with nonetheless while Foley considered running for Senate (the party ultimately backed eventual winner Mel Martinez). The e-mail scandal simply would have made it more difficult for Foley to swim on that GOP beach - and would have almost certainly made the next month of re-election campaigning horrific for him. (GOP House Speaker Dennis Hastert today said Foley had done "the right thing" by resigning.) "When you look at how vicious political attack ads have become in this country, it1s no surprise how quickly a candidate in Foley1s position would say, 'It's just not worth it,'" says Susan MacManus, a political expert at the University of South Florida in Tampa. "The atmosphere is just too poisonous and venomous right now to risk it."

Foley, who represented Florida's 16th congressional district along what is known as the state's eastern Treasure Coast, wasn't exactly pristine in that regard himself. His camp charges that the e-mail leaks were part of a smear campaign by his congressional opponent, Democrat Tim Mahoney. But Mahoney, whose campaign denies that charge, had recently taken Foley to court for defamation over an attack ad that accused Mahoney of corrupt business practices that left scores of Florida workers unemployed.

Still, the bigger worry for Florida Republicans now is how to salvage Foley's seat in a year when the GOP'S control of the House was looking increasingly vulnerable. Republican Representative Clay Shaw is in a fight for survival in a district just south of Foley's, and the mere presence of controversial GOP Congresswoman Katherine Harris, who is challenging incumbent Senator Bill Nelson, is expected to galvanize Florida's Democratic voters. Because the state's primary elections are past, Foley's name by law must stay on the ballot.

But Florida statute also dictates that a vote for Foley becomes a vote for whoever gets the GOP nod. A likely replacement for Foley is Joe Negron, a state representative from the same Treasure Coast with a squeaky clean reputation who has a $1 million campaign chest and key state supporters built up from a bid for state attorney general that he aborted earlier this year. Negron confirmed to TIME late Friday that he is "running" and spent much of Friday afternoon trying to get the party's blessing.

But political experts like MacManus fear this sordid episode could drag Florida voter turnout, already low in mid-term election years, to new depths. And Foley's resignation, they predict, will resonate well beyond Florida - and could have a downer effect on young people contemplating careers in politics. "With boomers retiring, we need the new generation to come into politics," says MacManus. "But this is the kind of episode that has a chilling effect especially on younger folks because they identify most with the kinds of things involved - the Internet, the power of bloggers and such." In other words, today's brand of personal politics may, as the congressional page might put it, end up freaking them out.

—with reporting by Barbara Liston/Orlando and Michael Peltier/Tallahassee

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1541195,00.html

 

[neo_cacos]

Re: Republican Foley resigns US House seat

WOW....
the textbook example of the word 'irony'.


HYPOCRITS!!
ALWAYS pay close attention to

Those who TALKS abouth values and moral.
They usually dont have either or.


neo

 

[QueEx]

Re: Republican Foley resigns US House seat

<font size="4">Ex-Rep. Foley checks into alcohol rehab</font size>

By LARA JAKES JORDAN Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Mark Foley, under FBI investigation for salacious e-mail exchanges with teenage congressional pages, has checked himself into rehabilitation facility for alcoholism treatment and accepts responsibility for his actions, his attorney said Monday.

The attorney, David Roth, would not identify the facility, but told the Associated Press in West Palm Beach, Fla., that Foley had checked in over the weekend.

"I strongly believe that I am an alcoholic and have accepted the need for immediate treatment for alcoholism and other behavioral problems," Foley, a Republican, said in a statement, Roth told the AP.


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/4230434.html

________________________________________________________________________

Predictable. Why do these mofo's run for rehab -- After the Damn Fact ???

QueEx

 

[QueEx]

Re: Republican Foley resigns US House seat

<font size="5"><center>Washington Times calls for Hastert to resign</font size></center>

October 2, 2006 (22 minutes ago)

WASHINGTON (AP) - The fallout continues from the scandal over former Congressman Mark Foley's suggestive computer messages to teen-age boys.

