The Foley Coverup Timeline
On Friday, Sept. 29, 2006, Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) resigned from Congress after ABC News published inappropriate emails and sexually explicit instant messages that Foley sent to underage boys.
Subsequently, it’s become clear that Congressional leadership “knew for months about e-mail traffic between Representative Mark Foley and a former teenage page, but kept the matter secret and allowed Mr. Foley to remain head of a Congressional caucus on children’s issues.” Here is a timeline of the coverup, based on published reports:
2000 — Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) informed of improper Foley Internet messages that made a page feel uncomfortable with the direction Foley was taking their email relationship. Kolbe claims he never personally confronted Foley, but rather recommended that the complaint be passed along to his office. [Washington Post, 10/9/06; Arizona Republic, 10/11/06]
2001 — A Republican staff member warns pages “to watch out for Congressman Mark Foley.” A former page says that they were told “don’t get too wrapped up in him being too nice to you and all that kind of stuff.” [ABC, 10/1/06]
2003 — Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) has sexually explicit IM exchanges with an underage boy who worked as a Congressional page. [ABC News, 9/29/06]
2003 — Foley’s former aide Kirk Fordham told The Associated Press that “when he learned 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,’ alluding to House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Hastert’s office denied the explosive allegations.” [CBS News, 10/5/06]
APRIL 2003 — Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) interrupts a House vote on the 2003 Iraq supplemental to “engage in Internet sex with a high school student who had served as a congressional page.” [ABC, 10/3/06]
SUMMER 2005 — Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) sends inappropriate emails to another former Congressional page. [CREW]
SEPTEMBER 2005 — Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-LA), who sponsored the page, learns “of the e-mails from a reporter.” [AP, 9/29/06; CQ, 9/30/06]
FALL 2005 — “Tim Kennedy, a staff assistant in the [Speaker J. Denis Hastert’s] Office, received a telephone call from Congressman Rodney Alexander’s Chief of Staff who indicated that he had an email exchange between Congressman Foley and a former House page…[Mike] Stokke [Deputy Chief of Staff for Speaker Hastert] called the Clerk and asked him to come to the Speaker’s Office so that he could put him together with Congressman Alexander’s Chief of Staff.” [Hastert Statement, 9/30/06]
LATE 2005 — Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), Chairman of the House Page Board, “was notified by the then Clerk of the House, who manages the Page Program, that he had been told by Congressman Rodney Alexander (R-LA) about an email exchange between Congressman Foley and a former House Page.” Shimkus interviewed Foley and told him “to cease all contact with this former house page.” He did not inform Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI), the only Democrat on the House page Board. [Roll Call, 9/29/06]
EARLY 2006 — Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-NY) talks Foley into running for another term. Bob Novak reported, “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.” [New York Post, 10/4/06]
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2006 — Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.), whose office first received the complaint from the page, told Boehner about Foley’s inappropriate e-mails, and Boehner sent him to Tom Reynolds. Alexander tells Reynolds about “the existence of e-mails between Mark Foley and a former page of Mr. Alexander’s.” Reynolds tells Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) about the emails and his conversation with Alexander. [Reynolds Statement, 9/30/06; Roll Call, 9/30/06; Hastert Statement, 9/30/06; Chicago Tribune, 10/3/06]
SPRING 2006 — House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) learns of “inappropriate ‘contact’ between Foley and a 16-year-old page” from Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-LA). After learning about Foley’s conduct, Boehner told Speaker of the House J. Denis Hastert who assured Boehner he would “take care of it.” Later, Boehner changed his story and told the Washington Post he didn’t remember whether he talked to Hastert. [Washington Post, 9/30/06; New York Times, 10/1/06]
SPRING 2006 — Reynolds says he told Hastert about the e-mails after he learned about them. “He said he alerted the Republican speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, to the issue, but Mr. Hastert said he had no recollection of the contact.” [The Sun, 10/3/06]
