Religions > Atheism > G.O.P. Aides Knew In Late 2005 of Foley's E-Mails ToTeenage Page
| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Michelle Malkin" |
| Date: |
01 Oct 2006 01:57:01 PM |
| Object: |
G.O.P. Aides Knew In Late 2005 of Foley's E-Mails ToTeenage Page |
G.O.P. Aides Knew in Late '05 of E-Mail
By CARL HULSE and RAYMOND HERNANDEZ
Published: October 1, 2006
WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 - Top House Republicans knew for months about e-mail
traffic between Representative Mark Foley and a former teenage page, but
kept the matter secret and allowed Mr. Foley to remain head of a
Congressional caucus on children's issues, Republican lawmakers said
Saturday.
Mark Foley had represented Palm Beach in Congress for six terms.
The exchanges began with what Republicans now describe as an "overfriendly"
e-mail message from Mr. Foley to the unidentified teenager.
But news reports about the exchanges led to the disclosure of e-mail
correspondence with other former pages in which the discussions became more
and more sexually explicit. Shortly after he was confronted by ABC News on
Friday about the subject, Mr. Foley, who represented a south Florida
district, resigned from the House.
The revelations set off a political upheaval, with Democrats and some
Republicans calling for a full investigation of Mr. Foley's conduct and
whether House leaders did enough to look into it. Members of the Republican
leadership sought Saturday to detail how they had handled the case in an
effort to defuse the situation, even as it was emerging as an issue in
Congressional races.
Among those who became aware earlier this year of the fall 2005
communications between Mr. Foley and the 16-year-old page, who worked for
Representative Rodney Alexander, Republican of Louisiana, were
Representative John A. Boehner, the majority leader, and Representative
Thomas M. Reynolds of New York, chairman of the National Republican
Congressional Committee. Mr. Reynolds said in a statement Saturday that he
had also personally raised the issue with Speaker J. Dennis Hastert.
"Despite the fact that I had not seen the e-mails in question, and Mr.
Alexander told me that the parents didn't want the matter pursued, I told
the speaker of the conversation Mr. Alexander had with me," Mr. Reynolds
said.
In a chronology of the episode released later on Saturday, the speaker's
office said Mr. Hastert did not recall any such discussion and had no
previous knowledge of the matter. "While the speaker does not explicitly
recall this conversation, he has no reason to dispute Congressman Reynolds'
recollection that he reported to him on the problem and its resolution," the
statement said.
The statement, issued after senior aides, the House clerk and legal advisers
huddled for much of Saturday in the Capitol, said senior staff members in
the speaker's office first learned of the e-mail messages from Mr. Alexander's
office in the fall of 2005 and took steps to investigate.
Aides to the speaker and other Congressional Republican leaders said the
messages, which an Alexander aide described to them as "overfriendly," were
much less explicit than the others that came to light after ABC News first
disclosed the e-mail correspondence with Mr. Alexander's page. The aides
said Mr. Alexander's office, at the request of the page's family, did not
show them copies of the messages. In those messages, sent after Hurricane
Katrina, Mr. Foley asked about the well-being of the boy, a Monroe, La.,
resident. He wrote: "How are you weathering the hurricane. . .are you safe.
.. .send me a pic of you as well." The page sent the note to a former
colleague, describing it as "sick."
In another message, Mr. Foley wrote, "What do you want for your birthday
coming up. . .what stuff do you like to do."
The e-mail exchanges that came to light after the first news reports were
far more graphic. When he was confronted about them on Friday, Mr. Foley
resigned. Republican leaders said they had not known about the other e-mail
correspondence.
"No one in the speaker's office was made aware of the sexually explicit text
messages which press reports suggest had been directed to another individual
until they were revealed in the press and on the Internet this week," the
statement from Mr. Hastert's office said.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers said Saturday that Congress and the
public deserved a full report on Mr. Foley's dealings with the pages, who
are high school students who serve as runners and perform other duties. The
lawmakers said there should also be an inquiry into the leadership's
knowledge of his activities and its response.
"Anyone who was involved in the chain of information should come forward and
tell when they were told, what they were told and what they did with the
information when they got it," said Representative Peter T. King, Republican
of New York. Mr. King called it a "dark day" for Congress and said, "We need
a full investigation."
Representative Christopher Shays, Republican of Connecticut, said any leader
who had been aware of Mr. Foley's behavior and failed to take action should
step down. "If they knew or should have known the extent of this problem,
they should not serve in leadership," Mr. Shays said.
On Saturday night, the House Republican leadership issued a statement that
characterized the communications between Mr. Foley and the former House
pages as "unacceptable and abhorrent."
"It is an obscene breach of trust," the statement said. "His immediate
resignation must now be followed by the full weight of the criminal justice
system."
The statement, from Mr. Hastert, Mr. Boehner and the majority whip, Roy
Blunt, asked the board that oversees pages "to undertake a full review of
the incident and propose additional safeguard measures."
The leaders also said they had asked for specific rules governing the
communications and contacts between pages and lawmakers and called for
creation of a toll-free number for pages and their parents to report
concerns.