The editorial board of The Washington Times has called for House Speaker Dennis Hastert to step down. The Times editorial, posted on its Web site, says Hastert should "resign his speakership at once."

The Times, one of the most reliably conservative voices in the nation's capital, has joined some Democrats in criticizing Hastert for not doing enough to investigate questions about Foley's e-mail exchanges.

The paper contends Hastert was either "grossly negligent" or "looked the other way in hopes that a brewing scandal would blow away.

Hastert denies that House leaders had access to the lurid instant messages that surfaced in media reports Friday. Some lawmakers, including Republicans say Hastert and key leaders have been aware of an inappropriate 2005 e-mail for months.

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?feed=AP&Date=20061003&ID=6070326

 

[QueEx]

Re: Republican Foley resigns US House seat

[frame]http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20061002-102008-9058r.htm[/frame]

 

[QueEx]

Re: Republican Foley resigns US House seat

<font size="5"><center>Hastert Dismisses Call for Resignation</font size>
<font size="4">FBI Knew in July About Foley E-Mails to Teen</font size></center>

Washington Post
By Charles Babington and Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, October 3, 2006; 11:54 AM

The FBI acknowledged yesterday that it did not begin an investigation in late July after receiving copies of e-mails sent in 2005 by then-Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) to a Louisiana teenager -- messages that troubled the boy's parents.

Key House Republicans learned of the e-mails in 2005 and chose to deal with Foley privately, warning him to cease contact with the 16-year-old former House page. Top aides to Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) did not inform him about the incident, Hastert said yesterday, and he defended their actions in a Capitol Hill news conference.

But the GOP's handling of the Foley matter has rocked the party since it was revealed last week that Foley had sent far more sexually explicit electronic messages to teenage former pages in 2003 and 2004.

Many Democrats and some Republicans sharply criticized the decision by key House GOP members to handle the matter of the Louisiana e-mails so quietly that only one of the three lawmakers who oversee the page program knew anything about it. The other two -- one Democrat, one Republican -- expressed anger yesterday that they had been kept in the dark.

Also yesterday, ABC News posted on its Web site instant messages -- reportedly between Foley and another former House page -- in which the lawmaker repeatedly tried to set up a dinner date and indicated that the boy had spent time with him in San Diego. Previously disclosed messages had not indicated that Foley was trying to make personal contact with the boys, who had served as runners and helpers for a year in Washington.

Foley abruptly resigned Friday, and his attorney David Roth said yesterday that the six-term lawmaker is now at an alcohol-treatment center in Florida. In a statement faxed to news outlets Sunday night -- Foley's only public comments since his resignation -- he said: "I deeply regret and accept full responsibility for the harm I have caused."

Roth, interviewed last night on CNN, said that Foley is "absolutely, positively not a pedophile" and "has never, ever had an inappropriate sexual contact with a minor in his life." He said Foley wrote the e-mails "under the influence of alcohol" and was "suffering from mental illness."

Officials from the liberal-leaning group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said yesterday that they received copies of the Louisiana e-mails on July 21 and turned them over to the FBI the same day. Melanie Sloan, the group's executive director, said she spoke with a special agent in the Washington field office, and she questioned yesterday why the FBI did not investigate Foley weeks ago.

An FBI official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said the field office concluded that the e-mails "did not rise to the level of criminal activity." The bureau announced Sunday that it would begin a preliminary investigation into Foley's more explicit electronic exchanges with teenagers.

Some House Republicans said yesterday that the FBI and House leaders erred in not considering the e-mails -- and the concern they raised among the recipient's parents -- as justification for an inquiry.

"This thing should have been looked into months ago," said Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr. (R-N.C.), who said he is "disgusted" by his leaders' response. "That's abnormal for a 52-year-old man having those kinds of e-mails going to a 16-year-old child."

In a written statement, Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) said the Republican leadership needs to be shaken up. "If they knew or should have known the extent of this problem, they should not serve in leadership," he said.