MAY 10, 2006 — Reynold’s personal PAC, TOMPAC, donates $5,000 to Foley’s campaign. [New York Daily News, 9/30/06]
JULY 21, 2006 — Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington forwarded the messages to the Federal Bureau of Investigation on July 21 and requested an investigation. [CREW, 10/5/06]
JULY 27, 2006 — Foley writes a $100,000 check to the NRCC, chaired by Reynolds. [New York Daily News, 9/30/06]
JULY 27, 2006 — Foley, still co-chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children’s Caucus, attends a signing ceremony at the White House for the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. [White House, 9/27/06; Talkingpointsmemo, 9/30/06; Washington Post, 10/1/06]
AUGUST 7, 2006 — The NRCC accepted a $100,000 contribution from Foley’s campaign committee. [FEC]
SEPTEMBER 28, 2006 — ABC publishes emails between Foley and former page. [ABC, 9/28/06]
SEPTEMBER 29, 2006 3:00 PM — Foley resigns. [ABC, 9/29/06]
SEPTEMBER 29, 2006 6:00 PM — ABC publishes sexually explict Instant Messages between Foley and several former pages. [ABC, 9/29/06]
SEPTEMBER 29, 2006 — “Aides to the speaker [Hastert] say he was not aware until last week of inappropriate behavior by Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., who resigned on Friday after portions of racy e-mail exchanges between him and current and former underage congressional pages became public.” [Chicago Tribune, 9/30/06]
SEPTEMBER 30, 2006 — Hastert admits he was told about the emails by Reynolds in the spring. [Hastert Statement, 9/30/06]
OCTOBER 1, 2006 — FBI opens “preliminary investigation” of Foley. “Officials say the FBI and Department of Justice lawyers are trying to determine how many such e-mails were sent, how many different computers were used and whether any of the teenage victims will cooperate in the investigation.” [ABC, 10/1/06]
OCTOBER 1, 2006 — Hastert urges Gov. Jeb Bush to initiate an investigation. “As Speaker of the House, I hereby request that you direct the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to conduct an investigation of Mr. Foley’s conduct with current and former House pages to determine to what extent any of his actions violated Florida law.” [Hastert letter, 10/1/06]
OCTOBER 4, 2006 — Former Foley aide and Reynolds’ chief of staff Kirk Fordham is fired. “People familiar with Fordham’s side of the story…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, 10/4/06]
OCTOBER 4, 2006 — House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) criticizes Hastert’s mishandling of Foley scandal, saying that “he would have handled [the Foley scandal] differently if he’d known about it.” “I think I could have given some good advice here, which is you have to be curious, you have to ask all the questions you can think of,” Blunt said. “You absolutely can’t decide not to look into activities because one individual’s parents don’t want you to.” [AP, 10/4/06]
OCTOBER 4, 2006 — Right-wing blogger Wild Bill outs a former congressional page. Roger L. Simon of Pajamas Media and Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit link to the post. [ThinkProgress, 10/5/06]
OCTOBER 5, 2006 — The Hill reports that the source who gave Foley’s emails to news media says the documents came from a congressional aide “who has been a registered Republican since becoming eligible to vote.” [The Hill, 10/5/06]
OCTOBER 8, 2006 — Former page says he and Foley engaged in sex. The LAT reports, “A former House page says he had sex with then-Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.).” The ex-page said his correspondence with Foley began after he finished the page program for high school juniors, but the sexual encounter occurred when he was 21 years old. “The former page’s exchanges with Foley offer a glimpse of possible predatory behavior by the congressman as he assessed male teenagers assigned as House errand-runners.” [LA Times, 10/8/06]
OCTOBER 9, 2006 — “Moving with unusual speed,” the House Ethics Committee start interviews in its probe of the Mark Foley scandal. Longtime Foley aide and former Reynolds chief of staff and Foley aide Kirk Fordham will be testifying. [WSJ, 10/9/06]
This is a rapidly developing story. Let us know what we missed in the comments section.
Sort Comments By: Top Rated | Date
Gosh, but he didn’t break any laws.
September 30th, 2006 at 11:52 pmSeems to me that republicans are the party of family values and have very high morals.
September 30th, 2006 at 11:52 pmBoy this scandal is getting bigger by the hour! One big question: Were any other GOP Representatives involved sexually with underage male or female Pages? Or is Foley the lone pervert in this scandal?
September 30th, 2006 at 11:53 pmThe chief question for me is, “was the GOP leadership aware of the full nature of Foley’s contacts with the Pages”?
