Mark Foley email scandal
p2pnet.net News:- “In his public persona, former Rep. Mark Foley was best known as a champion protector of children,” says ABC News. “As chairman of the Missing and Exploited Children’s Caucus, he was the direct sponsor of at least 15 different bills aimed at protecting young people from harm.”
He, “also loved the spotlight,” says the story. “He once had a walk-on role in the movie ‘Body Heat,’ and he kept close ties to Hollywood. He led the GOP’s entertainment task force and could often be seen shepherding actors around the Hill.”
But Foley, now the ‘ex’ co-chairman of the US House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, sent emails and sexually explicit IM messages to boys under the age of 18 who’d served as Congressional pages, says a Wikipedia post.
He was forced to resign on September 29 and, the Washington, DC, office and district offices of the ‘Honorable’ Mark Foley, “will continue to serve the people of the Sixteenth Congressional District of Florida under the supervision of the Clerk of the House of Representatives,” says a government statement.
Then, Foley did, “what all pols who get caught do,” says The San Francisco Chronicle’s Debra J. Saunders. “He checked into rehab. Having been outed for sending explicit e-mails to underage male House pages, Foley issued a statement that announced he has ‘accepted the need for immediate treatment for alcoholism and other behavioral problems.’
“Alcoholics should take offense.”
But, “what make the reports of his behavior especially disturbing is that top House Republicans knew about his e-mail traffic for months and did little about it,” says the Kentucky Courier-Journal, going on:
“House Majority Leader John Boehner of Ohio and the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Rep. Thomas Reynolds of New York, learned a year ago of communication between Mr. Foley and a 16-year-old page.
“Mr. Reynolds says he discussed the subject personally with Speaker Dennis Hastert, who first said he didn’t recall any such conversation. Just hours later, his office confirmed that he was informed earlier this year.
“Meanwhile, Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., chairman of the House Page Board, says he warned Mr. Foley to be ‘especially mindful of his conduct’ with pages and to cease e-mail contact.”
Foley was well known for taking a special interest in the young volunteers who won admission to the prestigious – and supposedly tightly supervised – congressional page program, says the New York Daily News.
“He presented himself as something of a genial mentor, but the president of the Page Alumni Association said pages were warned in 2001, ‘Don’t get too wrapped up in him being too nice to you and all’.”
The FBI said it was looking into whether or not Foley broke any laws, and House Speaker Hastert , “asked Florida law enforcement agencies to investigate Foley as well,” says another Daily News item, adding:
“Ironically, Foley himself helped write federal laws that make it a crime in certain circumstances to use the Internet to entice someone younger than 18 to engage in sexual activity.”
Also See:
ABC News – Foley’s Public Persona Belied Private Life, October 3, 2006
The San Francisco Chronicle – The story they didn’t want to know, October 3, 2006
Kentucky Courier-Journal – Revolting revolutionary, October 3, 2006
strategic alternatives – Napster up for sale?, September 19, 2006
New York Daily News – Capitol Hill creepshow, October 3, 2006
Daily News – Pol asked kid to date, says a report, October 3, 2006
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October 3rd, 2006 at 9:25 pm
Indeed. A congressman who gets his jollies while cybering with young boys.
Investigators should have immediately seized his computer to check for any unusual “stains” that may have sprung up during his chat sessions.
February 28th, 2007 at 3:55 am