MSNBC: Florida Rep. Mark Foley resigns amid creepy email flap

[ChumpDumper]

Chris Matthews said he resigned. No link to that yet.

[ChumpDumper]

Florida Republican Congressman Mark Foley Submits Letter of Resignation

By DAVID ESPO
AP Special Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., submitted a letter of resignation from Congress on Friday in the wake of questions about e-mails he wrote a former male page, according to a congressional official.

Foley, 52, had been considered a shoo-in for re-election until the e-mails surfaced in recent days.

Campaign aides had previously acknowledged that the Republican congressman e-mailed the former Capitol page five times, but had said there was nothing inappropriate about the exchange. The page was 16 at the time of the e-mail correspondence.

Foley's election opponent, Democrat Tim Mahoney, has called for an investigation.

The correspondence took place in August 2005 after the boy gave Foley a handwritten thank you note before returning to Louisiana.

Foley was running for re-election to a seventh term. He has represented his district, which includes West Palm Beach, since 1995. Florida Republicans could replace Foley on the ballot.

In his exchanges with the boy, Foley asked how old he was, what he wanted for his upcoming birthday, how he was doing after Hurricane Katrina and for a photo.

The e-mails were posted Friday on Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington's Web site after ABC News reported their existence. The group asked the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to investigate the exchange Foley had with the boy, who served as a page for Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La.

"The House of Representatives has an obligation to protect the teenagers who come to Congress to learn about the legislative process," the group wrote, adding that the committee, "must investigate any allegation that a page has been subjected to sexual advances by members of the House."

According to the CREW posting, the boy e-mailed a colleague in Alexander's office about Foley's e-mails, saying, "This freaked me out." On the request for a photo, the boy repeated the word
"sick" 13 times.

He said Foley asked for his e-mail when the boy gave him a thank you card. The boy also said Foley wrote that he e-mailed another page.

"he's such a nice guy," Foley wrote about the other boy.

"acts much older than his age...and hes in really great shape...i am just finished riding my bike on a 25 mile journey now heading to
the gym...whats school like for you this year?"

In other e-mails, Foley wrote, "I am back in Florida now...its nice here...been raining today...it sounds like you will have some
fun over the next few weeks...how old are you now?" and "how are you weathering the hurricane...are you safe...send me an email pic
of you as well."

What the boy wrote to Foley, who is single, wasn't available. The e-mails were sent from Foley's personal account, which Foley spokesman Jason Kello says he uses to communicate with many people, including Gov. Jeb Bush.

"They have taken these e-mails out of context in order to smear a good man," said Kello, who described the exchange as "nonchalant, casual." He said Foley didn't save his e-mails or the boy's response.

Efforts to reach the boy were unsuccessful, but he told the St. Petersburg Times last November, "I thought it was very inappropriate. After the one about the picture, I decided to stop e-mailing him back." The Times didn't publish the comments until Friday.

The campaign for Mahoney, who trails Foley in the polls, said it didn't release the e-mails and wouldn't make them part of the campaign. In a statement released by Mahoney spokesman Jessica
Santillo, the campaign referred to the boy as an "alleged victim."

"The seriousness of these allegations goes far beyond the tit for tat of a political campaign," Santillo said. "This is a matter for the appropriate authorities to investigate. I believe
Mr. Foley deserves the benefit of the doubt until these allegations are proven true or false."

Alexander's chief of staff, Royal Alexander, didn't return several calls to his cell phone Thursday and Friday seeking comment. Alexander's press secretary, Adam Terry, didn't return an
e-mail or phone messages. Alexander and Foley wouldn't talk to reporters while the House was in session Thursday and Foley didn't return calls to his cell phone.

Kello disputed the claim that the e-mails weren't distributed by the Mahoney campaign.

"They've been shopping this around to reporters for weeks now. They want a headline and that's it. It's a political smear campaign of the worst kind," Kello said.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/breaking/news-article.aspx?storyid=65937

[1369]

Regardless of his intentions, dude should have known that repeated emails to a teenager of any gender would get him in hot water.

Sure seems like most politicos check their common sense at the door.

[boutons_]

"They have taken these e-mails out of context in order to smear a good man,"

If he's not a closet Log Cabin/Lincoln/pooper-chute Repug, then why did he resign? Too pussy to fight it?

I figure Foley is going to be outed very soon, and he knew it. :lol

[Spurminator]

Oh my....

That first story didn't even approach the real stuff...

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/09/exclusive_the_s.html


But, according to several former congressional pages, the congressman used the Internet to engage in sexually explicit exchanges.

They say he used the screen name Maf54 on these messages provided to ABC News.

Maf54: You in your boxers, too?
Teen: Nope, just got home. I had a college interview that went late.
Maf54: Well, strip down and get relaxed.

Another message:

Maf54: What ya wearing?
Teen: tshirt and shorts
Maf54: Love to slip them off of you.

And this one:

Maf54: Do I make you a little horny?
Teen: A little.
Maf54: Cool.

The language gets much more graphic, too graphic to be broadcast, and at one point the congressman appears to be describing Internet sex.

[clambake]

I guess NAMBLA has lost a political supporter............career suicide.

[Zunni]

Scratch another GOP seat. They can put someone else on the ballot, but it's 4 1/2 weeks before the election. This wasn't even a seat they were thinking of losing.

"Sorry, the guy we told you to vote for last time turned out to be a homo. Please vote for this guy that we tell you to." Yeah, right.

[Nbadan]

Looks like yet another write-in candidate for the GOP. :lol

Just give the Demos the House by default.

2006 mid-term election results so far: Demos up 2 house seats

[Nbadan]

The GOP child-phedophilia ring certainly runs deeper than just Foley, for instance, House Speaker Dennis Hastert protected Foley for over a year and let him keep working with minors...


TODAY GOP House Speaker Denny Hastert asked for an investigation as to whether other pages were abused, why didn't he do this a year ago?
by John in DC - 9/29/2006 09:19:00 PM


ABC reported this evening that GOP House Speaker Denny Hastert has asked for an investigation to make sure other pages weren't sexually harassed or abused. But the House leadership was told almost a year ago about Mark Foleys' hanky-panky online communications with underage pages and Hastert did nothing. Why didn't Hastert do an investigation at the time to make sure the pages were all right? Why did Hastert leave Foley in charge of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children when he knew Foley had some possible personal issues involving the exploitation of children? Why did Hastert let Foley remain in the House leadership for a good year after he knew about these accusations? Cruising underage kids isn't a disqualifier for being in the House leadership? Why did Denny Hastert let Foley remain anywhere near underage pages at all?

Would you let your kids near someone like Foley if you had been warned a year ago? Then why did Denny Hastert? The parent of every kid who was a page in the last year should be livid at the Republicans right now.

And where is our wonderful religious right? Or doesn't the sexual exploitation of children bother them when it's their own politicians who are doing the exploiting and the covering up?

[SA210]

^^^

Our children are not safer.

It looks like the Republicans "cut and run" on the children.

[gtownspur]

^^^

Our children are not safer.

It looks like the Republicans "cut and run" on the children.

Sucks to be the victim,.................. doesn't it SA210?

Aside all silly dry humor,

I hope that if this is all true, the congressmen should be incarcerated.

Maybe you should waterboard him.



I got it!


Since waterboarding is so horrible. Let's give the congressmen an option; Waterboarding, or Life in Prison.

[BIG IRISH]

No Way in Hell could I say anything to support the (-) however If it had been
leaked earlier that he was GAY I'm sure some folks would have said he was just
being picked on because of simply being gay.

oops- There were allegations he was GAY


It's a basic political premise: Get in front of a potentially damaging story before it overwhelms you. That's certainly what Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mark Foley had in mind when the five-term congressman called an unusual press conference recently.

Reports that he's gay are about to spread from alternative and gay media outlets to major Florida newspapers, Foley said. He blamed Democratic activists for spreading the rumor and decried the "repulsive" campaign tactic.

He wanted reporters to know that he won't answer questions about his sexuality; it has nothing to do with his candidacy.

Don't ask, won't tell.

http://www.sptimes.com/2003/06/01/Perspective/Don_t_ask__because_Ma.shtml

[ChumpDumper]

Had he only been gay, it would have been survivable. Just like Jim McGreevy in New Jersey.

[BIG IRISH]

Than wht didn't he just admit it?

instead of


That’s when Foley said the speculation about his sexuality was "revolting and unforgivable."

and How the H did someone Pro-Choice get elected as a republican?

What a hypocrite he is
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/06/19/State/Nude_summer_youth_cam.shtml

Enough on this creep

[ChumpDumper]

Than wht didn't he just admit it?Because that wasn't all there was to it. Just like McGreevey.

[BIG IRISH]

Because that wasn't all there was to it. Just like McGreevey.


What else is there?

Foley on the Ways and means Com and what hasert wanted from him-Medicare Pgm?

What Foley did for Bush in Fla-i.e. the count, recount,and count again of the votes?

Tell us.

[ChumpDumper]

I think we're talking past each other here. I'm talking only about Foley's actions, not Hastert's apparent inaction. That's a whole different kettle of fish.

[smeagol]

Scary.

[Zunni]

Had he only been gay, it would have been survivable. Just like Jim McGreevy in New Jersey.
A Republican? South of the Mason/Dixon line? Surely you jest....Fundies don't vote for known homos, and without the Fundy vote, Republicans don't win elections.

It's a perfect example of using someone's own agenda against them. The GOP MUST cut all support for him and pressure him to resign, thereby opening a seat for the Dems. It's also a perfect example of Don't shit where you eat. Barney Frank was at least smart enough to keep it away from work.

[NeoConIV]

Extremely disappointing. What a scumbag. Good riddance.

[Yonivore]

Extremely disappointing. What a scumbag. Good riddance.
Amen to that.

[Nbadan]

Looks like Dennis Hastert may have some explaining to do...

GOP Rep. Says He Told Hastert of Foley
Sep 30, 5:31 PM (ET)
By DEVLIN BARRETT


WASHINGTON (AP) - Rep. Thomas Reynolds, head of the House Republican election effort, said he told Speaker Dennis Hastert after learning a fellow GOP lawmaker sent inappropriate messages to a teenage boy.

Reynolds, R-N.Y., was told months ago about e-mails sent by Rep. Mark Foley and is now defending himself from Democratic accusations that he did too little. Foley, R-Fla., resigned Friday after ABC News questioned him about the e-mails to a former congressional page and about sexually suggestive instant messages to other pages.

<snip>

"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," Reynolds said.

AP News (http://apnews.myway.com//article/20060930/D8KFE4C00.html)

[boutons_]

GOP Leader Rebuts Hastert on Foley

Reynolds: Speaker Knew of E-Mails in Spring

By Jonathan Weisman and Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, October 1, 2006; A01

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) was notified early this year of inappropriate e-mails from former representative Mark Foley (R-Fla.) to a 16-year-old page, a top GOP House member said yesterday -- contradicting the speaker's assertions that he learned of concerns about Foley only last week.

Hastert did not dispute the claims of Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (R-N.Y.), and his office confirmed that some of Hastert's top aides knew last year that Foley had been ordered to cease contact with the boy and to treat all pages respectfully.

Reynolds, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, became the second senior House Republican to say that Hastert has known of Foley's contacts for months, prompting Democratic attacks about the GOP leadership's inaction. Foley abruptly resigned his seat Friday.

House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) told The Washington Post on Friday that he had learned in late spring of inappropriate e-mails Foley sent to the page, a boy from Louisiana, and that he promptly told Hastert, who appeared to know already of the concerns. Hours later, Boehner contacted The Post to say he could not be sure he had spoken with Hastert.

Yesterday's developments revealed a rift at the highest echelons of House Republican ranks a month before the Nov. 7 elections, and they threatened to expand the scandal to a full-blown party dilemma.

( the Holier-Than-Thou party of Bible Thumpers, Evagelicals, and various religious radicals is, huh, just as un-fucking-holy as anybody else? Shocked, shocked! )

Only after Reynolds's definitive statement did Hastert concede yesterday that he may have been notified of some of the questionable activities of Foley, 52, who had co-chaired the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus. Hastert said, however, that he knew nothing of the sexually explicit instant messages that became public Friday when ABC News and other news outlets reported them. The messages apparently were exchanged with youths other than the 16-year-old.

Hastert's aides learned in the fall of 2005 only of e-mail exchanges that House officials eventually deemed "over-friendly" with the Louisiana teenager, the speaker's office said yesterday in a lengthy statement. "While the Speaker does not explicitly recall this conversation" with Reynolds, the statement said, "he has no reason to dispute Congressman Reynolds's recollection that he reported to him on the problem and its resolution."

Boehner and Reynolds said their offices learned of the Foley e-mails months ago from Rep. Rodney Alexander (R), who sponsored the page from his northeastern-Louisiana district.

"Rodney Alexander brought to my attention the existence of the e-mails between Mark Foley and a former page of Mr. Alexander's," Reynolds said yesterday. "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."

GOP leaders have said they referred the matter promptly to Rep. John M. Shimkus (R-Ill.), who heads a three-lawmaker panel that oversees the House page program.

Shimkus questioned Foley, but at that time, he had seen only suspiciously friendly e-mails, not the explicit instant messages revealed recently. In one e-mail to the former page, for example, Foley asked for a picture of him. The boy reportedly told an associate that he considered the request to be "sick," but Foley convinced Shimkus that the exchanges were innocent, Shimkus and Republican leaders said.

Republicans appeared to have kept the matter under wraps. Rep. Dale E. Kildee (Mich.), the only Democrat on the House Page Board, said yesterday: "I was never informed of the allegations about Mr. Foley's inappropriate communications with a House page, and I was never involved in any inquiry into this matter."

( Was the page wearing blue Dockers?
Were there any cum stains?
Did any of the pages Linda Tripp know?
Did the GOP LIE about ILLEGAL sex between an adult and a minor? )

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, questioned yesterday why Alexander had gone to the House Republicans' chief political operative, rather than to other party leaders. "That's to protect a member, not to protect a child," Emanuel said.

With his statement, Reynolds, who is locked in a difficult reelection campaign, signaled he was unwilling to take the fall alone amid partisan attacks that were becoming increasingly vituperative. The Democratic National Committee yesterday issued a statement asking "Why Did Tom Reynolds Cover Up Congressman's Sex Crimes?" It continued: "While the shocking [online] exchanges produced an immediate uproar that cost Congressman Foley his job, at least one member of the House Republican leadership had known about the situation for months and did nothing about it: . . . Reynolds."