There are serious discrepancies in what various GOP’ers have said on this matter, and what they’ve already said is damning. Still, I’m kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop, and for news to come out that the GOP House leadership knew this was more than a rumor about some “friendly” emails they never saw.
September 30th, 2006 at 11:54 pmnew guy,
October 1st, 2006 at 12:02 amI’m beginning to see a pattern.
What did Delay know? Since a lot of this happened while he was Majority Leader, I wonder if he had any involvement in the cover-up or was ever notified. Hopefully reporters will get to him for a statement.
Jamie
October 1st, 2006 at 12:03 amhttp://www.intoxination.net
What happened to new guy’s comments? And mine?
I admit it, mine was purely rude, but new guy was making an actual point with his comments!
October 1st, 2006 at 12:06 amJonathon–one item is that several pages were quoted, via ABC, as saying they’d “been warned to watch out for Foley” when they began their orientation, etc. I doubt that this was info shared only amongst pages–ie, Foley had a reputation for lewdness.
But I think your answer lies in their panic, frankly, and the discrepancies you mentioned.
October 1st, 2006 at 12:07 amThe Delay point is very, very smart.
October 1st, 2006 at 12:08 amHey nice a Republican cruising minors for three years. All of which occured during congressional sessions controlled by Republicans.
That is family values, responsibility, accountability and leadership baby!
October 1st, 2006 at 12:12 amDid DeLay know? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. That is soooo funny. Ummm, yeah he knew.
October 1st, 2006 at 12:18 amChisholm,
Very good points.
Right now, I’m sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop, and more former Pages to come forward with news they told GOP’ers about more than just a few friendly emails.
Zooey — my comments have, of late, been slow to show up. I wonder if the ThinkProgress commenting system is having problems.
October 1st, 2006 at 12:19 amTo all the tools who bag on Clinton, at least his partner was of age, oh yeah, and not a teenage boy.
October 1st, 2006 at 12:21 amJonathan,
I know TP has been having problems for a while now, but things are better. These comments were actually up for a few minutes, and then were deleted. Usually I have to use the f-word to get deleted…
October 1st, 2006 at 12:22 amRepublican Party is sacrificing our kids. They send the kids off to die in Iraq or to get molested by the senior leadership. The party of values is showing exactly what those values are. Perhaps they are being led by the devil. Wasn’t Satan supposed to appear as an angel of light?
October 1st, 2006 at 12:26 amSlow comments? You guys usually don’t see my pearls of wisdom on this site. cough cough. I am usually posting on David Corn’s web site but they tried to hack his site and he’s had to temporarily halt the comment section. Seems the REPUBLICAN POWERS THAT BE didn’t like his pictures of waterboarding. I think, I know off topic, I think a waterboard should be brought into the house and senate floor and placed where everyone can see it. They voted for it why not have a good look at what they voted for? I’d like to see them have to walk around that cumbersome torture device.
October 1st, 2006 at 12:28 amJeanne,
Hasn’t that happened to David Corn at least a couple of other times? He must be pissing someone off. :-)
October 1st, 2006 at 12:34 amHastert has an Iraq war veteran opposing him in Illinois. John Laesch is a young carpenter today, with a brother still in Iraq. He deserves a chance to bring new ideas and integrity to Illinois and the House of Representatives.
October 1st, 2006 at 12:41 amHastert, with his rubber stamping of Bush, and obscene growth of his personal wealth from inside information on real estate in Illinois, should be ousted.
This latest involvement in cover up of Rep. Foley is inexcusable.
The party of so called family values should have no place for offenders nor those who cover for them.
This is great! Heads are rolling because of the fallout from Abramoff and now Foley…After listening to Republicans say they were perfect for so many years it’s so much fun watching them self-destruct!
October 1st, 2006 at 12:58 amHow are they going to spin this one. Let’s see:
1> Foley was actually doing an undercover investigation, hoping to go deep into the bowel’s of on-line predators, by posing as one, and finally discovering that Islamo-fascists and Democrats are behind child exploitation. Once again, they’ll shout with indignancy that the irresponsible press has yet again, destroyed a crucial secret government operation by leaking it to the world, and tipping off the evil-doers. Al quaeda will back away from the kiddie-porn business thanking Allah for the wonderful work of the liberal press, particularly ABC.