Besides the leaders, other lawmakers and Congressional officers who served
on the board that oversaw the page program were aware of the e-mail
messages, though the Democratic lawmaker who serves on the board,
Representative Dale E. Kildee of Michigan, said Saturday that he had never
been informed.
According to lawmakers and the speaker's office, the page who received the
e-mail forwarded the one in which Mr. Foley, 52, asked for his picture, to a
colleague in Mr. Alexander's office, repeatedly calling it "sick" and saying
it "freaked me out."
Mr. Alexander called the boy's parents, who, Republican leaders said
Saturday, told him they did not want to pursue the matter but wanted Mr.
Foley to stop.
Mr. Alexander's office also contacted staff members in Mr. Hastert's office
for guidance on what to do and, according to the speaker's account, his
aides put Mr. Alexander's staff in contact with the clerk of the House, who
oversees the page program. The clerk, who at the time was Jeff Trandahl,
referred the matter to Representative John Shimkus, the Illinois Republican
who is the chairman of the House Page Board, in late 2005, a spokesman for
Mr. Shimkus said.
Mr. Trandahl and Mr. Shimkus confronted Mr. Foley, who insisted he was
simply acting as a mentor to the former page, officials said. He assured
them nothing inappropriate had occurred.
"They asked Foley about the e-mail," the speaker's statement said.
"Congressman Shimkus and the clerk made it clear that to avoid even the
appearance of impropriety and at the request of the parents, Congressman
Foley was to immediately cease any communication with the young man."
The leadership had other possible avenues for investigating the e-mail
messages beyond questioning Mr. Foley, including an inquiry by the ethics
committee or even the Capitol police. But aides said that while the contents
of the messages are disturbing in hindsight, they did not set off alarms
initially.
On Saturday, Mr. Shimkus' spokesman, Steve Tomaszewski, said, "Obviously
Foley lied about the other e-mails."
Mr. Tomaszewski said Mr. Shimkus would not comment on any other
conversations he had with House leaders about the matter because it was
referred to the ethics committee by a vote of the House on Friday. A
spokesman for Mr. Alexander did not respond to telephone and e-mail
messages.
Kevin Madden, a spokesman for Mr. Boehner, said Saturday that Mr. Boehner
had had a "brief, nonspecific" conversation about the subject with Mr.
Alexander in the spring but that he could not recall with certainty whether
he had discussed it with other leaders.
Democrats moved quickly to criticize Mr. Reynolds, who while overseeing
House campaigns nationally is facing the potential of a serious challenge
from Jack Davis, a wealthy businessman who has vowed to spend at least $2
million of his own money in the contest. "Tom Reynolds had a moral
obligation to protect our children," said Curtis Ellis, a spokesman for Mr.
Davis.
Carl Forti, a spokesman for Mr. Reynolds, said the congressman became aware
of contact between Mr. Foley and the young page this past spring, when Mr.
Alexander brought it to his attention. Mr. Forti said that Mr. Alexander had
told Mr. Reynolds of an e-mail exchange between Mr. Foley and the page, but
that he did not show Mr. Reynolds the e-mail messages and their contents.
Strategists for both parties said it was too early to tell what impact the
episode might have on Congressional elections now five weeks away but said
at a minimum it could lower the already dismal public view of incumbents and
discourage conservative voters.
It directly affected the race for the seat of Mr. Foley - the third
Republican to resign this year under a cloud. Tim Mahoney, the Democrat who
had been running an uphill and barely watched race against Mr. Foley, used
the new attention to his campaign on Saturday to accuse the Republican
leadership of covering up for him.
"It's now clear from all the reports coming in from across the country that
the Republican leadership team has been well aware of this problem with the
pages for well over a year," Mr. Mahoney said at a campaign stop at Palm
Beach International Airport. "It looks to me that it was more important to
hold onto a seat and to hold onto power than to take care of our children."
At the Justice Department, an official said that no investigation was under
way but that the agency had "real interest" in examining the circumstances
to see if any crimes were committed.
Several of Mr. Foley's former colleagues demanded a criminal inquiry.
Representative Robert E. Cramer, an Alabama Democrat who was co-chairman
with Mr. Foley of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children,
condemned Mr. Foley's actions as "shocking and disturbing."
"Anyone, including Foley, involved in this type of behavior should be
prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Mr. Cramer said.
.
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| User: "johac" |
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| Title: Re: G.O.P. Aides Knew In Late 2005 of Foley's E-Mails ToTeenage Page |
02 Oct 2006 12:59:15 AM |
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In article <c8OdnSz9Ztrlkr3YnZ2dnUVZ_uydnZ2d@comcast.com>,
"Michelle Malkin" <hypatiab7@comcast.net> wrote:
G.O.P. Aides Knew in Late '05 of E-Mail
By CARL HULSE and RAYMOND HERNANDEZ
Published: October 1, 2006
WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 - Top House Republicans knew for months about e-mail
traffic between Representative Mark Foley and a former teenage page, but
kept the matter secret and allowed Mr. Foley to remain head of a
Congressional caucus on children's issues, Republican lawmakers said
Saturday.