Republican insiders said Reynolds spoke out because he was angry that Hastert appeared willing to let him take the blame for the party leadership's silence.

A House GOP leadership aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of losing his job, said that Reynolds realizes he has taken a shot at his leader but that it is understandable.

"This is what happens when one member tries to throw another member under a bus," the aide said.

Last night, Hastert, Boehner and Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said in a statement that Foley's communications with former pages are "unacceptable and abhorrent," and that his resignation "must now be followed by the full weight of the criminal justice system." The statement did not suggest how that might happen, but added that the three have "asked for the creation of a toll-free telephone number for House pages, parents, grandparents and staff to confidentially report incidents of concern."

The House clerk's office "has taken possession of Congressman Foley's office, and Capitol police officers have been posted in front of his office around-the-clock" to preserve Foley's records and correspondence, said Hastert spokesman Ron Bonjean.

Foley's actions have jeopardized a House seat that Republicans had considered safe this fall. Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) headlined a fundraiser yesterday for the district's Democratic nominee, Tim Mahoney, whose race has rocketed to national prominence with Foley's resignation. Charlie Cook, editor of a nonpartisan newsletter that tracks congressional races, said that if Foley's name stays on the ballot, "it's going to be hard for Republicans to hold on to the seat." But a GOP loss might last only two years, he said, since the district typically votes Republican in presidential races.

The chronology released by Hastert's office begins in late 2005, after Alexander had alerted colleagues of Foley's e-mail exchanges with the former page, who had returned to Louisiana. Hastert aide Tim Kennedy "immediately discussed the matter with his supervisor, Mike Stokke, Speaker Hastert's Deputy Chief of Staff," the statement says. Also brought into the talks were Hastert's staff attorney, Ted Van Der Meid, and the House clerk.

The clerk and Shimkus "immediately met with Foley to discuss the matter," the chronology says, and they told Foley "to immediately cease any communication with the young man. . . . Mindful of the sensitivity to the parents' wishes to protect their child's privacy and believing that they had promptly reported what they knew to the proper authorities," it says, "Kennedy, Van Der Meid and Stokke did not discuss the matter with others in the Speaker's Office."

Republicans fear the scandal, coming in the wake of indictments of three GOP congressmen this year, might add to the public's unrest at the party's image and conduct, and some House members yesterday joined in the chorus of dismay and scorn.

( might? http://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smilol.gif http://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smilol.gif )

"I don't think it will be just conservative voters that will shake their heads when they hear about this," said Rep. Jim McCrery (R-La.).

"As the author of laws designed to protect children on the Internet, I was appalled at the recent revelations that a member of Congress engaged in reprehensible behavior toward young people connected to the congressional page program," said Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.). "Congress should thoroughly investigate this matter and, in cooperation with law enforcement authorities, support all proper legal action."

( and if you, self-serving bastard, weren't author of blah blah, you wouldn't be appalled? :lol )

Rich Galen, a Republican political strategist, worried that voters might lump Foley's name with former representatives Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio), Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) and Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.), all of whom were forced to resign or were indicted amid various scandals this year.

( might? :lol )

"This sense of entitlement that members of Congress can do anything to anyone or for anyone has got to end," Galen said.

( but it won't )

Staff writer R. Jeffrey Smith and staff researcher Magda Jean-Louis contributed to this report.

© 2006 The Washington Post Company

[SA210]

::crickets::

[Zunni]

::crickets::
They're afraid. They pretend to be outraged, but it's fear in diguise. He dressed correctly, voted as they wanted, and said the right things. They thought he was one of them. Now, they doubt themselves.

[Yonivore]

They're afraid. They pretend to be outraged, but it's fear in diguise. He dressed correctly, voted as they wanted, and said the right things. They thought he was one of them. Now, they doubt themselves.
Nah, it's just that we didn't want to interrupt the masturbation thread you guys have going.

[Zunni]

That would involve you having consideration for other posters, and we all know THAT'S not true.

[ChumpDumper]

From the "year late and a dollar short" file:

Hastert requests criminal probe of Foley

By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer 15 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - House Speaker
Dennis Hastert requested Sunday that the Justice Department conduct an investigation into former Rep. Mark Foley (news, bio, voting record)'s electronic messages to teenage boys — a lurid scandal that has put House Republicans in political peril.

"As Speaker of the House, I hereby request that the
Department of Justice conduct an investigation of Mr. Foley's conduct with current and former House pages to determine to what extent any of his actions violated federal law," Hastert, R-Ill., wrote in a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales....

....In his letter to Gonzales on Sunday, Hastert asked the Justice Department to investigate "who had specific knowledge of the content of any sexually explicit communications between Mr. Foley and any former or current House pages and what actions such individuals took, if any, to provide them to law enforcement."

The scope of the investigation, Hastert wrote, should include "any and all individuals who may have been aware of this matter — be they members of Congress, employees of the House of Representatives or anyone outside the Congress."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061001/ap_on_go_co/congressman_e_mails

[smeagol]

Not the Republican's best moment.

[Zunni]

Not the Republican's best moment.
That pretty much sums up the last 5 1/2 years.

Oh, and after Hastert throwing him under the bus after covering for his ass for a year, I smell a tell-all book coming. :lol

[Nbadan]

More headaches ahead over this scandal for the GOP...

Eleven GOPers Fingered in Foley Cover-Up
By Justin Rood - September 30, 2006
Roll Call's John Bresnahan reports:


As of Saturday evening, nearly a dozen House GOP lawmakers and staffers have acknowledged that they knew of the initial batch of non-sexually explicit messages from Foley to a 16-year-old former House page, some of them for a year or more. These include Hastert <(IL)>; Majority Leader John Boehner (Ohio); National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Reynolds (N.Y.); Reps. Rodney Alexander (La.) and John Shimkus (Ill.); Mike Stokke, the Speaker’s deputy chief of staff; Ted Van Der Meid, Hastert’s counsel; Paula Nowakowski, Boehner’s chief of staff; Jeff Trandahl, the former Clerk of the House; and another Hastert aide and Alexander’s chief of staff, according to public statements and GOP insiders.

TPM Muckruker (http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/001645.php)

[Nbadan]

Meanwhile, look for the Hastert-backed investigation to go after the person who leaked Foley's IM's to ABC News (it will be Clinton :lol ) instead of ever investigating which Republican leader knew what, when..


Seems reasonably clear to me. The reptiles want the FBI to investigate ABC’s sources and see if they can find any Democratic Party and/or liberal interest group involvement in the IM leaks. A probe would also help intimidate any other potential whistleblowers who might be out there . . . (“If you know what’s good for you kid, you’ll keep your old emails to yourself.”)

It certainly doesn’t have anything to do with going after Trandahl, who after all is one of the House officials the Republicans claim never saw the sexually explicit messages. If the FBI were to find out that he DID see them, it would bring the nasty stuff closer to Hastert and Co.

Talking Point Memo (http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/010104.php)

[SA210]

::crickets::

[JoeChalupa]

Nah, it's just that we didn't want to interrupt the masturbation thread you guys have going.

Like the one's you guys have when you talk about Bill Clinton?

[Ocotillo]

October suprise??

Hastert will not be speaker much longer.

[Yonivore]

October suprise??

Hastert will not be speaker much longer.
I think what the Democrats are overlooking is that it is apparent they and their media cohorts knew about this scandal and for quite a while and, at the expense of Foley's victims, decided to wait until the mid-terms to bust him.

In my book, whoever is responsible for withholding this information is guilty of aiding and abetting Foley in his predatory practices.

[boutons_]

Again, the ONLY Yoni defense of Repugs is:

"The Dems are just as shitty as the Repugs. The Repugs are just as shitty at the Dems"

[ChumpDumper]

I think what the Democrats are overlooking is that it is apparent they and their media cohorts knew about this scandal and for quite a whileHow long? Link?

[clambake]

Soon, Yoni will accuse the dems of planting the penis.

[ChumpDumper]

Ah, he's just saying the St. Pete Times had the ambiguous emails. BFD.

[clambake]

He's republican, so he's more concerned about the leak than the act.

[Yonivore]

He's republican, so he's more concerned about the leak than the act.
The question isn’t whether or not Foley is a lowlife pervert who belongs in jail. He does.

The question isn’t whether the House leadership did a good enough job with the Foley case when it came to their attention. They probably didn’t.

The real question is if Democrats or the MSM sat on these allegations for months with the knowledge that children were at risk on the Hill thanks to stalker Foley.

Foley is scum and deserves to be prosecuted, as does anyone who knew of his sexual interest in children and decided to not to take the story to the authorities, thereby putting other children at risk.


How Long? Link?
Ask and ye shall received....

I'm not sure how long but, these caught my eye this morning.

Foleygate? (http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2006/10/foleygate-altered-images-whats-going.html#links)

Same e-mail...
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7050/620/1600/foleygate2.jpg

Or, not?
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7050/620/1600/foleygate1.jpg

Wild Bill (http://passionateamerica.blogspot.com/2006/10/foleygate-mark-foley-emails-altered.html) explains the differences between these altered images.

Just Barking Mad (http://justbarkingmad.com/?p=1154) came to the same conclusion.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that this story is looking very strange right about now.

RedState (http://www.redstate.com/stories/elections/2006/what_did_they_know_and_when_did_they_know_it) reports that these news organizations knew about the Foley emails in 2005:


We have ascertained that the list of media organizations that knew of this information as early as November of 2005 include:

Washington Post
Roll Call
ABC News
St. Petersburg Times
Palm Beach Post
It's starting to look like the only ones who didn't know about the extent of the scandal were Republicans. Is this just democrat desperation?

Does anyone else smell something fishy (http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2006/10/i_smell_a_rat.html)?

How did ABC get all of that followup information before the story broke? How long were they holding on to this information? How many democrats knew about this but, rather than protecting the Congressional pages from a suspected predator by reporting the information, sat on it until election time? What was the collaboration between the democrats and the media, this time (http://www.rathergate.com/)?

We also know that there are different Congressional pages involved here. One is the page who worked in Representative Alexander's office (http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/09/sixteenyearold_.html). Another page exchanged instant messages in 2003 with Foley (http://abcnews.go.com/images/WNT/02-02-03b.pdf) and these messages are just now being reported.

Flopping Aces (http://www.floppingaces.net/2006/10/01/foleygate-has-begun/) has much more.

Ray Robison (http://rayrobison.typepad.com/ray_robison/2006/10/compare_and_con.html) compares and contrasts coverage of democrat vs. republican scandal.

Pajamas (http://www.pajamasmedia.com/2006/10/foley_scandal_snowballs.php#comments) has a roundup of reaction.

The Blotter (http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/10/emails_show_fol.html) put up their latest Foley messages. It sounds like Foley was in a relationship with this page:


The FBI says it has opened a "preliminary investigation" of Foley's e-mails. Federal law enforcement officials say attempts by Foley to meet in person could constitute the necessary evidence for a federal charge of "soliciting for sex" with a minor on the Internet.

In another message, Foley, using the screen name Maf54, appears to describe having been together with the teen in San Diego.


Maf54: I miss you lots since san diego.
Teen: ya I cant wait til dc
Maf54: :)
Teen: did you pick a night for dinner
Maf54: not yet…but likely Friday
Teen: ok…ill plan for Friday then
Maf54: that will be fun
Here's a good article on the mess...

Foley and the Blame Game (http://www.americanthinker.com/articles.php?article_id=5907)

In the article, Clarice Feldman mentions the website that started it all. Stop Sex Predators came on line in late July with one post announcing its intention to “serve as a clearing house for the public to report sex predators and as a resource for concerned parents and citizens.”

The next blog post wasn’t until August 17th where the writer listed in a rather desultory manner some more notable sex predators. After that, two posts on August 26, including this curious item (http://stopsexpredators.blogspot.com/2006/08/congressional-corruption.html):


HOLY MOTHER OF JESUS! On a whim, I googled “Congressional sex scandals.” WHOA! You hear stories about ‘things’ that happen along the gilded halls of power in Washington. But I was shocked to see how much of it goes on the record! From a Washington Post article, here are five…yes, FIVE members of Congress who had incredibly inappropriate relationships with minors. What’s worse is that some continued to serve in Congress and one of them is still in office!! How much more of this is going on??
How much more, indeed. The fourth and last post for the entire month of August was a cut and paste from Wikpedia of the Gary Condit affair. More “political predators” on a site dedicated to sex predators in general? Why?

This brings us to September and what could be construed – if one had a suspicious nature – as a “build-up” of sorts to the Foley emails.

After a short post giving a link to a safety website on 9/2, there is another Capitol Hill sex story about an issue that stirred the blogs a bit on 9/4; the “skintern” culture on the Hill that saw young women dressing provocatively in order to get ahead.

Then comes a post on 9/21 that mentions Foley for the first time:


I have been away for a while, so please accept my apologies for the lack of blog posts. BUT….while I was away, the blog has been noticed and some shocking emails have been received! I can hardly believe it! I’m posting each one below. It’s proof that the Congressional Corruption of the past is alive and well today. It’s up to us to expose it and stop this predatory harassment! Please promote the blog and email any further information to [email protected] . Together we will make a difference!
Why would anyone notice this blog? It has posted nothing original in its short existence. The rare postings means that it has not built up any audience whatsoever. The first Technorati (http://www.technorati.com/search/stopsexpredators.blogspot.com%2F2006%2F09%2Femails-from-congressman-foley-to-16.html) reference to the blog is from two days ago. Even a Google search doesn’t show it on the first 10 pages when searching for “Stop Sex Predators.”

And yet, 3 separate people who had contact with Congressman Foley somehow found this website independent of one another and supposedly sent emails to the owner of this site to complain about Foley’s inappropriate behavior.

Possible? Yes. Probable? I’ll let you decide.

The question is, are they real emails from real former pages and interns? Does this sound plausible to you?


My dad who gives a lot of money to republicans got me an internship capitolhill. I thought that I was hot shit, having such a good internship after myfreshman year of college.After a few weeks, I was finally learning my way around DC and I wasenjoying my job.One night, I decided to go out with my new fake ID to my first gay bar.I went to this bar named Coblot.There was old guy who would not leave me alone. He kept following me around.I tried to get him to leave me alone by going to the bathroom.Instead he followed me in and tried to grope me.A few days later my boss had me run something over to another congressmansoffice. It turned out that the guy who groped me was Representative MarkFoley.

All three emails sent independent of one another naming the same Congressional pervert? That is really stinking up the smell test.