2> Well, at least our guy wasn’t married! Bill Clinton cheated on his wife! Then he got in front of the cameras and he pointed his finger.. and (you know the rest..)
3> No one could argue with the fact that Representative Foley really LOVED children.
You know, as I’m reading my own letter, I’m thinking none of these spins are so far fetched that I I don’t expect to see them in the national media soon. Why not! They’ve put worse crap out there.
October 1st, 2006 at 1:02 amTune in tomorrow on Fox, waydot — you will surely hear some of them.
October 1st, 2006 at 1:07 amPlain and simple. The party of “family values” was more than willing to throw their supposed ideals out the window if it meant losing a seat in the House. If I were a fly on the wall, the conversation I heard would be “this is bad…real bad. But if we can keep it under wraps until after the mid-terms in 2006…or we might have to wait until the 2008 elections (since Foley would be running again.) If nobody leaks this, maybe we’ll NEVER have to deal with it.”
These people clothe themselves as “sheep”, but they are the ravening wolves.
October 1st, 2006 at 1:14 amRESPONSE TO “ForTruth” - “Gosh, but he didn’t break any laws.”
Yes he did. It is a felony to participate in sexual conversation or solicite sex with a minor over the Internet.
Haven’t you been watching ‘DATELINE - TO CATCH A PREDATOR”??
October 1st, 2006 at 1:16 amSince we’re on the subject of “IN THE CLOSET” FLORIDIAN POLITICIANS - FLORIDA’S REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR CANDIDATE CHARLES CRIST IS AN “IN THE CLOSET” HOMOSEXUAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now, the fact that he is Gay means NOTHING!
The fact that he is in the closet and represents the REPUBLICAN PARTY WHO DESPISES GAYS MEANS EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!
Charles Crist is divorced, has no children and is “IN THE CLOSET.” Just like fellow Florida Republican Mark Foley was a week ago.
YOU DO THE MATH!!!
October 1st, 2006 at 1:17 amFoley: Page me, boy.
October 1st, 2006 at 1:18 amComment by Beverly+S.+Hill
He was being sarcastic.
October 1st, 2006 at 1:20 amTomorrow, Exley will be here saying: it is most likely that this is all a lie from the liberal media and evil-Muslim-Al Qaeda-member- pagers.
October 1st, 2006 at 1:24 amBeverly,
I wouldn’t have a problem with Foley if he were simply gay. The problem is that, whatever his sexuality, he’s propositioning underage boys, and that’s a crime.
October 1st, 2006 at 1:25 amJuan,
Hasn’t it been a lovely troll-free day? :)
We should mark our calendars, because it won’t last.
October 1st, 2006 at 1:26 amWe should mark our calendars, because it won’t last.
Comment by Zooey
Yeah. It is so weird that Im beginning to make troll impressions, just for the amusement. Or would it be nostalgy ? :}
October 1st, 2006 at 1:32 amzooey - i’ll second that…
i have a busy day away tomorrow… i’ll be anxious to see how all this pans out… who shows up to try and spin any of it…
stay strong, level headed!
keep up the great commentary!
g’nite all !
October 1st, 2006 at 1:32 amhe’s propositioning underage boys, and that’s a crime.
Comment by Zooey
No, Zoo…he was just overfriendly. Just like guys in a topless bar.
October 1st, 2006 at 1:34 amLack of trolls on TP means that Karl Rove is unsure how to handle this problem! If the press really starts to dig, then they might discover that Rove and Mehlman visit Gay bars, and perhaps hit on 18 year old guys? Perhaps other GOP Representatives are involved in sex with underage Pages, or even an underground sex ring operation in DC trying to recruit male Pages for prostitution? My gut feeling tells me this is just the tip of an iceberg, and remember nobody in the GOP has explained why a male hooker Jeff Gannon hung out at the White House? Nobody has explained why the Secret Service had a log entry that said > Gannon entertains Tony Blair tonight? What the hell does that mean, since male escorts only do sex acts, not comedy!