Hastert, as the House's top officer and the man in line after the vice president to succeed the president, has been the main target of questions and barbs from both parties. The Washington Times today called for him to resign the speakership immediately. "Either he was grossly negligent for not taking the red flags fully into account and ordering a swift investigation . . . or he deliberately looked the other way in hopes that a brewing scandal would simply blow away. . . . Mr. Hastert has forfeited the confidence of the public and his party, and he cannot preside over the necessary coming investigation, an investigation that must examine his own inept performance."

A spokesman for Hastert told the Associated Press that the speaker has no plans to leave that position. "The speaker has and will lead the Republican conference to another majority in the 110th Congress," said Ron Bonjean.

Hastert reiterated yesterday that he recalled hearing nothing about Foley's e-mails until last Friday, but he does not dispute the assertion of Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (R-N.Y.) that he informed the speaker last spring.

"If Reynolds told me, it was in a line of things, and we were in the middle of another crisis this spring, so I just don't remember that," Hastert told reporters. He defended the decision by several top staffers to handle the Foley matter without telling him. "I see no reason to bump it up to me at that time," he said.

Hastert noted that the 2005 e-mails to the Louisiana teenager were ambiguous. In one, Foley asked the boy to send a picture of himself, which reportedly alarmed the youth and his parents. Hastert agreed yesterday that an adult's request for a teenager's photo "would raise a red flag." But he said he would not second-guess his party's handling of the situation.

The boy's parents approached the office of Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.) in late 2005, asking that Foley stop contacting their son and that the matter be kept quiet, according to House accounts.

Reynolds, who chairs his party's House campaign committee, and Majority Leader John A. Boehner (Ohio) were among prominent Republicans who also knew of the parents' concerns earlier this year. But the matter was left to Rep. John M. Shimkus (R-Ill.), who chairs the House Page Board, and then-House clerk Jeff Trandahl, also a board member.

Shimkus has said that Foley assured them that the e-mails were innocent, and that they closed the discussion by telling him to respect pages and to cease contacting the Louisiana boy. Trandahl, now executive director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, did not return phone calls yesterday.

Hastert said that he and other House leaders knew nothing of the instant messages between Foley and former pages in 2003 and 2004, which, ABC has reported, were much more graphic and discussed topics including masturbation.

ABC reported yesterday that Foley used the screen name "Maf54" and wrote a former page: "I miss you lots since san diego," to which the teenager responded, "ya I cant wait til dc." The youth asked, "did you pick a night for dinner." Maf54 replied, "not yet . . . but likely Friday."

In another exchange, Maf54 wrote, "I want to see you." The teenager replied, "Like I said not til feb . . . then we will go to dinner." Maf54: "and then what happens?" Teenager: "we eat . . . we drink . . . who knows . . . hang out . . . late into the night." When Maf54 pressed further, the teenager wrote, "hmmm, I have the feeling that you are fishing here . . . im not sure what I would be comfortable with . . . well see."

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), Shimkus's fellow Republican on the Page Board, said she knew nothing of Foley's electronic exchanges until last week.

"As a member of the Page Board -- and, more importantly, as a mother -- I am appalled by Mark Foley's despicable conduct," she said. "I deeply regret not being made aware of this situation as a member of the Page Board."

White House spokesman Tony Snow contributed to the political firestorm yesterday when he told CNN the scandal involved "simply naughty e-mails." Democrats assailed the comment, and Snow later called the messages "disturbing," "appalling" and "reprehensible."


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/03/AR2006100300572.html

 

[QueEx]

Re: Republican Foley resigns US House seat

New Foley Instant Messages by Former Pages

<font size="5"><center>Had Internet Sex While Awaiting House Vote</font size></center>

ABC News
October 03, 2006 1:22 PM
Brian Ross and Maddy Sauer Report:

Former Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) interrupted a vote on the floor of the House in 2003 to engage in Internet sex with a high school student who had served as a congressional page, according to new Internet instant messages provided to ABC News by former pages.