Finally, we get to the emails sent from Foley to the former Page. These are the emails that the House Republicans knew about and, after investigating the situation, ordered Foley to stay away from the boy and have no more contact outside of official Congressional duties. This was posted (http://stopsexpredators.blogspot.com/2006/09/emails-from-congressman-foley-to-16.html) last Sunday, 9/24 – a full 5 days before the story broke:


This is absolutely amazing. I just received these emails. They were sent by Congressman Mark Foley to a 16-year-old male page. I have removed his name to protect his identity. But how shocking is this? I can’t believe this was emailed to me? There must be even more out there. Email me at [email protected] and let me know what we should do!! Something must be done!!
The emails are blurry – probably faxed and not, as the author claims, emailed. But the question is how did they migrate from an incredibly obscure website into the mainstream media? This is indeed a mystery. It is possible that an opposition researcher could have Googled “Foley” and found the tiny website. But search engine rankings being what they are, that would have had to have been one dedicated oppo researcher to find the emails on Stop Sex Predators, a blogspot blog with virtually no posts and zero incoming links.

Here’s ABC News (http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/09/exclusive_the_s.html) on the genesis of the story:


Yesterday, we asked the congressman about some much tamer e-mails from one page, and he said he was just being overly friendly. After we posted that story online, we began to hear from a number of other pages who sent these much more explicit, instant messages. When the congressman realized we had them, he resigned.
Instant messages not emails. As ABC makes clear, there are two different stories. The question is, how many sources?


As soon as the ABC story ran, and organization called C.R.E.W., which said it had the original exchange which Hastert had heard of and the St Peterburg paper had seen, put them on their website .They said they’d earlier conveyed them to the FBI, were releasing them because of the ABC story, and asked for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the Republican leadership.It is abundantly clear to me that C.R.E.W. and ABC communicated and may have coordinated the release of this story.
CREW is a liberal public interest group funded by George Soros and seems to have its fingerprints all over this scandal.

I'm sure this was done for maximum political damage to Republicans, of course. And I would hope that some enterprising reporters and bloggers out there will ferret out the details of this story and bring to light everything that needs to be known.

Tom McGuire (http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2006/10/i_smell_a_rat.html), doing what he does best, lays out what we know about this website and has some more information on how the former page’s emails migrated from SSP to the mainstream press:

The River City Mud Bugle (http://www.rivercitymud.com/2006/09/30/foley-page-scandal-first-broken-on-independent-weblog/) has even more backstory:


Two hours later [following the first posting of the former page’s emails], someone writing under the name “WHInternNow” published a diary on Daily Kos linking to Stop Sex Predators. The diary was met with skepticism from Daily Kos users, and received only a few largely critical comments. “This diary makes an accusation,” one commenter wrote, “a serious accusation, but provides no evidence to back it up.”

In a previous Daily Kos diary about Foley, “WHInternNow” made an early attempt to draw attention to Foley’s peccadilloes.
So the Kos Kids acted pretty responsibily under the circumstances for which they should be praised.

Come to think of it…if the Kos Kommunity wasn’t buying Foley as internet stalker, maybe you liberals out there would like to explain to me why the GOP leadership should have been more skeptical about Foley than their most rabid opponents?

There you go Chumpy, keep yourself busy...

[ChumpDumper]

Yeah, I already found all that on my own.

Nothing really helps your boys out. Too bad for you.

[Yonivore]

Yeah, I already found all that on my own.

Nothing really helps your boys out. Too bad for you.
Where was I trying to claim it "helped" my boys out?

It merely questions the timing and motives of the Left and further, illuminates the cooperation between the Left and the media in these matters.

I've already stated, as I did at the beginning of the last post. Foley should rot in hell. But, so should anyone (regardless of political stripe or status in the media) who knew this information one day longer than when they reported it.

[ChumpDumper]

It merely questions the timing and motives of the Left and further, illuminates the cooperation between the Left and the media in these matters.Ah, the vast left-wing conspiracy theory.
I've already stated, as I did at the beginning of the last post. Foley should rot in hell. But, so should anyone (regardless of political stripe or status in the media) who knew this information one day longer than when they reported it.We'll remember you said that.

[Yonivore]

Ah, the vast left-wing conspiracy theory.
Yep. I'd love to hear your theory on all these dots that point to just such a conspiracy.


We'll remember you said that.
Please do.

[clambake]

Yep, Yoni's more concerned about the leak.

[Yonivore]

Yep, Yoni's more concerned about the leak.
Okay, for the mentally challenged.

#1) Foley is gone and I'm glad. I hope they are able to put his ass in prison for the rest of his days if it is concluded he had sex with a minor or non-consensual sex with an adult. Period. As of right now, I'm satisfied he's out of Congress and that he's being investigated.

#2) I would be in favor of forcing any other Congressman or Senator -- regardless of political party -- to resign their office, be criminally prosecuted, and imprisoned if they are found to have known about these allegations before-hand, for any length of timem, and not reported them to the proper authorities.

Finally, and in it's proper order of importance to me personally, #3) I would be interested to know if Congressional Democrats conspired with the media to withhold this information until it was politically advantageous to them to do so.

Why do I think the leak and conspiracy are important even though I didn't place them ahead of 1) getting Foley out of a position through which he might continue the behavior and 2) finding out who else know and punishing them?

Because, if this was held by Congressional Democrats and the Media until a time when they would benefit politically, that is a reprehensible disregard for the well-being of the young pages in Foley's office and I think voters deserve to know their political heroes place their own interests over those of a child or young adult.

What is so hard for you to understand halfbake? I think I've stated these three priorities in this order on more than two occassions already.

[johnsmith]

It must drive everyone nuts that Yoni has a well thought out argument to every thing every person attacks him with. It's almost like clockwork that one of you will eventually throw out a bad insult towards him because you run out of ideas. Or you can do the traditional chumpdumper thing and say "where's your proof", or his other go to line, "typical right wing".

[ChumpDumper]

typical right wingWhere's your proof of my using that line?

[ChumpDumper]

Anyway, Yoni is trying desperately to widen the net that might be sweeping through Congress soon. We'll see how indignant he is when Rove reveals whatever he's sitting on.

[clambake]

You don't have to bite, Yoni. Being republican has put you in a frantic tailspin. You say on one hand how you're happy Foley is gone and how unhappy you are of the timing. You are on an endless search to find the perfectly worded scheme to deflect the reality of your fellow republican whores. Have you made it your own personal responsiblity to shadow the truth?

[clambake]

Never fear Yoni, Johnsmith loves you and he has the perfect name for which to register with at any nearby, sleazy motel. Any interest in hooking up?

[Yonivore]

Anyway, Yoni is trying desperately to widen the net that might be sweeping through Congress soon. We'll see how indignant he is when Rove reveals whatever he's sitting on.
Well, it's good to know you guys aren't interested in knowing.

[johnsmith]

Never fear Yoni, Johnsmith loves you and he has the perfect name for which to register with at any nearby, sleazy motel. Any interest in hooking up?


This would be my perfect example of one of the political posters running out of arguments and coming up with nothing but name calling.

[ChumpDumper]

Well, it's good to know you guys aren't interested in knowing.I'm all for it. Let the chips fall where they may.

[Yonivore]

I'm all for it. Let the chips fall where they may.
Okay, humor me.

What would you be in favor of doing with those in the media and Congress if it is determined they knew Foley was a perv, and held the evidence, for months before this convenient revelation just weeks before the mid-terms?

[ChumpDumper]

Okay, humor me.

What would you be in favor of doing with those in the media and Congress if it is determined they knew Foley was a perv, and held the evidence, for months before this convenient revelation just weeks before the mid-terms?Is it withholding evidence? Obstruction?

[Yonivore]

Is it withholding evidence? Obstruction?
Could be. If they had knowledge of a crime and didn't report it.

[ChumpDumper]

Could be. If they had knowledge of a crime and didn't report it.Then charge them.

[Yonivore]

Then charge them.
I would like to see that, if it is discovered.

I was interested in your opinion. But, not so much anymore.

[Nbadan]

EEEwwwwwwwwwwww.......Looks like Foley tried to arrange a rendezvous...

E-mails Show Foley Sought to Rendezvous with Page
October 02, 2006 12:14 PM
Brian Ross and Maddy Sauer Report:


In addition to explicit sexual language, former Congressman Mark Foley's Internet messages also include repeated efforts to get the underage recipient to rendezvous with him at night.

"I would drive a few miles for a hot stud like you," Foley said in one message obtained by ABC News.

The FBI says it has opened a "preliminary investigation" of Foley's e-mails. Federal law enforcement officials say attempts by Foley to meet in person could constitute the necessary evidence for a federal charge of "soliciting for sex" with a minor on the Internet.

...

Maf54: I miss you lots since san diego.
Teen: ya I cant wait til dc
Maf54: :)
Teen: did you pick a night for dinner
Maf54: not yet…but likely Friday
Teen: ok…ill plan for Friday then
Maf54: that will be fun

The messages also show the teen is, at times, uncomfortable with Foley's aggressive approach.

ABC News (http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/10/emails_show_fol.html) <--- EWWW!!

[clambake]

Still trying desperately to focus on when and hoping the act fades. Pure republican.

[ChumpDumper]

I was interested in your opinion. But, not so much anymore.Aw, Yoni wants to take his ball and go home again because I said he can have his little investigation.

He's even a little bitch when I agree with him.

Now that that's settled, we can talk about how many House members this is going to take down. Four? Five?

[clambake]

How dare you suggest that 4 or 5 will be taken down, until Yoni has a chance to tie Clinton into this whole big mess.

[Yonivore]

Aw, Yoni wants to take his ball and go home again because I said he can have his little investigation.
You're like a petulant child sometimes. That's why I lose interest in discussing anything with you. So, whatever.


He's even a little bitch when I agree with him.
Yeah, like that's ever happened.


Now that that's settled, we can talk about how many House members this is going to take down. Four? Five?
One. Maybe some Democrats but, I doubt they'll be found out before the election.

[xrayzebra]

Anyway, Yoni is trying desperately to widen the net that might be sweeping through Congress soon. We'll see how indignant he is when Rove reveals whatever he's sitting on.

Carl is at it again, is he? Chump you really are: a chump!

[Yonivore]

Carl is at it again, is he? Chump you really are: a chump!
I can't wait to see how the Left spins this into a Karl Rove plot once they realize it isn't helping them in the election.

[clambake]

Let's all help to preserve the republican penis.

[ChumpDumper]

Carl is at it again, is he? Chump you really are: a chump!
In the past week, Karl Rove has been promising Republican insiders an "October surprise" to help win the November congressional elections.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/9/20/141615.shtml?s=lh

That's ChumpDumper.

[xrayzebra]

Never fear Yoni, Johnsmith loves you and he has the perfect name for which to register with at any nearby, sleazy motel. Any interest in hooking up?

Clambake, what "acts" has the x-congressman been accused of.
Other than sending some dumb e-mails?

Now where is your outrage about Barney Frank running a
whore house out of his residence.

Kennedy "KILLING" a young aide?

Bill Clinton screwing/getting head from an "INTERN" at the
WH.

You want me to go on.

What the x-congressman did is completely wrong, but
you only see the repub's as wrong, not what the dimm-o-craps have done. Hell it was only a head job or
an accident or what Barney does is okay. They are good
old dimm-o-craps.

This is only the beginning of the dimms smear job on the
republicans, just the beginning.

I am still wondering if they are going to give anyone any
information on why we should vote for them instead of
why we should vote against the Republicans.

What is their plan to protect Americans, let the unions
have the criminals working at the ports. Give condoms to
the kids in school. Show them how nice Homosexuals are
and they should be allowed to marry and have a family.
Oh, I forgot, Foley is being accused of being a homosexual,
but he is Republican and Barney Frank, well, he is such
a good guy, cause he is a dimm-o-crap.

You folks are a bunch of phonies. Hypocrites and blowhards.

[Nbadan]

The alcohol made him do it! Wait for it...

Foley in alcoholism treatment center
October 2, 2006


MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Former Rep. Mark Foley, who resigned Friday amid allegations that he sent inappropriate e-mails to teenage pages, told a Florida television station that he is in a treatment facility for alcoholism.

A letter containing the information was faxed by Foley to WPBF in West Palm Beach, said David Roth, Foley's attorney.

The fax was apparently sent from Clearwater, Florida, but Roth would not say Monday if that's where Foley is being treated.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Monday it was launching an investigation into allegations Foley sent sexually suggestive e-mails to pages.

FDLE spokesman Tom Berlinger said that the agency on Sunday contacted the FBI -- which is looking into whether any federal laws were broken in the matter -- to inform federal authorities of the Florida probe.

CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/10/02/foley.quits/index.html)

[Yonivore]

That's ChumpDumper.
Oh yeah, you're one to whine about what you're called on here.

In this thread:


"He's even a little bitch..."

And, I belive you called me a dumbass in another.

What's a matter ChumpDumber, you don't like it when people make fun of your name?

[ChumpDumper]

Oh yeah, you're one to whine about what you're called on here.Just continuing to educate the old man. I've been called every name in the book here.

[xrayzebra]

Got one other question.

What happens when you find out the Dimm-o-craps have been
sitting on this information for "how ever long" and didn't
give it to the authorities to "protect" the young folk. Huh,
what are you going to say then.

Hassert has ask the FBI that very question: Who knew it and
how long. Strange the Republican ask that, isn't it.

Kinda like a lot of stuff that comes out that the dimms have
known for months.

Oh, yeah, Carl Rove gave out the information on Ms. "Fame".
Funny how that story has moved into the background since
the truth came out.

PHoney, phoney, phoney people, huh Dan.

[clambake]

You're right!!!! Reinstate Foley and give Hastart a bonus for keeping his mouth shut. Then find that little bastard boy traitor and send him to Iowa where the corning never stops.

[ChumpDumper]

What happens when you find out the Dimm-o-craps have been
sitting on this information for "how ever long" and didn't
give it to the authorities to "protect" the young folk. Huh,
what are you going to say then.Scroll back.
Hassert has ask the FBI that very question: Who knew it and
how long. Strange the Republican ask that, isn't it.not at all. He was forced to.
Oh, yeah, Carl Rove gave out the information on Ms. "Fame".Irene Cara?

[Nbadan]

Hastert Denies GOP Leaders Saw E-Mails
Oct 02 2:32 PM US/Eastern
By ANDREW TAYLOR
Associated Press Writer


House Speaker Dennis Hastert said Monday that no Republican leaders saw lurid Internet exchanges from former Rep. Mark Foley to pages and that he would have demanded the Florida Republican's expulsion if he had known about them.