October 1st, 2006 at 1:42 amJuan+C > read the transcripts of the Foley IMs with underage Pages > he talks dirty with them and says he wants to see them naked, or even pull their clothes off > he is a sexual predator!
October 1st, 2006 at 1:45 amOctober 6, 2006 (a late Friday afternoon)
Hastert Resigns.
::::
October 1st, 2006 at 1:50 amhe is a sexual predator!
Comment by Jay Randal
I havent read them, but I havent a doubt that he is what you say, Jay. I was being sarcastic.
October 1st, 2006 at 1:54 amJuan > if you want to read them, several blog sites are hosting the transcripts like PrisonPlanet.com and BuzzFlash and others have links! ABC News has some posted on their site too! Foley is caught red-handed solicitating sex from underage male Pages > in one IM the young guy says he will meet Foley in a couple weeks, if he can fool his parents or something! Very creepy and ABC says they have far worse IMs that are too vulgar to post online!
October 1st, 2006 at 2:06 amSo does this mean that Foley will now love instead of hate that damn ACLU and the NMBLA?? Oh wait, he was for the NMBLA before he was against it!
http://www.house.gov/ apps/ list/ press/ fl16_foley/ 072106senatesopass.html
Foley is certainly no genius..
October 1st, 2006 at 2:09 amYes Foley is a fortune teller!
I also notice Frist and Hatch are part of this debacle;
No they didn’t they help to hide this mans actions!
Can you say hypocrites of the Nth degree!!!
So much for the ‘moral majority’, eh?
October 1st, 2006 at 2:15 amSomething tells me, that what the Republicans have in mind when they focus on the family, is not quite what most American paerents have in mind.
October 1st, 2006 at 2:34 amI just put together this same timline.
According to Roll Call
http://www.rollcall.com/ issues/ 1_1/ breakingnews/ 15263-1.html
One source said Boehner told Alexander to go to Reynolds with his concerns about Foley’s behavior.
So if true, that would mean Alexander told Boehner in early Feb. 2006 (after Boehner became Majority Leader), because…
Roll Call also says that Alexander Told Reynolds in early Feb. 2006:
http://www.rollcall.com/ issues/ 1_1/ breakingnews/ 15260-1.html
GOP sources said Reynolds told Hastert earlier in 2006, shortly after the February GOP leadership elections. Hastert’s response to Reynolds’ warning remains unclear.
That would probably move up Boehner telling Hastert to Feb. 2006.
ALSO:
October 1st, 2006 at 4:08 amThe story that Alexander learned of the emails from a reporter is highly suspect. Most stories now say the Page contacted a former colleague, a staffer in Alexander’s office (maybe even the Chief of Staff). And while no article I have found says explicity that the staffer then told Alexander, that presumption is probably true.
Hey, don’t buy into this Terrorist Propaganda!!
And we all know that recieving a Blow Job from a consenting adult is a much much much greater offense.
All of them are going to walk away from this, as they ever do. The GOP will even win Foley’s district with his freaking name on the ballot.
October 1st, 2006 at 5:10 amAdd to time line via St Petersburg news Online
—
“The boy, who is not being identified because of his age, told the St. Petersburg Times in an interview last November, when the Times first learned of the e-mails, that he cut off correspondence with Foley.
“I thought it was very inappropriate,” the boy told the Times. “After the one about the picture, I decided to stop e-mailing him back.”
—
One must ask how could this newspaper sit on this story for since Nov 2005 ? Or was this going to be there October surprise.
October 1st, 2006 at 6:08 amFoley flew.
October 1st, 2006 at 7:02 amThe GOP knew.
Turk 182.
He knows how to work a crowd! When folks from Heritage Baptist Church made a visit to D.C., proudly documented on the church website, Foley took time from a very busy schedule to “interact with our children.” Never too soon to recruit some future congressional pages.
Wonder how long it will take the church to delete that photo (fourth one from the top)?
October 1st, 2006 at 7:03 amif mark foley is trying to seduce teenage boys, he is a hypocrite. it is right that he resigned. and he should be investigated. but just so you are aware, if mark had a (D) by his name, you would all be crying about the timing of this before the election, as a conspiracy.