ABC News now has obtained 52 separate instant message exchanges, which former pages say were sent by Foley, using the screen name Maf54, to two different boys under the age of 18.

This message was dated April 2003, at approximately 7 p.m., according to the message time stamp.

FULL STORY: http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/10/new_foley_insta.html

`

 

[QueEx]

Re: Republican Foley resigns US House seat

[frame]http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=2522378&page=1[/frame]

 

[QueEx]

Re: Republican Foley resigns US House seat

What the Fuck are They Thinking About?

There have been several calls by members of Congress to
examine the "Page" program to consider even ending it. What?
Last I heard, the Pages haven't done shit. It was a grown-assed
<u>man</u> who solicted, encouraged and probably took part in illicit or
illegal activity with 16 and 17 year old boys.

What needs investigating is the hearts, minds and motivation of
those serving in Congress. Investigate why and how did members
of Congress seemed to have known about Foley's Faggot ass and
not a soul stepped up to deal with it. I just can't understand why
anyone could keep this kind of shit on the down low.

QueEx

 

[QueEx]

Re: Republican Foley resigns US House seat

<font size="5"><center>Lawmaker Saw Foley Messages In 2000</font size>
<font size="4">Page Notified GOP Rep. Kolbe</font size></center>

Washington Post
By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 9, 2006; Page A01

A Republican congressman knew of disgraced former representative Mark Foley's inappropriate Internet exchanges as far back as 2000 and personally confronted Foley about his communications.

A spokeswoman for Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) confirmed yesterday that a former page showed the congressman Internet messages that had made the youth feel uncomfortable with the direction Foley (R-Fla.) was taking their e-mail relationship. Last week, when the Foley matter erupted, a Kolbe staff member suggested to the former page that he take the matter to the clerk of the House, Karen Haas, said Kolbe's press secretary, Korenna Cline.

The revelation pushes back by at least five years the date when a member of Congress has acknowledged learning of Foley's behavior with former pages. A timeline issued by House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) suggested that the first lawmakers to know, Rep. John M. Shimkus (R-Ill.), the chairman of the House Page Board, and Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.), became aware of "over-friendly" e-mails only last fall. It also expands the universe of players in the drama beyond members, either in leadership or on the page board.

A source with direct knowledge of Kolbe's involvement said the messages shared with Kolbe were sexually explicit, and he read the contents to The Washington Post under the condition that they not be reprinted. But Cline denied the source's characterization, saying only that the messages had made the former page feel uncomfortable. Nevertheless, she said, "corrective action" was taken. Cline said she has not yet determined whether that action went beyond Kolbe's confrontation with Foley.

In interviews with The Post last week, multiple pages identified Kolbe as a close friend and personal confidante who was one of the only members of Congress to take any interest in them. A former page himself, Kolbe offered to mentor pages and kept in touch with some of them after they left the program, according to the interviews.

Kolbe once invited four former pages to make use of his Washington home while he was out of town, according to an instant message between Foley and another former page, Jordan Edmund, in January 2002. The pages planned to attend a first-year reunion of their page class. But because of a snowstorm, they did not take Kolbe up on his offer, according to one of the four pages.

Cline said one of the youths invited was a former page of Kolbe's. Because the congressman frequently travels on weekends, either to his Arizona ranch or abroad, the house is often available to friends, constituents, staffers and former staff members, such as a former page, she said.

Kolbe, the only openly gay Republican in Congress, is retiring at the end of the year.

The latest revelation in the growing House page scandal comes just a month before crucial midterm elections. Foley resigned Sept. 29 after ABC News confronted him with the sexually explicit messages that he exchanged with a former page, triggering investigations by the Justice Department, the House ethics committee and Florida authorities.