"As a parent and speaker of the House, I am disgusted,"Hastert, R- Ill., told reporters after holding a meeting at the Capitol in the wake of the disclosure of the e-mails in 2003 to a page, which led to Foley's resignation last Friday. The page's home state was not immediately cited.

The speaker did not mention e-mail exchanges between Foley and another page, from Louisiana, in 2005. Other House Republicans said they told Hastert about those exchanges months ago. Hastert has not disputed those accounts.

"Congressman Foley duped a lot of people," Hastert said. "I've know him for all the years he has worked in this House and he deceived me, too."

There currently are 72 House pages, 48 selected by Republicans and 24 by Democrats, according to a recent report by the Congressional Research Service. The Senate breakdown is 30 pages, 18 chosen by Republicans and 12 by Democrats.

Link (http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/10/02/D8KGLMO80.html)

[xrayzebra]

Scroll back.not at all. He was forced to.Irene Cara?

Horse Hockey, forced to......like commit political suicide, I
don't think so.

[ChumpDumper]

Horse Hockey, forced to......like commit political suicide, I
don't think so.Absolutely. The finger was pointed squarely at him after it was found out he had been given the emails. Which he first denied, then passed the buck to one of his staff and the House Clerk. Have you actually been following this story or did you just wake up?

[clambake]

In the future: Republican pages wanted. No experience nessesary. MUST BE DISCREET.

[xrayzebra]

Absolutely. The finger was pointed squarely at him after it was found out he had been given the emails. Which he first denied, then passed the buck to one of his staff and the House Clerk. Have you actually been following this story or did you just wake up?

Well Chump, keep your hopes up. But once again you will
be disappointed, just like Karl is still in WH. And you and
many others on this board have egg all over your face as
you have many times. We shall see, we shall see.

You have your great ones on the dimm side. Too many to
mention right now. But funny no one wants to address those
issues. Isn't it?

[clambake]

Was Hastart involved in those issues too?

[xrayzebra]

^^Nope just most of the leaders of the dimm-o-craptic party. And
you and most of the others on this board who hate Bush.

[ChumpDumper]

Well Chump, keep your hopes up. But once again you will
be disappointedI'm not disappointed. There's an investigation. It's more than Hastert did in the past. I'm happy he was discovered his spine by covering his ass.
You have your great ones on the dimm side. Too many to
mention right now. But funny no one wants to address those
issues. Isn't it?Which ones are being investigated?

[xrayzebra]

I'm not disappointed. There's an investigation. It's more than Hastert did in the past. I'm happy he was discovered his spine by covering his ass.Which ones are being investigated?

Well William Jefferson, D-La. He had cool 90 million in his
freezer.

But you missed the whole point to begin with, which is not
surprising. You are all upset about Foley. But look at post
#71 and answer for those folks. Shouldn't you be showing a
little outrage about them?

[ChumpDumper]

Well William Jefferson, D-La. He a cool 90 million in his
freezer.There are some questions raised in the manner of that investigation but sure, that's a good investigation.
But you missed the who point to begin with, which is not
surprising. You are all upset about Foley. But look at post
#71 and answer for those folks. Shouldn't you be showing a
little outragAre they being investigated? Why can't you just say "Let's let this investigation go forth and let it speak for itself."?

You guys certainly wasted no time throwing stones from your glass house.

[clambake]

Theres Jefferson, go get him, fine by me.

Go get republicans that let republicans off the hook, too.

Who would have a problem with that?

[boutons_]

"no time throwing stones from your glass house."

Ask St Ronnie would say: "There he goes again"

The Repugs take a huge "morals" hit below the waterline, and Yoni reflexively trashes the Dems as being no better.

The Repugs MUST have known the Dems knew,

the Repug MUST have known it was going to break sooner or later,

so the Repugs SHOULD have outed their gay pedophile predator.

Announcing it themselves months ago, LONG before the elections, would have looked like the Repugs were running a tight moral ship, that a gay pedophilie predator had been discovered and the Repug party cleaned itself.

Would given the voters time to forget (they always forget), given the Repugs time to nominate a credible replaceent.

Instead, the Repugs let it break from elsewhere, and then start lying that they knew nothing about it.

The stoopid motherfuckers.

[Zunni]

The GOP knew at least 5 years ago...Pages "warned" in 2001... (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2514259&page=1)

[turambar85]

Yonivore, do not act like it is so absurd for Dan and SA to find this a big story.

I have seen plenty of Bill Clinton-got-a-blowjob!! circle jerks by some of you guys in the last few years, and hell...that happened years before that as well.

That sick shit Michael Savage said that the only reason the God-fearing conservatives didnt oust Foley was because the "purple-hand" would have their asses. He claimed that if it had been a woman that they would have said something, but they were afraid they would look like gay-bashers if they brought it to public eye.

He then said that we are making too big of a deal about it, the guy is sick, but the media needs to stop making this a headline. Noone remembers Clinton, and Savage seems to forget that he mentions the infamous b.j once per show.

I would like to meet him, just once...

[ChumpDumper]

I don't think I want to know what the purple hand is.

[turambar85]

Well, the red hand was under Mussolini in Fascist Italy....just substitute the color purple and what it means in todays society.

[DarkReign]

If the Dems dont win November, this board is going to light up like NY's Christmas tree. Lots of hopes pinned to ineffectual politicians.

I hope the Dems win for chaos sake, but I sincerely believe, after 2 Presidential elections, that I am a stark minority. That most individuals dont look past a) religion and b) power.

Republicans have a stranglehold on both "images". They may not be either, but they sure have convinced Americans they are. Methinks some of you are going to be crying in your beer mid November. I might just join you.

[101A]

If the Dems dont win November, this board is going to light up like NY's Christmas tree. Lots of hopes pinned to ineffectual politicians.

I hope the Dems win for chaos sake, but I sincerely believe, after 2 Presidential elections, that I am a stark minority. That most individuals dont look past a) religion and b) power.

Republicans have a stranglehold on both "images". They may not be either, but they sure have convinced Americans they are. Methinks some of you are going to be crying in your beer mid November. I might just join you.



The Republican will lose one, if not both houses in November; things were beginning to swing for them to hold on (barely), but this revelation, along with Woodward's book, have killed whatever momentum they might have had.

The rash of school shootings will also tend to encourage people to not vote status-quo, IMO.

[Nbadan]

If the Dems dont win November, this board is going to light up like NY's Christmas tree. Lots of hopes pinned to ineffectual politicians.

Plus, there's also Diebold. Remember that when Max Cleland got beat in Georgia he had almost a double-digit poll lead over his Republican contender, but he was also a very vocal critic of the Bush Administration, much like Cynthia McKinney who's loss can be attributed in large part to the wing-nut echo chamber blowing a little spat with a Capital guard completely out of proportion.

The WH wins by keeping a majority in both houses, doesn't matter if they lose House or Senate seats to them as long as they can close party ranks while passing controversial shit like the new terra and wire-tapping laws.

[Ocotillo]

Cynthia McKinney who's loss can be attributed in large part to the wing-nut echo chamber blowing a little spat with a Capital guard completely out of proportion.



And good riddance to her, there is nothing wrong with a little house cleaning now and then on our side of the aisle, in fact we should be quick to throw crooks like Jefferson under the bus, nut jobs like McKinney to early retirement, and Faux Democrats like Joe Lieberman from the senate to the Bush Administration where he belongs.


I do worry about Diebold and voter suppression and I may be like Charlie Brown running up to kick that football Lucy is holding but I think the anti-incumbent (read anti-Republican) wave is going to be so great, that even dirty tricks won't stop the Dems from winning the House and maybe even the Senate.

[JoeChalupa]

I really don't expect Democrats to win the House or Senate not even with this fiasco happening.

[JoeChalupa]

And I still like Lieberman. He's his own man and I like that.

[Nbadan]

And good riddance to her, there is nothing wrong with a little house cleaning now and then on our side of the aisle, in fact we should be quick to throw crooks like Jefferson under the bus, nut jobs like McKinney to early retirement, and Faux Democrats like Joe Lieberman from the senate to the Bush Administration where he belongs.


I do worry about Diebold and voter suppression and I may be like Charlie Brown running up to kick that football Lucy is holding but I think the anti-incumbent (read anti-Republican) wave is going to be so great, that even dirty tricks won't stop the Dems from winning the House and maybe even the Senate.

Gas is down and heating-oil is expected to be inexpensive this winter, plus, it's not like the Iraq war has grabbed voters by the balls, sure Americans want to win the war and get out, but except for the families that have members fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other far off places, the typical selfish American hasn't really been affected by the war.

When it comes down to it, some overly cautious voters may say, oh sure, I want the crooks out, but just not my crook because he brings home the bacon.

[JoeChalupa]

I concur. Republicans simply do a better job at campaigning, IMO.

[101A]

I concur. Republicans simply do a better job at campaigning, IMO.


For themselves, and, in this case, for the Democrats, as well.

[Ocotillo]

Gas is down and heating-oil is expected to be inexpensive this winter, plus, it's not like the Iraq war has grabbed voters by the balls, sure Americans want to win the war and get out, but except for the families that have members fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other far off places, the typical selfish American hasn't really been affected by the war.

When it comes down to it, some overly cautious voters may say, oh sure, I want the crooks out, but just not my crook because he brings home the bacon.

There really is so much going on right now that is hard for the average person to keep up. The NY Times NIE story seems like weeks ago now with the Foley thing and Woodward's book. Iraq is lost in all that and that is the biggest anti-Bush motivator.

I do have to keep in mind most people don't keep up nearly as much as we do on this board (and that applies to both sides on this board).


I concur. Republicans simply do a better job at campaigning, IMO

I wouldn't diagree but beyond gays, God and guns what is going to work for them this time? I don't think people are buying the cultural stuff this go round as much as '04.

[clambake]

They'll use fear again. We are not a nation of scholars. How about some coordinated attacks in Vancover, Scotland Yard, and Dublin. Maybe Venice or Vatican City, just to pull back any red voters that may be on the fence. Three weeks to pull it off, remind them that without republican leaders, their deaths are eminent.

No attacks on American soil. That would be counter productive.

[boutons_]

"buying the cultural stuff this go round as much as '04.?"

They weren't really buying it that much in 2004 as dubya won by the smallest margin ever for an incumbent "president". What won for dubya was not culture wars, but Rove's brilliantly evil and cynical strategy of starting a phony war to assure re-election of a "war" "president".

No phony Iraq war, no dubya re-election.

(Then there was the discovery that ALL the voting anomalies in swing-state Ohio favored the Repugs exclusively.)

Iraq war having becoming an undeniable, humongous worthless disaster as agreed by a vast majority of Americans, the Repugs are runnig on local (aka $$$) issues only (not cultural issues) since they are distancing themselves as far as possible from the toxic dubya.

[JoeChalupa]

I know too many republicans who are spinning this against the democrats and aren't even seeing the real harm that Foley did.

[boutons_]

I wouldn't put it past Rove to spring the Foley story now to fog over the much more dangerous NIE/Denial book stories.

Sacrificing a Repug gay pedophile is a lot safer than having the WH and their principals nailed definitively for dereliction of duty in the summer of 2001.

Sacrificing Foley doesn't please the Log Cabin (Lincoln) Repugs, but "DC is hell". :lol

[2centsworth]

I know too many republicans who are spinning this against the democrats and aren't even seeing the real harm that Foley did.
It makes me sick, but I've always thought their was a war on children in this country. Foley needs to be punished and if it cost the Republicans Congress sobeit.


Being republican has put you in a frantic
I vote republican, I'm not republican. You make it sound like it's a nationality.

[clambake]

Your not repulican but you vote republican? Hard to consider the separation. I'm not rep. or dem. but I know colusion when I see it.

[JoeChalupa]

I'm a democrat and don't vote straight ticket.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Nobody was sexually solicited online by a Congressman when Clinton lied.

I know it doesn't rhyme, but oh well.

[maf54]

Nobody was sexually solicited online by a Congressman when Clinton lied.

lol ur funny

wanna meet up?

[clambake]

GOP stands for Grope Our Pages.

[nkdlunch]

A lot of congressmen hit on the pages. I know cause I used to know a couple of chicks that were. congressmen get a lot of pussy, trust me. It just comes with the job. but this guy is just sick in the head. and it is a disgrace that his peers knew about this and shut their mouths.

[Nbadan]

Oh, oh, Foley's attorney is having another press conference...

FOLEY BOMBSHELL COMING ... FORMER CONGRESSMAN'S ATTORNEY TO HOLD NEWS CONFERENCE IN WEST PALM BEACH, FLA.

ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/)

[maf54]

Oh, oh, Foley's attorney is having another press conference...

FOLEY BOMBSHELL COMING ... FORMER CONGRESSMAN'S ATTORNEY TO HOLD NEWS CONFERENCE IN WEST PALM BEACH, FLA.

ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/)



brb

[ChumpDumper]

Great, now he blames a priest for giving him gay.

[clambake]

Well, was the priest Catholic?

[ChumpDumper]

I think I heard it wrong. Everyone is saying "clergyman" now.

[clambake]

I'm more interested in the Woodward discoveries. I hope they don't fade. Hard to deny his reputation, even though watching Hastart struggle to swim to the edge is entertaining.

[Yonivore]

I'm more interested in the Woodward discoveries. I hope they don't fade. Hard to deny his reputation, even though watching Hastart struggle to swim to the edge is entertaining.
Woodward discoveries? More like Woodward characterizations.

[Nbadan]

Here's today headlines on the Foley scandal...

Hastert Contradicted by House No. 2


House Speaker Dennis Hastert brushed aside resignation talk Tuesday, even as the Republicans' No. 2 House leader contradicted him in the page scandal. President Bush gave Hastert a vote of confidence as the party struggled to contain pre-election fallout.

...

"I'm not going to do that," Hastert said when asked by conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh whether he would resign.

...

"We have a story to tell, and the Democrats have — in my view have — put this thing forward to try to block us from telling the story. They're trying to put us on defense," Hastert said.

...

Hastert told reporters on Monday that he was not aware of the complaint against Foley until last Friday. He acknowledged his staff was made aware of it last fall, but he said there was "no reason to bump it up to me at that time."

However, both Majority Leader John Boehner and New York Rep. Tom Reynolds, who heads the House Republicans' re-election campaign, said they had spoken with Hastert about a complaint concerning a former page from Louisiana last spring after being hold about it by Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La., who had sponsored the teen.

San Francisco Gate (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/10/03/national/w140154D28.DTL&type=politics)

[clambake]

Go for it Yoni. Good luck.