The sleaze gets deeper and deeper. How any intelligent caring person can
vote for these creeps is beyond me.
--
John Hachmann aa #1782
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities"
-Voltaire
Contact - Throw a .net over the .com
.
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| User: "Yang, AthD h.c, Kicking AWOLs Cocaine Snorting Ass" |
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| Title: Re: G.O.P. Aides Knew In Late 2005 of Foley's E-Mails ToTeenage Page |
02 Oct 2006 01:04:56 AM |
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On Sun, 01 Oct 2006 22:59:15 -0700, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote:
In article <c8OdnSz9Ztrlkr3YnZ2dnUVZ_uydnZ2d@comcast.com>,
"Michelle Malkin" <hypatiab7@comcast.net> wrote:
G.O.P. Aides Knew in Late '05 of E-Mail
By CARL HULSE and RAYMOND HERNANDEZ
Published: October 1, 2006
WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 - Top House Republicans knew for months about e-mail
traffic between Representative Mark Foley and a former teenage page, but
kept the matter secret and allowed Mr. Foley to remain head of a
Congressional caucus on children's issues, Republican lawmakers said
Saturday.
The sleaze gets deeper and deeper. How any intelligent caring person can
vote for these creeps is beyond me.
Fortunately, duke, Fester and Fred Stone/Liken are neither caring nor
intelligent.
-----
Yang
a.a. #28
AthD (h.c.) conferred by the regents of the LCL
a.a. pastor #-273.15, the most frigid church of Celcius nee Kelvin
EAC Econometric Forecast and Sorcery Division
The Bush 'balanced' budget: -2 trillion and worsening
The Bush 'economic' policy: 12.5 million FEWER jobs than Clinton and counting
The Bush Iraq lie: -2714 GIs, one friend's co-worker's son and mounting
Having Bush ***** up my country: Worthless
newsgroups Yang promises not to revenge post
in response to Sound-of-Trumpet's *****:
rec.art.scifi.written
sci.archaeology
soc.history.what-if
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| User: "Fred Liken" |
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| Title: Re: G.O.P. Aides Knew In Late 2005 of Foley's E-Mails ToTeenage Page |
02 Oct 2006 11:54:03 AM |
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"Yang, AthD (h.c), Kicking AWOL's Cocaine Snorting *****"
<eacmole@/*AWOLBUSH*/mail.com> wrote in message
news:sta1i2544h4864j752kboc31ip4n2rr77h@4ax.com...
On Sun, 01 Oct 2006 22:59:15 -0700, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote:
In article <c8OdnSz9Ztrlkr3YnZ2dnUVZ_uydnZ2d@comcast.com>,
"Michelle Malkin" <hypatiab7@comcast.net> wrote:
G.O.P. Aides Knew in Late '05 of E-Mail
By CARL HULSE and RAYMOND HERNANDEZ
Published: October 1, 2006
WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 - Top House Republicans knew for months about
e-mail
traffic between Representative Mark Foley and a former teenage page, but
kept the matter secret and allowed Mr. Foley to remain head of a
Congressional caucus on children's issues, Republican lawmakers said
Saturday.
The sleaze gets deeper and deeper. How any intelligent caring person can
vote for these creeps is beyond me.
Fortunately, duke, Fester and Fred Stone/Liken are neither caring nor
intelligent.
Quite the assumption. lol.
None the less, I seriously wouldn't vote for either Foley or his rival,
since the rival even knew about the real threat Foley possessed and sat on
it for months. Both are disgusting. So sad that children are risked for
political gain by this Democrat.
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| User: "johac" |
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| Title: Re: G.O.P. Aides Knew In Late 2005 of Foley's E-Mails ToTeenage Page |
03 Oct 2006 12:02:55 AM |
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In article <sta1i2544h4864j752kboc31ip4n2rr77h@4ax.com>,
"Yang, AthD (h.c), Kicking AWOL's Cocaine Snorting *****"
<eacmole@/*AWOLBUSH*/mail.com> wrote:
On Sun, 01 Oct 2006 22:59:15 -0700, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote:
In article <c8OdnSz9Ztrlkr3YnZ2dnUVZ_uydnZ2d@comcast.com>,
"Michelle Malkin" <hypatiab7@comcast.net> wrote:
G.O.P. Aides Knew in Late '05 of E-Mail
By CARL HULSE and RAYMOND HERNANDEZ
Published: October 1, 2006
WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 - Top House Republicans knew for months about e-mail
traffic between Representative Mark Foley and a former teenage page, but
kept the matter secret and allowed Mr. Foley to remain head of a
Congressional caucus on children's issues, Republican lawmakers said
Saturday.
The sleaze gets deeper and deeper. How any intelligent caring person can
vote for these creeps is beyond me.
Fortunately, duke, Fester and Fred Stone/Liken are neither caring nor
intelligent.
Unfortunately there are too many others of that ilk out there.
--
John Hachmann aa #1782
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities"
-Voltaire
Contact - Throw a .net over the .com
.
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