Hastert and his top aides have been sharply criticized by Democrats and some conservative Republicans for failing to act promptly after receiving warnings that Foley had been sexually predatory in dealing with pages and former pages. Ron Bonjean, the speaker's spokesman, said yesterday: "Allegations of inappropriate conduct by members of Congress towards pages need to be fully reviewed by the ethics committee and law enforcement."

In addressing the revelation about Kolbe, Bonjean said, "This allegation reiterates why the speaker has also called for a full review of the House page program to ensure that it is as safe and secure as possible."

A new poll by Newsweek indicates the Foley scandal is doing significant damage to the Republicans' political fortunes and could sink their chances of holding onto control of Congress on Election Day, Nov. 7. The poll found that 52 percent of Americans, including 29 percent of Republicans, believe Hastert was aware of Foley's Internet communications with underage pages and tried to cover up Foley's actions. More of those polled, 42 percent, now say they trust Democrats to do a better job handling moral values than Republicans; 36 percent favored Republicans on the values question.

In a sharp exchange on "Fox News Sunday," Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), the vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, insinuated that Democrats were behind the revelations of Foley's actions and the release of electronic messages showing Foley having sexually graphic or highly suggestive conversations with former pages.

"What I don't understand is where have these e-mails been for three years? Are we saying that a 15-year-old child would have sat on e-mails that were triple-X-rated for three years and suddenly spring them out right on the eve of an election? That's just a little bit too suspicious, even for Washington, D.C.," Kingston said.

Rep. Martin T. Meehan (D-Mass.) shot back, "If there's any evidence that you need that the values in Washington have turned upside down, you could just hear what Jack had to say. Only in Washington, D.C., can you take a group of people in charge of the House and basically have evidence that they've been looking the other way while a predator has been . . . going after 15- and 16-year-old pages, [and] they somehow . . . have the audacity to turn that into a political attack against Democrats."

So far, only ABC News and The Washington Post are known to have obtained the sexually explicit instant messages between two former pages and Foley. The Post obtained its copies from a former page who served on Capitol Hill with the other two pages.

Staff writer James V. Grimaldi contributed to this report.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/08/AR2006100800855.html?referrer=email

 

[QueEx]

Re: Republican Foley resigns US House seat

HE'S BACCCCCCK


<font size="5"><center>Former Rep. Mark Foley to debut
as talk radio host tonight </font size></center>

Los Angeles Times
by Johanna Neuman
September 22, 2009


Yep, it's true. There's no shame in America, only a rehab industry.

Mark Foley, the Florida Republican who left Congress in 2006 amid accusations he sent lurid e-mails to male House pages, is credited with helping to sour the electorate's view of the Grand Old Party in a year when Nancy Pelosi and the Dems swept into power.

In the years since, he's been in real estate investment, contemplating a return to politics.

Tonight, he makes his debut as a radio talk show host. "Inside the Mind of Mark Foley," billed by the station as a program that “will expose the inner workings of Washington, D.C.," airs at 6 p.m. EST on WSVU-AM (960) out of North Palm Beach, Fla. It can also be heard at www.seaviewam960.com.

Inside the mind of Mark Foley? Does anyone really want to know?

Apparently the Conservative Republican Alliance does. In an interview, Foley held forth on several issues:

• On his sex scandal: “I am solely responsible for the problems I faced in 2006. I took responsibility, I resigned from the job I loved and a career I had built for 30 years. I did not break any laws; however, I owed my constituents, my colleagues and my family a far better standard than I set.”

• On returning to politics: “I doubt I will reenter the political arena as an office seeker, but I will use my experience and my voice to help others, to rally for economic sanity, to bring about real reforms on a local, state and even national level.”

• On Florida Gov. Charlie Crist winning the Republican primary for Senate: “If anyone thinks this election for U.S. Senate is over, then they better pay attention. We are in a very unique time in America’s political life…. There are no sure bets in politics, and money alone is not the key barometer.”

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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/was...age-scandal-now-on-the-air-in-palm-beach.html