[boutons_]

"put this thing forward to try to block us from telling the story"

I think the Repugs have put out the Foley story now to fog over the incriminatingly dangerous stories of the NIE and Woodward book.

[Nbadan]

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.

ABC News (http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/10/new_foley_insta.html)

Never to be outdone by coverage on any topic, here is the XXX-rated conversation Foley had with the page, but be aware it is filthy and not fit for Liberal ears

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


Maf54: I miss you
Teen: ya me too
Maf54: we are still voting
Maf54: you miss me too

The exchange continues in which Foley and the teen both appear to describe having sexual orgasms.

Maf54: ok..i better go vote..did you know you would have this effect on me
Teen: lol I guessed
Teen: ya go vote…I don't want to keep you from doing our job
Maf54: can I have a good kiss goodnight
Teen: :-*
Teen: <kiss>

blogs.abcnews (http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/10/new_foley_insta.html)

[Nbadan]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Former Rep. Mark Foley's attorney said Tuesday that his client was molested between the ages 13 and 15 by a clergyman.

Foley had represented the West Palm Beach district for 12 years and was seeking re-election until his sudden resignation last week after the disclosure of lurid online communications with teenage congressional pages.

"This is part of his recovery," Roth said, declining to identify the clergyman or the church.

Roth also announced for the first time that Foley is gay.

Yahoo News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061003/ap_on_go_co/congressman_e_mails)

See sexual predators can recover.

[Yonivore]

Hastert's being accused of going easy on Foley. That could be...it's yet to be shown.

But at least he didn't spring him from prison (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=21585). By the way, speaking of "explicit"--I didn't link to it, but the transcript of Reynolds talking to a 16 year old girl has to be seen to be believed. But that was different, of course.

[clambake]

Different from Foley's actions under Hastart's denial of knowledge? Yes, your right.

[thepeopleslawyer]

damage control for foley and republicans. hey, lets use the never out of style "I was molested as an innocent teen by a priest" to justify our child molesting. the paige was 16 years old. what a piece of crap foley is.

[1369]

Ok, I didn't read the entire thread, but I did hear on Fox News (On the XM in my truck over lunch 'cause I work and dont' have internet access all day) that some talking head said it was a know fact that Foley played on the "other side of the fence". Has this come "out" as well?

[smeagol]

Was this a real teen or one of those guys from the Nightline special "Catching a Predator" ?

[RandomGuy]

I think this case is one of the results of the GOP's "win at any cost" culture.

The tone at the top should worry anybody.

[Ocotillo]

Was this a real teen or one of those guys from the Nightline special "Catching a Predator" ?

Saturday Night Live or the Daily Show or someone has to do a skit where Mark Foley gets caught by Chris Hanson of Dateline. :lol

[Nbadan]

Aide Says He Reported Foley 2 Years Ago
Oct 04 4:03 PM US/Eastern
By DEVLIN BARRETT
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON


A senior congressional aide said Wednesday that he alerted House Speaker Dennis Hastert's office two years ago about worrisome conduct by former Rep. Mark Foley with teenage pages.

Kirk Fordham told The Associated Press that when he was told about Foley's inappropriate behavior toward pages, he had "more than one conversation with senior staff at the highest level of the House of Representatives asking them to intervene."

The conversations took place long before the e-mail scandal broke, Fordham said, and at least a year earlier than members of the House GOP leadership have acknowledged.

Breitbart (http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/10/04/D8KI176G1.html)

[Nbadan]

Hastert, meanwhile, continues to deny...


Hastert Denies Knowledge Of Foley's 2003 E-Mails to Pages
By ANDREW TAYLOR - Associated Press
October 3, 2006


WASHINGTON — The House speaker, Rep. Dennis Hastert, said yesterday that no Republican leaders saw lurid Internet exchanges between former Rep. Mark Foley and underage high-school pages and that he would have demanded his ouster if he'd known about them.

"As a parent and speaker of the House, I am disgusted," Mr. Hastert, a Republican of Illinois, told reporters after holding a meeting at the Capitol in the wake of the disclosure of the e-mails in 2003 to a page, which led to Mr. Foley's resignation last Friday. The page's home state was not immediately cited.

The speaker did not mention e-mail exchanges between Mr. Foley, a Florida Republican, and another page, from Louisiana, in 2005. Other House Republicans said they told Mr. Hastert about those exchanges months ago. Mr. Hastert has not disputed those accounts.

"Congressman Foley duped a lot of people," Mr. Hastert said. "I've know him for all the years he has worked in this House, and he deceived me, too."

NY Sun (http://www.nysun.com/article/40769)

[ChumpDumper]

Interesting that Fordham resigned today as Thomas Reynolds' chief of staff. Maybe Hastert's aides are next to fall on their swords.

[clambake]

Still wouldn't be an acceptable solution. Hastart still denies. Some accountability this is.

[Nbadan]

Have you seen this priceless video of Mark Foley (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6BKR4cTmAg)

[Nbadan]

Two new pages says Foley had sexual online chats with them while they were underage

America Blog (http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/10/two-new-pages-says-foley-had-sexual.html)

CNN just reported. Yikes.

[ChumpDumper]

The vast left wing conspiracy continues to mobilize its minions.

"A member of the House leadership told me that Foley, under continuous political pressure because of his sexual orientation, was considering not seeking a seventh term this year but that Rep. Tom Reynolds, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), talked him into running."

Which pinko bastard worte that tripe, saying that Reynolds encouraged Foley to run even with full knowledge of the creepy emails?


http://www.nationalview.org/robertnovak.jpg

[PixelPusher]

The vast left wing conspiracy continues to mobilize its minions.

"A member of the House leadership told me that Foley, under continuous political pressure because of his sexual orientation, was considering not seeking a seventh term this year but that Rep. Tom Reynolds, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), talked him into running."

Which pinko bastard worte that tripe, saying that Reynolds encouraged Foley to run even with full knowledge of the creepy emails?


http://www.nationalview.org/robertnovak.jpg

lol. Now O'Reilly and Hannity will start calling him a douchebag.

[Nbadan]

Not quite ready for the sword yets...

Hastert's Office Insists He Did Nothing Wrong
Senior Congressional Aide Says Hastert Knew Of E-mails Two Years Ago


Oct. 4, 2006 — Despite claims by senior congressional aide Kirk Fordham that he notified House Speaker Dennis Hastert's office more than two years ago about possible inappropriate contact between former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., and underage congressional pages, the Speaker's office is insisting it did nothing wrong in its handling of the situation.

"That never happened," Hastert spokesman Ron Bonjean told ABC News about the report.

But Fordham — a former chief of staff to Foley, who resigned as chief of staff to another member of the GOP leadership, Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y. — said that as far back as 2003, Hastert chief of staff Scott Palmer had been told that Foley was too friendly with pages. According to Fordham, Palmer spoke to Foley about the matter.

Neither Foley nor Palmer could be reached for comment, yet Hastert's office disputes the account.

ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2527764&page=1)

[clambake]

How long can they circle the wagons before Hastart is pulled out by his scalp?

[Nbadan]

Top GOP Staffer Reportedly Fired for Role in Page Scandal


The chief of staff for Republican Congressman Tom Reynolds, Kirk Fordham, was reportedly fired today for his role in the handling of the congressional page scandal, according to Republican sources on Capitol Hill.

Fordham, a former chief of staff for Congressman Mark Foley, reportedly urged Republican leaders not to raise questionable Foley e-mails with the full Congressional Page Board, made up of two Republicans and a Democrat.

"He begged them not to tell the page board," said one of the Republican sources.

People familiar with Fordham's side of the story, however, said Fordham was being used as a scapegoat by Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.

They said Fordham had repeatedly warned Hastert's staff about Foley's "problem" with pages, but little was done.

ABC News (http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/10/top_gop_staffer.html)

Very interesting, look for the wing-nut media to try and discredit Fordham ASAP.

[Nbadan]

Kirk Fordham today issued the following statement:


"I have resigned today from Congressman Tom Reynolds' office. It is clear the Democrats are intent on making me a political issue in my boss's race, and I will not let them do so.

I want to clarify a few things: When I sought to help Congressman Foley and his family when his shocking secrets were being revealed, I did so as a friend of my former boss, not as Congressman Reynolds' Chief of Staff. I reached out to the Foley family, as any good friend would, because I was worried about their emotional well-being.

At the same time, I want it to be perfectly clear that I never attempted to prevent any inquiries or investigation of Foley's conduct by House officials or any other authorities.

Like so many, I feel betrayed by Mark Foley's indefensible behavior. Again, I will not allow the Democrats to make me a political issue in my boss's race, and I will fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation."

(End of statement)

ABC News (http://www.blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/10/forced_out_staf.html)

[clambake]

Why is it "republican sources"? Why don't they just go on the record? Not much more to hide.

[Nbadan]

Finally, it seems that Fordham may be gay himself..


"The moral corruption of the gay-bashing stunt was underscored by extensive coverage in the Washington Blade, a gay weekly in the capital, of two top advisers to Martinez who the newspaper says are homosexual. Kirk Fordham, Martinez's finance director, and former Christian Coalition of Florida head John Dowless, have not denied the reports of their sexual orientation. In July, Dowless declined to discuss the matter with the Blade, telling reporter Mubarak Dahir, "I'm just not going to address that with you." But Dahir reported that an unidentified Blade editor had met Dowless at a gay bar in Orlando in April..."

Salon (http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2004/10/08/florida_senate_race/print.html?pn=3)

I wonder how this played into the GOP's decision to scapegoat him.

[clambake]

Bush is on the road, right? Interesting timing.

[Yonivore]

Oooops! It now appears Foley may have been doing nothing illegal. He's still scum, but not a criminal. At least no more so than Barney Franks.

Running now on Drudge (http://www.drudgereport.com)

A posting of an unredacted instant message sessions between Rep. Mark Foley and a former congressional page has apparently exposed the identity of the now 21 year-old accuser...

ABC RELEASED TRANSCRIPT OF CHAT BETWEEN FOLEY AND A MAN WHO WAS 18 AT THE TIME OF THE INSTANT MESSAGE EXCHANGE.... NETWORK GAVE IMPRESSION MESSAGE WAS TO 'UNDER AGE' TEEN... DEVELOPING...

'ONLINE GLITCH' LEADS TO IDENTITY OF FOLEY ACCUSER.

Bogus Blog started it all (http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2006/10/the-bogus-blog-behind-foleys-fall.php)

Wouldn't it be hilarious if this blows up in Democrats faces.

So, for those keeping score:

Creepy, but inconclusive, e-mails between Mark Foley and a page are held by the media and everyone else (for various reasons) until 5 weeks before the midterms. Most of the media says they held them because, while creepy, they 1) didn't warrant evidence of anything worse than creepiness, 2) they didn't want to be seen as homophobic by outing a gay congressman, and 3) they just weren't newsworthy.

Speaker Hastert was told about the e-mails some time back and at the request of the page, he confronted Congressman Foley and told him to stop. Which Foley immediately did. No action was requested by the page and there was nothing else actionable to be done except say ewwww!

The New York Times has run a story -- to their credit -- in which they interview a buttload of former pages who say Foley was well-liked by the pages because he was kind to them. This in the context of the e-mails still doesn't spell pedophile.

Then, last Friday the chat sessions hit the news. Most are characterizing them as being between Foley and an underage page. But, now we learn the page was 18 at the time. Not to mention, it may be learned that many Democrats may have known about the chats for a lot longer than did anyone else -- this according to none other than Dick Morris who says he has good information the media has the name of a leading Democrat who knew about all this.

And, of course, behind all of this is a bogus blog and an activist liberal group, CREW.

So, again, why does Dennis Hastert need to resign?

Gotta love it. Maybe the Dems could get away with this a few years ago, but since Rathergate, they blow chunks at manufacturing a scandal.

[Zunni]

The Democrats aren't the ones roasting him on a rotating spit, Yoni. If some information comes to light that causes them to "eat one of their own", how is that the Democrats fault? Because the G.O.P. are predicatable homophobes?

[Yonivore]

The Democrats aren't the ones roasting him on a rotating spit, Yoni. If some information comes to light that causes them to "eat one of their own", how is that the Democrats fault? Because the G.O.P. are predicatable homophobes?
I'm not talking about Foley here. I'm talking about the premature calls for Hastert's head.

Republicans traditionally run off their scum. They're not embraced like Studds, Franks, Kennedy, and Clinton.

[Zunni]

Speaker Hastert was told about the e-mails some time back and at the request of the page, he confronted Congressman Foley and told him to stop.

How could that be? He doesn't even remember being told, a GOP trick from way back.


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Speaker Dennis Hastert's office was notified of concerns about then-Rep. Mark Foley over three years ago -- two years before previous accounts have suggested top GOP leaders learned of Foley's inappropriate behavior, a former aide to Foley told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Kirk Fordham told AP about his warning after resigning Wednesday amid allegations that he tried to protect Foley from congressional inquiries into his inappropriate contact with congressional pages.

Fordham elaborated in an interview with ABC News and said he told Hastert's chief of staff, Scott Palmer, that Foley was too friendly with the pages, and Palmer talked to Foley.

Hastert's spokesman Ron Bonjean told ABC News, "That [warning] never happened."

In a statement to CNN, Bonjean said only that "this matter has been referred to the Standards Committee and we fully expect that the bipartisan panel will do what it needs to do to investigate this matter and protect the integrity of the House."

CNN story (http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/10/04/hastert.foley/index.html)


Hastert's office has given this account of the speaker's involvement: In the fall of 2005, Hastert's office learned Foley had exchanged e-mails with a former page that were "over friendly" but not sexual. Aides discussed the matter with another congressman and the clerk of the House, who ordered Foley to stop communicating with the youth.

Aides didn't discuss the e-mails with Hastert. Rep. Thomas Reynolds (R-N.Y.) said that months later, he mentioned the matter to Hastert. Hastert doesn't remember the conversation but doesn't dispute Reynolds' recollection.

CHI Sun-Times (http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/79991,CST-NWS-pages02.article)

Dredge had better start telling different lies that DON'T conflict with direct quotes from the subjects in said lies.

[PixelPusher]

Oooops! It now appears Foley may have been doing nothing illegal.

Ooooops! It appears you may have spoken too soon.

Watching MSNBC right now. Looks like Foley visited the Page Dorms while drunk. Now this might not amount to more than "drunken disorderly" or "contributing to the deliquency of minors", but maybe you should wait for the facts to come in during this developing story before declaring "crisis averted".

[Yonivore]

Ooooops! It appears you may have spoken too soon.

Watching MSNBC right now. Looks like Foley visited the Page Dorms while drunk. Now this might not amount to more than "drunken disorderly" or "contributing to the deliquency of minors", but maybe you should wait for the facts to come in during this developing story before declaring "crisis averted".
Foley's toast. Whatever comes out about him is probably true.

We're talking about how the Democrats are conflating the Republican leaderships knowledge and involvement.

And, Zunni, there have already been reports that Speaker Hastert was advised of the e-mails (not the chats or any other behavior) a long time ago. He directed some aides and another Congressman to confront Foley. That was done and the e-mails stopped. Since the e-mails don't contain anything of a criminal nature and since the page didn't want to pursue it, the House leadership considered the matter settled.

Now, none of the other stuff, including the chat sessions, came to light before last Friday. Hastert is denying he had any knowledge of that. And, to be fair, it appears the only people having any knowledge may be the Democrats and this left-wing bogus blog.

Again, I sense a manufactured scandal gone awry.

[Zunni]

So, why is he quoted as saying he doesn't remember being advised?


Aides didn't discuss the e-mails with Hastert. Rep. Thomas Reynolds (R-N.Y.) said that months later, he mentioned the matter to Hastert. Hastert doesn't remember the conversation but doesn't dispute Reynolds' recollection.

Wouldn't you think that if he had confronted Foley, or sent his aides to do so, he would have just said so?

[Yonivore]

So, why is he quoted as saying he doesn't remember being advised?

Wouldn't you think that if he had confronted Foley, or sent his aides to do so, he would have just said so?
I guess that would depend on the matter of which he is speaking. And, in relation to why I posted, that's exactly what he's said.

I have a feeling you're confusing two issues. But, that's okay, so is everyone else.

Here, read this press release (http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=73543)

It appears, that Hastert may not have been made aware of even the e-mails.

[boutons_]

"manufactured scandal gone awry."

yep, EXACTLY what it is:


Federal Prosecutors Order Electronic Communications Preserved

Foley's Former Chief of Staff Resigns

By Dan Eggen and Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 4, 2006; 3:54 PM

Federal prosecutors today ordered the House to preserve all documents and other materials possibly related to former Rep. Mark Foley's electronic communications with teenage pages on Capitol Hill, signaling an intensifying investigation by the FBI and Justice Department into possible criminal activity connected to the scandal.

The three-page "preservation letter," sent to the House counsel from the office of Acting U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor in Washington, indicates that law enforcement officials are getting closer to seeking grand jury subpoenas for records or searches of Foley's Capitol Hill office, according to law enforcement officials and legal experts.

Foley resigned Friday after sexually explicit comments he made to pages in e-mails and electronic instant messages began to become public. He later checked himself into a alcohol treatment program. The resulting scandal has rocked Capitol Hill.

FBI agents around the country have begun seeking to locate and interview former pages who may have had contact with Foley (R-Fla.),

and the Justice Department and FBI are discussing the use of administrative subpoenas to obtain subscriber information for the e-mail and instant-messaging accounts at the heart of the case, according to law enforcement officials.

Although still classified as a preliminary investigation, the demands to preserve records and other steps increase the chances that federal prosecutors will open a full criminal investigation and bring the case before a grand jury, officials said.

The focus of the probe so far is on whether Foley might be liable for charges of crossing state lines in order to entice or engage a minor in sexual acts, but investigators "have not ruled out any number of possible crimes that could be looked at," said one law enforcement official, who along with others requested anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.

Also this afternoon, Foley's former chief of staff, Kirk Fordham, announced that he was resigning from his current job as chief of staff for Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.). In the days leading up to Foley's resignation, Reynolds allowed Fordham to advise the Florida congressman and Fordham played a role in helping Foley after an ABC News reporter told the congressman he had copies of his sexually charged exchanges with pages.

Brian Ross of ABC told The Post Sunday that when ABC approached Foley with the graphic exchanges, Fordham intervened and offered ABC the exclusive story of Foley's resignation, if ABC withheld the instant messages. Ross refused the deal.

In his statement, Fordham said he felt betrayed by Foley's "indefensible behavior" and was resigning because it was "clear the Democrats are intent on making me a political issue in my boss's race, and I will not let them do so."

( how do the Democrats command all this activity by prosectors and FBI? :lol )


He said his help to Foley was based on concerns about his "emotional well-being."

( aw, going all touchy-feely like dubya's press-release emotions about the Amish massacre :lol )

But he strongly denied that he sought to impede any investigation. "I want it to be perfectly clear that I never attempted to prevent any inquiries or investigation of Foley's conduct by House officials or any other authorities," he said.

© 2006 The Washington Post Company

====================

Nothing looks "awry" at all.

Seems more like an avalanche heading straight for Foley and the Repug leadership, causing, at least, an incredibly revolting odor about the entire bunch of Congressional Repugs.

[Zunni]

I guess that would depend on the matter of which he is speaking. And, in relation to why I posted, that's exactly what he's said.

I have a feeling you're confusing two issues. But, that's okay, so is everyone else.

Here, read this press release (http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=73543)

It appears, that Hastert may not have been made aware of even the e-mails.
I'm referring to that Drudge CRAP you posted.


Speaker Hastert was told about the e-mails some time back and at the request of the page, he confronted Congressman Foley and told him to stop.

[Yonivore]

I'm referring to that Drudge CRAP you posted.
Apparently, I was wrong, it was his office that was approached and they handled it as appropriate. So sue me.

[Yonivore]

I'm also beginning to think this "scandal" is flying apart too fast for Democrats. They've already taken to lying about it...

Patty Wetterling is the DFL-endorsed candidate for Congress in Minnesota's Republican-leaning Sixth District. Her sole qualification for higher office is her status as an advocate of "child safety" and an opponent of "child sexual exploitation" since her son was abducted in 1989, never to be found. Now Wetterling is the first off the mark with a fraudulent advertisement capitalizing on the Foley scandal:


“It shocks the conscience. Congressional leaders have admitted to covering up the predatory behavior of a congressman who used the internet to molest children.”
This is -- how to put it? -- disgusting. Will Minnesota's left-wing media call Patty Wetterling out when she molests the truth?

I think they had bigger plans for this and it just ain't panning out. But, in true Democrat fashion, they're going to plug ahead as if the scandal were unfolding according to the script they've devised.

[Yonivore]

Then there's the new subtext to this whole affair:

They can call it a "big tent" party all they want, but by their actions, it's rather clear that what liberals are hiding under is just another name for a large white sheet (http://www.davidcorn.com/archives/2006/10/the_list_of_gay.php):


There's a list going around. Those disseminating it call it "The List." It's a roster of top-level Republican congressional aides who are gay.

On CBS News on Tuesday, correspondent Gloria Borger reported that there's anger among House Republicans at what an unidentified House GOPer called a "network of gay staffers and gay members who protect each other and did the Speaker a disservice." The implication is that these gay Republicans somehow helped page-pursuing Mark Foley before his ugly (and possibly illegal) conduct was exposed. The List--drawn up by gay politicos--is a partial accounting of who on Capitol Hill might be in that network.

I have a copy. I'm not going to publish it.
Not going to publish it? He's just going to mention the positions held by those on the list, as well as which Congressional offices they work for. David Corn's the kid in class who claimed he didn't "tattle" even as he pointed at the other kids. The "List" was compiled by liberal activists over the course of several years.

There is a vile, bullying aspect at play here in the left as they once again attack a minority group for daring to wander off of what Democrats feel are the borders of their liberal plantation.

A black conservative? Must be a race traitor. Let's call him Sambo (http://michellemalkin.com/archives/003823.htm), or better yet, stalk him (http://hotair.com/archives/2006/10/04/steele-demands-apology-from-dems-for-stalking/).

A gay conservative? Let's invoke the 3/5 compromise (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-fifths_compromise), because gay conservatives don't have full citizenship (http://www.davidcorn.com/archives/2006/10/the_list_of_gay.php).

Nothing like whipping up on an uppity minority to get that liberal superiority Jones satisfied.

One of these days, voters in different minority groups are going to realize that by giving the overwhelming supermajority of their votes to one party, no matter how they are treated by that party, that they've made themselves a political non-entity. They’ve taken themselves completely out of play, and given aware their power.

Only once both parties have the think that they could gain or lose their votes as values-based individuals and families—and not a monolithic special interest groups—will they have any real power as people.

It never amazes me that liberals abuse those they claim to represent. It only amazes me that those they abuse (http://instapundit.com/archives/032986.php[/url) put up with the abuse.

[PixelPusher]

I'm also beginning to think this "scandal" is flying apart too fast for Democrats. They've already taken to lying about it...

Patty Wetterling is the DFL-endorsed candidate for Congress in Minnesota's Republican-leaning Sixth District. Her sole qualification for higher office is her status as an advocate of "child safety" and an opponent of "child sexual exploitation" since her son was abducted in 1989, never to be found. Now Wetterling is the first off the mark with a fraudulent advertisement capitalizing on the Foley scandal:


This is -- how to put it? -- disgusting. Will Minnesota's left-wing media call Patty Wetterling out when she molests the truth?

I think they had bigger plans for this and it just ain't panning out. But, in true Democrat fashion, they're going to plug ahead as if the scandal were unfolding according to the script they've devised.


"Congressional leaders have admitted to covering up the predatory behavior of a congressman"



(from AP) (http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/aide-says-he-told-hasterts-office-about/20061004161209990030) At the same time, Foley's former chief of staff said in an Associated Press interview that he first warned Hastert's aides more than three years ago that Foley's behavior toward pages was troublesome. That was long before GOP leaders acknowledged learning of the problem.

Kirk Fordham, who was Foley's top aide until January 2004, said he had "more than one conversation with senior staff at the highest level of the House of Representatives asking them to intervene" several years ago.

That takes care of the "Congressional leaders have admitted" part. As for the "predatory behavior" part, well, I'll leave that up to your judgement to determine if a middle aged man engaging in "naughty emailing" (as Tony Snow calls it) with a minor is "predatory behavior". I guessing many parents would think so, which is why she is running this political ad. Frankly I find your "outrage" to be hypocritical, as this kind of ad is par for the course for Republicans...oh, I forgot, they're no better than Democrats...or is it the other way around...whatever.

[ChumpDumper]

Took awhile for the blogosphere to find a way to spin this. Drudge was actually blaming the pages yesterday. Good show, jackass!

[PixelPusher]

Took awhile for the blogosphere to find a way to spin this. Drudge was actually blaming the pages yesterday. Good show, jackass!
Blaming the victim never gets old.

[Yonivore]

And Fordham has provided what evidence that he "warned Hastert's aides more than three years ago that Foley's behavior toward pages was troublesome."

Because, that would coincide with the e-mail incident which was investigated by the House and resolved.

And, in the quote itself, it says Hastert's aides. If you'll read my link, that also agrees with the Speaker's press release.

[Yonivore]

Blaming the victim never gets old.
Wait a minute, if the guy is 18, is he a victim? Any more so than Monica Lewinsky?

[boutons_]

Sure!

A well-known, long-term, Congressmen, aged 52 years, a member of the "employer" group, exchanging homoerotic emails with teen boys in the "employee" group 30+ years younger would certainly be a violaton of employer/employee decorum and ethics in US Congress (supposedly a model institution for the nation), and would be an extremely alarming violaton to parents 100s or 1000s of mile away.

It's absolutely beautiful, and expected, how Yoni sees that nothing illegal were done, as if legality was the only measure, and then blames it all on Dem dirty campaign tricks, rather than the Repug "Bible-thumping/family values" leadership failing to keep its own house clean of salacious, predatory pedophiles.

[Zunni]

Wait a minute, if the guy is 18, is he a victim? Any more so than Monica Lewinsky?
Was Monica a victim? The GOP sure liked to portray her that way. If so, then this kid sure was....

[Yonivore]

Was Monica a victim? The GOP sure liked to portray her that way. If so, then this kid sure was....
Okay then. Now we're getting somewhere.

[Dimm-O-Crap]

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b381/livindeadboi/JB/republican_seal_cuffs.jpg

[xrayzebra]

Huh-Ho-II........we have this little tid-bit.

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX THU OCT 5 2006 2:53:48 ET XXXXX

CLAIM: FILTHY FOLEY ONLINE MESSAGES WERE PAGE PRANK GONE AWRY
**World Exclusive**
**Must Credit the DRUDGE REPORT**

According to two people close to former congressional page Jordan Edmund, the now famous lurid AOL Instant Message exchanges that led to the resignation of Mark Foley were part of an online prank that by mistake got into the hands of enemy political operatives, the DRUDGE REPORT can reveal.

According to one Oklahoma source who knows the former page very well, Edmund, a conservative Republican, goaded Foley to type embarrassing comments that were then shared with a small group of young Hill politicos. The prank went awry when the saved IM sessions got into the hands of political operatives favorable to Democrats. This source, an ally of Edmund, also adamantly proclaims that the former page is not a homosexual. The prank scenario was confirmed by a second associate of Edmund.

The news come on the heels that Edmund has hired former Timothy McVeigh attorney, Stephen Jones, and that former FBI chief Louis Freeh has been named to investigate the entire mess.

Developing...


Now, I wonder. Are the dimm-o-craps gay bashing?
Hmmmmm, this gets darker and darker. I wonder
who else is going to turn up in this little "Alice in
Wonderland" tale. Stand-by for further developments.


But the Dimm-o-craps are happy they have destroyed
another Republican (even tho he is gay and they love
them) and wanted Hastert, but he wont cooperate.

[ChumpDumper]

:lmao

Then why are the Republicans pointing fingers at each other and resigning?

[xrayzebra]

I don't know, how is that the dimm-o-craps, when caught
with their hands in a young person's pants or kill someone
or get caught DWI don't.

By the way, has Foley really been accused of having
sex with anyone? Just checking. Talking dirty is
not consider unlawful, the last time I heard. Otherwise
half (most boutons) of the posters on this board would
be on the run......

[Mr. Peabody]

Talking dirty is
not consider unlawful, the last time I heard. Otherwise
half (most boutons) of the posters on this board would
be on the run......

Haven't you ever seen "To Catch a Predator" on Dateline? Those losers are always getting arrested for talking dirty to minors and trying to elicit illicit sex.

[Crookshanks]

:lmao

Then why are the Republicans pointing fingers at each other and resigning?

Maybe because they know how the democrats are going to use this and are afraid of getting covered in the mud the left is slinging! But, at least Foley was aware of the negative fallout and resigned immediately - unlike the democrats caught in scandals or ethic violations!

This is just another example of the democrats not having any luck in running on the issues - so they have to divert stupid people's attention away from their lack of any real plan by "uncovering" all these scandals involving the horrible, despicable Republicans. What a joke!

[ChumpDumper]

That's what's being investigated; if you say the wrong things talking dirty to a minor, it is very much unlawful.

[Yonivore]

:lmao

Then why are the Republicans pointing fingers at each other and resigning?
No one's saying Foley isn't still a creep. But, he was wanting to resign anyway.

His former Chief of Staff is the only other resignation about which I've heard. Are there others? And, contrary to your characterizations of "finger pointing" it appears the Republican majority is moving pretty fast to get to the bottom of this and are now running into Democrat obstructionism...

Freeh won't head the investigation due to Democrat objections.

Pelosi and other Democrat leaders have refused to agree to polygraphs during the investigation -- even though it is they that demanded this investigation.

I smell a Democrat-manufactured scandal gone terribly awry.

[ChumpDumper]

Maybe because they know how the democrats are going to use this and are afraid of getting covered in the mud the left is slinging! But, at least Foley was aware of the negative fallout and resigned immediately - unlike the democrats caught in scandals or ethic violations!

This is just another example of the democrats not having any luck in running on the issues - so they have to divert stupid people's attention away from their lack of any real plan by "uncovering" all these scandals involving the horrible, despicable Republicans. What a joke!:lol The Republicans were already in jeopardy of losing both houses because of the issues. This might just be the icing on the cake for Democrats.

[Crookshanks]

Haven't you ever seen "To Catch a Predator" on Dateline? Those losers are always getting arrested for talking dirty to minors and trying to elicit illicit sex.

They don't get arrested for talking dirty - they get arrested when they show up at the house expecting to have sex with a minor - that's the crime!

[Yonivore]

That's what's being investigated; if you say the wrong things talking dirty to a minor, it is very much unlawful.
I don't think Foley and his former Chief of Staff were thrilled about being outed. Embarrassment over this may have led to the abrupt resignations.

Who knows. Personally, I could care less...they're just creepy. Kind of like a cross between Ted Kennedy and Barney Franks creepy...with some Bill Clinton thrown in.

[ChumpDumper]

Why is Congress even investigating this?

Isn't the FBI enough?

And the finger pointing is well-documented.

[Yonivore]

:lol The Republicans were already in jeopardy of losing both houses because of the issues. This might just be the icing on the cake for Democrats.
Nah, all elections are local. I don't know of any seats -- other than Foley's -- that are in any more jeopardy than before over this nonsense.

[Crookshanks]

:lol The Republicans were already in jeopardy of losing both houses because of the issues. This might just be the icing on the cake for Democrats.

Sorry, wrong answer! Prior to the Foley incident, the polls were showing that a takeover of either house of congress was going to be a long shot. But, thanks for playing anyway!

[ChumpDumper]

Prior to the Foley incident, the polls were showing that a takeover of either house of congress was going to be a long shot. Sorry, wrong answer.Senate was a longshot, not the house.

[Yonivore]

I predict they both stay in Republican hands...maybe even with gains in both houses.

It's the security and the economy stupid.

[Mr. Peabody]

They don't get arrested for talking dirty - they get arrested when they show up at the house expecting to have sex with a minor - that's the crime!

That's what I said -- for eliciting illicit sex. I think the actual charge is attempted lewd acts with a minor or something like that.

[xrayzebra]

That's what's being investigated; if you say the wrong things talking dirty to a minor, it is very much unlawful.

It is? What is your definition of dirty? Soliciting
sex or sex acts is, but telling one to kiss your butt,
which many on this board have told teens, is not.

Old joke, but when growing up many years ago,
adults teased kids all the time. Like "I heard that
you "hesitate" on the sidewalk. And "slumber"
in the bed. Yeah, many, including myself when I
was young thought they meant something else.

Now days, would that be considered "dirty"?

This story about Foley and the "pages" is going
to take so many twist and turns before it is all
over that it will make your head swim.

If I am correct, I would guess right now that many
pols on both sides of the aisle are trying to get
things shut down. The dimm-o-craps have opened
up this can of worms and now they are going
have to deal with their problems too. Many of
the high and mighty on their side are awfully
quite, really tippiy toeing around and haven't
got much to say.

[Spurminator]

This is like watching two Poker players go all in on low pairs, with the dealer forgetting to burn a card before the turn. What a fucking mess.

[clambake]

I think it's all good news.
1. Republicans wanting to know how long people had known about this information. (that they chose to ignore).
2. How much time do republicans need to do the right thing. ( a question that even other republicans are asking).
3. Hastart's new found ability to point the finger at others. (avoiding any accountiblilty or responsibility to the american public)
4. Hastart ending his statement by claiming they have addressed terrorism and fixed the borders. (adressed meaning said the word terrorism........and fixed the borders meaning " I'm the house speaker and I'm delusional")
5. The investigation conclusion will allow democrats to whip this phony pony all the way to the finish. It will end by democrats accusing this house of coverup or by saying we told you so.

[PixelPusher]

I predict they both stay in Republican hands...maybe even with gains in both houses.

It's the security and the economy stupid.

It's Iraq, stupid.

[JoeChalupa]

I predict they both stay in Republican hands...maybe even with gains in both houses.

It's the security and the economy stupid.

I pray you are not right but if the republicans can keep blowing smoke and clouding people's judgement you may be right.

I they vote for their party rather than their true beliefs republicans will keep control. Only time and votes will tell.

[boutons_]

"security"

the Repug Iraq fiasco is a disaster for US security.

Threats to the US mainland security have been/are wildly overhyped by the Repugs for their "scare the shit out of everybody" since we can't, we won't really assure mainland security, esp without abridging personal rights and other unchecked Exec powers.

"economy"

yep,the economy SUCKS for everybody outside the top 2%, every sinlge poll shows this is people see the economy

and then there is:

"It's Iraq, stupid"

[Yonivore]

It's Iraq, stupid.
Like I said, it's the security and the economy, stupid.

[PixelPusher]

Like I said, it's the security and the economy, stupid.

A majority of americans now recognize the difference, stupid.

Not gonna work this year.

[boutons_]

Lawmaker's Intentions Appear Clear In Exchanges

By Jonathan Weisman and Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, October 5, 2006; A01

The message exchanges included plenty of kid stuff -- talk of killer finals and botched SATs, cramming to learn the lines of a school play, picking up a sister at cheerleading practice. But when two former pages sat down at their computers to furtively chat with then-Rep. Mark Foley, they were also acting out a parent's nightmare with a man with clear designs.

"BRB . . . my mom is yelling," one teenage boy wrote just after Foley coaxed him into discussing his anatomy with a lascivious "ummmmmmmmm . . . beautiful."

"back," the boy continued.

"cool hope s[h]e didnt see any thing," Foley responded.

"no no . . . she is computer dumb," the boy offered.

The instant messages that surfaced last Friday drove the Florida Republican from office and ignited a political firestorm over the handling of the matter that has engulfed House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (Ill.) and other senior Republicans. The controversy could tip the balance of Congress to the Democrats in an election that is just five weeks away.

Now, with the help of a former House page who served with the two male pages who conversed online with Foley, [b]The Washington Post obtained dozens of America Online instant messages yesterday that illuminate the apparent predations of the disgraced former congressman. David Roth, Foley's attorney in Florida, said last night of the messages: "I'm not going to comment on anything unless it's in a public forum before everyone."

Some of the instant messages were previously reported by ABC News. The conversations occurred between December 2002 and October 2003, according to the date stamps on the computer files. The vast majority of the messages were between Foley and one of the two former pages. Some of the exchanges took place before the boy turned 18. Attempts by The Post to contact the two former pages were unsuccessful.

Taken together, the chats seem to make clear that Foley tried to lure the boys into sexual encounters, and certainly encouraged lurid behavior online. In one conversation, it appears clear that Foley met with one boy in San Diego.

There is no clear evidence that Foley and the boys had sexual contact. But they frequently talked about getting together

At one point Foley wrote: "i miss you lots since san diego."

"ya i cant wait till dc," the former page replied. "did you pick a night for the dinner"?

"not yet," Foley said, "but likely friday."

In another sequence, Foley suggested that a page meet him at his house a few blocks from the Capitol.

"I could give you a massage here . . . just a block and a half," he wrote. Later in the online conversation, Foley asked, "so you do see us palyin around"?

"sure," the page responded. "weve gone over this before . . . havent we"? "i excuse your memory when you are drinking . . . cause i dont remember much when i drink," the page continues.

Foley then wrote: "I wish i would have jumped you after dinner in san diego, but I was good."

In another particularly lurid conversation, Foley and the teenager engaged in graphic Internet sex, with the boy apparently masturbating as time was running out on a vote the lawmaker had to cast on the House floor.

As the pornographic discussion concluded, the youth said, "ya go vote . . . i dont want to keep you from doing your job."

"can I have a good kiss goodnight"? Foley asked.

":-*," the boy typed.

Often implicit in the chats is an exchange of professional advancement in exchange for sex that plays on the allure of power that Foley used to entice one of the teenagers. Foley at one point promised to help him become the "stylish elite type" person the teenager said he wanted to be.

"We will make you successful," Foley promised, "as long as you don't mind me grabbing your [deleted] once in a while."

Such conversations occurred under the noses of parents who clearly took interest in their children but knew little about their online life.

"sorry my mom walked in," a page wrote after an interruption.

"whta did she want"? Foley asked.

"to spend time with me . . . she just came in and sat down . . . apparently she doesnt see enough of me or something," he replied.

"thats a good mom," Foley said.

Such instant messages were the subject of Foley's own political efforts when he helped sponsor legislation to lower the threshold for law enforcement officers to go after online predators.

But in his own messages, Foley encouraged mutual masturbation, even when the boys protested that they had too much schoolwork.

"im doing homework," one wrote.

"better do you[r] homework . . . I am a bad influence," Foley wrote.

He fished for compliments on his looks, flattered them on theirs, frequently brought up the subject of sex, encouraged their attractions and frowned on girlfriends. He was impervious to the misgivings of his online chat mates.

"so . . . where does that leave us"? Foley asked once, after he seemed to encourage a sexual encounter, to no avail.

"i dunno . . . same as we are now," the boy replied, ". . . just saying that im not sure what im totaly comfortable with . . . we will still have fun."

Moreover, Foley appeared aware that he was behaving badly, chastising himself but unable to stop. It was that behavior that his former chief of staff, Kirk Fordham, seemed to allude to when he said yesterday that he turned to the most senior House leadership officials to intervene when his own efforts to stop Foley's actions had failed.

"to be honest I am a little to interested in you," Foley said to one page, "so thats why I need to back off a little."

"ya slow things down a little im still young . . . like under 18 dont want to do anything illegal," the teenager cautioned.

"nothing will happen . . . just dreaming," Foley assured him. "i was good in SD."

"I am not a sicko," he concluded.

Yesterday, several Web sites said that bloggers had been able to learn the name of one of the two former pages because ABC News had briefly posted his screen name on its site.

"We always want to keep the identities of people involved in any kind of alleged sexual crimes confidential," ABC News spokesman Jeffrey Schneider said last night. "On Friday, there was a glitch in our posting, and it's possible that an actual, unredacted screen name was posted for an extremely short period of time. Obviously, it was fixed almost instantly."

Staff writer Howard Kurtz and staff researcher Madonna Lebling contributed to this report.

© 2006 The Washington Post Company

=================

So Yoni defends Foley as "nothing illegal" http://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smilol.gif http://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smilol.gif
What a Repug jerkoff Yoni.
"if it's Repug, I gotta defend" http://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smilol.gif

[JoeChalupa]

Fact is the Republican Party is no longer the party of small government as this administrations's spending has proven and they can no longer run as the party of "moral values" and I know many conservatives who are disgusted with the current cover up just to remain in power.

[boutons_]

October 5, 2006

Voters Say Scandals Will Affect Votes

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 2:19 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congressional Republicans, already struggling against negative public perceptions of Congress, now face voters who say new scandals will significantly influence their vote in November.

With midterm elections less than five weeks away, the latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll found that about half of likely voters say recent disclosures of corruption and scandal in Congress will be very or extremely important when they cast their vote next month.

The poll was conducted this week as House Republican leaders came under increasing pressure to explain what they knew of sexually explicit messages from former Rep. Mark Foley of Florida to teenage pages.

More troubling for Republicans, the poll found that by a margin of nearly 2-to-1 likely voters says Democrats would be better at combatting political corruption than Republicans.

The Foley scandal, fueled by new revelations each day, has put Republican leaders and GOP candidates on the defensive, forcing them into a political detour just as they were preparing their final offensive against Democrats to save control of Congress.

At least one House Republican said Wednesday the GOP likely will lose control in November.

Four-term Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho, asked if he were confident about retaining the majority, said, ''Not confident.''

''It was pretty much a given in conventional wisdom six months ago that the House was gone, we'd lost the House,'' Simpson said in an interview with The Associated Press. ''In September we came back after August recess, conventional wisdom shifted we would lose three, four or five seats but would retain the majority. That was good until last Thursday. From Thursday, it went to fairly confident we were going to keep the majority to a real tossup.''

The poll also found that President Bush's efforts to depict the war in Iraq as part of a larger campaign against terrorism and to portray Democrats as weak on national security was not altering the political landscape.

Approval of Bush's handling of the war in Iraq was at 37 percent among likely voters, down slightly from 41 percent last month. Bush's rating on handling foreign policy and terrorism also fell slightly, from 47 percent last month to 43 percent this month.

Similarly, recent good news on the economic front -- from lower gas prices to a rising stock market -- did not appear to pierce through the public's downbeat view of the economy. Fifty-six percent of likely voters disapproved of Bush's handling of the economy, compared to 59 percent who held that view last month.

The poll of 741 likely voters, was conducted Monday through Wednesday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Overall, the president's and Congress' low approval ratings were essentially unchanged from last month. Among likely voters, 24 percent approved of the way Congress was handling its job and 39 percent approved of Bush's job performance.

================

Poor Yoni, owned every time he posts a message. http://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smilol.gif http://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smilol.gif http://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smilol.gif

The Repugs are fucked in every orifice. http://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smilol.gif

[Crookshanks]

More troubling for Republicans, the poll found that by a margin of nearly 2-to-1 likely voters says Democrats would be better at combatting political corruption than Republicans.

Anybody who believes that democrats would be better at combatting political corruption are idiots. Let's see - the democrats are the party that gave us Huey Long, Mayor Daly, Marion Barry, and, of course, Bill Clinton. The democrats are and always have been, the epitome of corruption. Back in the 80's, there was a congressman (I think his last name was Stupp or something like that) who was caught having gay sex with a young man. He was censured, but refused to resign. Instead, he gave a speech in the House, condemning those who had censured him. The house democrats gave him 3 STANDING OVATIONS!!!

Don't even talk to me about corruption unless you're willing to cite all the filthy, dirty democrats!

[Ocotillo]

I predict they both stay in Republican hands...maybe even with gains in both houses.



Not gunna happen. The Senate is a long shot. Dems will win the House and they will definitely make gains in the Senate but might fall just short.

Speaker Pelosi it is.

[ChumpDumper]

The Republicans: Possibly slightly less filthy and dirty than the Democrats

You should be a campaign manager.

[Dimm-O-Crap]

We will take the House and the Senate and we will start the IMPEACHMENT process!

[Ocotillo]

Well if some post Drudge rumors, guess I'll throw in some from Washington Monthly.

link (http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2006_10/009666.php)

RUMOR CENTRAL....Ray LaHood has publicly called for ending the congressional page program because "some members [of Congress] betray their trust by taking advantage of them." It seems like LaHood might be using the word some advisedly:

As the scandal over former congressman Mark Foley entered its sixth day, one Republican warned that there may even be further disclosures involving other politicians. "People are very, very concerned," said Representative Ray LaHood, an Illinois Republican. "They think there are going to be more disclosures."

Hmmm. A friend emailed this morning to say that he's heard "there are two more Republican members about to get swept up in this thing." Is LaHood hearing the same thing?

[Yonivore]

We will take the House and the Senate and we will start the IMPEACHMENT process!
Well, lookie here, Charles Rangel has joined the forum.

[Ocotillo]

The Republicans: Possibly slightly less filthy and dirty than the Democrats

You should be a campaign manager.

Not so far off, look at this (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15132240/) :


SCRANTON, Pa. - Rep. Don Sherwood, a Republican fighting for re-election in northeastern Pennsylvania, says in a TV ad that he is “truly sorry” for cheating on his wife but denies ever abusing the woman he had the affair with.

What a guy!! Family values and all.....

[ChumpDumper]

Not so far off, look at this (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15132240/) :


SCRANTON, Pa. - Rep. Don Sherwood, a Republican fighting for re-election in northeastern Pennsylvania, says in a TV ad that he is “truly sorry” for cheating on his wife but denies ever abusing the woman he had the affair with.

What a guy!! Family values and all.....Charges were never filed, but Ore sued Sherwood, claiming he had choked her. Sherwood apologized for the affair but denied abusing Ore. The suit was settled for an undisclosed sum.

How many standing ovations does that merit?

[JohnnyMarzetti]

We're back!! The repugs are starting to turn on each other faster than Foley can text message.

[clambake]

At least we all have a chance to find out if republicans are the high moral people they claim to be.

Go vote.

[Guru of Nothing]

Like I said, it's the security and the economy, stupid.

So, you support gay marriage?

[Nbadan]

When it rains, it pours

EXCLUSIVE: THREE MORE FORMER PAGES ACCUSE FOLEY OF ONLINE 'SEXUAL APPROACHES'


Three more former congressional pages have come forward to reveal what they call "sexual approaches" over the Internet from former Congressman Mark Foley.

The pages served in the classes of 1998, 2000 and 2002. They independently approached ABC News after the Foley resignation through the Brian Ross & the Investigative Team's tip line on ABCNews.com. None wanted their names used because of the sensitive nature of the communications.

"I was seventeen years old and just returned to when Foley began to e-mail me, asking if I had ever seen my page roommates naked and how big their penises were," said the page in the 2002 class.

The former page also said Foley told him that if he happened to be in Washington, D.C., he could stay at Foley's home if he "would engage in oral sex" with Foley.

ABC News (http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/10/three_more_form.html)

[Nbadan]

The Page's parents calls him a 'hero', well, maybe to some Liberals...

Page's family: Leave our 'hero' son alone
October 5, 2006


(CNN) -- The family of a Louisiana teenager who reported "sick" e-mails from former Rep. Mark Foley called their son a hero Thursday and said they want reporters to go away.

Foley resigned last week after Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a left-leaning watchdog group, posted some of the e-mails he exchanged with the former male page in 2005, who was then 16 and had worked for Rep. Rodney Alexander, a Louisiana Republican....

***

From the family's statement:

"There has been much media inquiry regarding our son and his time as a house page. Although our son bravely came forward with information regarding Congressman Foley, his experience as a House page was not marred by the kind of wrongdoing that appears to have occurred with respect to other House pages and Congressman Foley....

In the fall of 2005, as soon as Congressman Alexander became aware of the e-mails received by our son, he called us. He explained that his office had been made aware of these e-mails by our son and that while he thought the e-mails were overly friendly, he did not think, nor did we think, that they were offensive enough to warrant an investigation.

Rather, we asked him to see that Congressman Foley stop e-mailing or contacting our son and to otherwise drop the matter in order to avoid a media frenzy. He did so. If we had any other knowledge or evidence of potential impropriety, we would have asked for the matter to be treated differently. For instance, we were not aware of the instant messages that have come to light in the past few days.

These instant messages, which have only recently surfaced as a result of the news of the ambiguous e-mails received by our son, are separate matters...."

[George W Bush]

Heck of a job Foley! :tu

[Nbadan]

Meanwhile, your doing a heck of a job Denny...


The White House tried to distance President Bush from any political backlash from the page sex scandal Thursday, saying House Republicans were dealing with the matter and do not need to be told what to do.

Bush has not talked with embattled House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., or other members of the House GOP leadership, and has not tried to do so, presidential spokesman Tony Snow said.

"Everybody here wants the president to come in and tell the House how to do its business," Snow said, emphasizing that Congress and the White House are separate but coequal branches of government.

Las Vegas Sun (http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/bw-cong/2006/oct/05/100501673.html)

Separate but co-equal

:lmao

What planet is Tony Snow living on?

[boutons_]

"co-equal"

Tony didn't get the memo from dickhead! :lol

[Ocotillo]

Heck of a job Foley! :tu

Remember this photo Mr. President? It's of you and Foley and Brownie.

http://images.dailykos.com/images/user/3/bushbrownfoley.jpg

[George Gervin's Afro]

Well, lookie here, Charles Rangel has joined the forum.


I am hopeful to get Dick and Rummy under oath. There are a few questions that I would like for them to answer..under oath.

[Nbadan]

Q. Why doesn't mark foley use a bookmark?
A. He likes to bend over the pages.

:lol

[xrayzebra]

^^

Q. Why doesn't Clinton have a humidor for his cigars.

A. He has in tern's at the WH that will keep them moist for him.

[JoeChalupa]

:lmao

[PixelPusher]

http://pageabuse.cf.huffingtonpost.com/bush_consults_experts_sm.jpg

Yes, photoshop was involved (obviously) :spin

[ToughActinTinactin]

What the hell? I just heard that "The GOP claims Clinton had many chances to kill Foley throughout the '90s."

[ididnotnothat]

What the hell? I just heard that "The GOP claims Clinton had many chances to kill Foley throughout the '90s."

:lmao

[boutons_]

Lawmaker Saw Foley Messages In 2000

Page Notified GOP Rep. Kolbe

By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 9, 2006; 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."

( exactly. Those poor little, helpless Repug martyrs! The Dems and the entire press and, and the world!, are persecuting the Repugs. sniff sniff. The very same Repugs who witch-hunted the Clintons for 8 years, who financed Paula Jones into an impeachment, who swift-boated Kerry, etc, etc. "If you can't stand the heat, ...." )

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.

© 2006 The Washington Post Company

[xrayzebra]

^^boutons, Foley is no longer in the House. Or did
you forget. He resigned.

Now you still have Barney....want to talk about him?

[JoeChalupa]

Is Barney under investigation?

[Nbadan]

Foley Cruising in His BMW; Another Dorm Visit in 2000


A staff supervisor at the dorm for congressional pages intervened when former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) tried to pay the teens a nighttime visit in the summer of 2000, ABC News has learned.

The pages were having an informal "mixer" party in their dorm at the Tip O'Neil building behind the Capitol, according to a former page who was 17 at the time.

"It was a beautiful summer evening, and I recall Mr. Foley arriving in his blue Series 3 BMW convertible about 9:30 at night," the former page said. "Several of us saw him and went outside to chat."

...

"I would turn on my instant messenger, and he would be online at all hours of the day or night. The talk would quickly turn sexual," he said. He says Foley requested that he send photos of himself performing sexual acts.

ABC News (http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/10/foley_cruising_.html)

[Nbadan]

HOW ROVE TWISTED FOLEY'S ARM:


But when Foley's friend saw the Congressman again this spring, something had changed. To the source's surprise, Foley told him he would indeed be standing for re-election. What happened? Karl Rove intervened.

According to the source, Foley said he was being pressured by "the White House and Rove gang," who insisted that Foley run. If he didn't, Foley was told, it might impact his lobbying career.

"He said, 'The White House made it very clear I have to run,'" explains Foley's friend, adding that Foley told him that the White House promised that if Foley served for two more years it would "enhance his success" as a lobbyist. "I said, 'I thought you wanted out of this?' And he said, 'I do, but they're scared of losing the House and the thought of two years of Congressional hearings, so I have two more years of duty.'"

The White House declined a request for comment on the matter, but obviously the plan hasn't worked out quite as Rove hoped it would.

--Ryan Lizza TNR (http://www.tnr.com/blog/theplank?pid=47854)

[jman3000]

is it common practice for these congressman to enter an alcohol treatment center after they get caught in these messes? is it just to keep them from saying something stupid or is it to give the impression that the reason they fucked up was because they have a drinking problem? just noticing that they always seem to do that.

[boutons_]

"alcohol treatment"

nah, it's a type of asylum, a retreat to hide in, from the press and public.

[MelGibson]

Rehab has helped my see myself for who I really am.

[Zunni]

Rehab has helped my see myself for who I really am.
They convinced you in rehab that you're an Anti-Semite?

[ChumpDumper]

Foley's lawyer just announced that the name of Foley's alledged childhood abuser is....






....to be announced some other time. Apparently still alive, fwiw.

[boutons_]

Foley's a Repug, he's passing the blame to some priest decades ago, just like all Repugs and Yoni blame Clinton for all the world's ills, which the Repugs themselves have been incapable of affecting in 6 year.

[Ocotillo]

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post (http://thinkprogress.org/2006/10/18/milbank-16/) says rumors are swirling of a third page abuse by a Congressman involving a 16 year old girl. Hang on, it could get bumpy.

[George W Bush]

rumors are swirling

Was this on the inter-nets?

[xrayzebra]

Geee. Maybe when the dimm-o-craps get into power they can vote the
pension of Studd to his husband. Wouldn't that be sweet. Wonder where
Studd's teen-age lover is........I would say sucking hind tit, but that would
be taken wrong.

[Nbadan]

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post (http://thinkprogress.org/2006/10/18/milbank-16/) says rumors are swirling of a third page abuse by a Congressman involving a 16 year old girl. Hang on, it could get bumpy.

The liberal blogs are saying its likely Weller R-IL, until now his seat was a thug lock...

NEW PAGE SCANDAL BREAKING - Weller (R-IL)
by TheMadEph
Wed Oct 18, 2006 at 04:39:20 PM PDT


Gonna have to trust me on this, but I have fantastic information that Weller R-IL (11th District) is the next one coming down in the page scandal. Can't reveal source.

Look at his web page and picture though... he sort of looks like a leerer.

I will post on this shortly with more news... but start asking questions and this one will start to resonate....

As for me, remember I had the jump on the media when Sandra Day OcOnnor resigned... look it up if you want See Below

Daily Kos (http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/10/18/193920/94)

[PixelPusher]

The liberal blogs are saying its likely Weller R-IL, until now his seat was a thug lock...

NEW PAGE SCANDAL BREAKING - Weller (R-IL)
by TheMadEph
Wed Oct 18, 2006 at 04:39:20 PM PDT



Daily Kos (http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/10/18/193920/94)
Oh yeah? Well, blah blah blah dimm-o-craps blah blah, blah blah ba-ba-blah dimm-o-craps blah blah!

[ChumpDumper]

Geee. Maybe when the dimm-o-craps get into power they can vote the
pension of Studd to his husband. Wouldn't that be sweet. Wonder where
Studd's teen-age lover is........I would say sucking hind tit, but that would
be taken wrong.You could say he was legal and consenting at the time, but that wouldn't be as fun for you, would it?

[smeagol]

Don't people realize how stupid they look when they say things loike "Dim-o-craps", "Repugs", "Air Ameriscam", etc, etc, etc

[boutons_]

stupidity is in the eye of the beholder.

[Nbadan]

Priest Denies Having Sex With Foley


ROME (AP) - A priest acknowledged Thursday that he used to go naked in saunas with Mark Foley decades ago when the former congressman was a boy in Florida, but denied that the two had sex.

The Rev. Anthony Mercieca, speaking by telephone from his home on the Maltese island of Gozo, said a report in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune about their relationship was ``exaggerated.''

``We were friends and trusted each other as brothers and loved each other as brothers,'' Mercieca said. Asked if their relationship was sexual in nature, the priest replied: ``it wasn't.''

His comments came after the Florida newspaper published a story on Thursday that quoted him as saying in an interview that he had an inappropriate two-year relationship with Foley in the 1960s that included massaging the boy in the nude, but he did not specifically remember having sex.

Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6158012,00.html)

So "it depends on what the definition of" sex is?

[ChumpDumper]

Yeah, the priest "can't remember" if he had sex with Foley and -- surprise! -- blames his own drug problem!


From his home on the island of Gozo, near Italy, Anthony Mercieca described a series of encounters that he said Foley might perceive as sexually inappropriate.

Among them: massaging Foley while the boy was naked, skinny-dipping together at a secluded lake in Lake Worth and being naked in the same room on overnight trips.

One night, when Mercieca says he was in a drug-induced stupor, there was an incident he says he can't clearly remember that might have gone too far.

"I have to confess, I was going through a nervous breakdown," he said. "I was taking pills -- tranquilizers. I used to take them all the time. They affected my mind a little bit."

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061019/NEWS/610190725

[xrayzebra]

Hey, remember Clinton. It was only a blow job!

[ChumpDumper]

That's ALL you remember, Xbot.