October 1st, 2006 at 7:22 amThose of you wondering where the trolls are, I think I saw one of them eyeing some Sunday school boys at church today….in other words, the trolls are busy trolling.
Seriously how DO you spin this story? Although I have heard one attempt. The tired, old conspiracy theory of…”It’s suspious that this came out as an election approaches.” As if even if true, that Foley is still not a perv.
What gets me about this? The fact that gerrymandering all over the country will probably save the seats for Republicans and Hastert will probably still will win his seat (if he isn’t forced to resign out of embarassment).
Due to the fact that ballots in Florida have already been printed, Foley’s name will be on the ballot and the Republican that runs instead of Foley will receive votes made for Foley. That could be positive to that future Repug candidate because mindless voters will probably still want to vote for Foley. I’d be suprised if half the Republican voters in that district on election day would even know that Foley had resigned.
October 1st, 2006 at 8:32 amAaaaahhhhhhhh……..
No more stories about Katrina ……
No more stories about Darfur ……
No more stories about poverty ……
Are there any Dems left in this race?
October 1st, 2006 at 8:33 amThinkProgress is deleting comments.
October 1st, 2006 at 8:42 amThinkProgress ignores Habeas Corpus.
ThinkProgress does not ignore sex stories.
Most Americans see the issue clearly: right is right and wrong is wrong. You can say, “Yeah, but…” all you want if you think that helps take the edge off the allegations. But people expect leaders to exercise judgment and common sense. If a congressional leader knew another member was initiating inappropriate contact with a child, regardless of party affiliation, that leader had an obligation to put the safety of the child first, above any partisan consideration. Turning a blind eye may be convenient, but it’s not right.
The fact is that the GOP leadership knew of the unwelcome and inappropriate contact, didn’t look too closely and now realizes it should have taken the information more seriously. I’m sure everyone from Rove on down wishes Foley was a Democrat, you don’t really have to say that. And generally I agree with the GOP that it’s fun to play partisan games for points and profits. But in the case of the welfare and safety of children, I think we have a responsibility to address the issue responsibly. Why wasn’t the response more effective, how can we implement better protections for children? Since the GOP controls the Congress, the duty falls on them to get to work on this.
October 1st, 2006 at 8:48 am#50, Jim Source,
Everyone agrees his actions were wrong, but what are the typical processes used to handle these circumstances. Per Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House, the incident was processed through the typical channels, and per the request of the parents, was kept quiet. Moreover, since it was a gay incident, they were hesitant to take more severe action, because they didn’t want to be accused of gay bashing. Upon being caught in a second offense, Foley immediately resigned, knowing that he would have been dismissed by the Reps.
October 1st, 2006 at 9:22 am#20
October 1st, 2006 at 9:34 amwaydot,
You don’t have the Republican mindset. The ’spin’ will be…it was the kid’s fault. He encouraged the emails. He put thoughts in Foley’s head.
Wow, the Clinton interview is really working against the Dems - consider yourselves “helped”.
October 1st, 2006 at 9:44 amSeriously, is it any wonder how the congress could vote for a torture bill? They were willing to hide a pedophile. Not only do they have no scruples, they have no soul. Who doesn’t protect a kid in your own midst?
October 1st, 2006 at 9:49 am“Where there’s smoke, there’s always fire” (profound one for a Sunday morning) However, true to the adage, there is no doubt that more potential victims or outright victims will appear on the radar. Rove’s probably busy attempting to establish just “how many” skeletons might come jumping out of the GOP closet at this point so he’s pretty mute. (Absence of paid trolls on this site indicates as much)
Fortunately or unfortunately, as the case may be for the kids involved, there’s really no political way to “spin” pedophilia…at least as far as I know. It is something which most adult abhore and will upset any “october surprise” Rovey might have had in the works. I guess it’s now the “reverse October surprise”??
If we hold our teachers accountable to report suspected child abuse IMMEDIATELY to the authorities, what were these illustrious elected officials “sitting on this for so long” before reporting it appropriately????
Should we not hold our elected officials to the same measure of responsibility as we hold our teachers???
Should this not be considered an amoral standard of practice by the individuals who knew about it (Hastert, Boehner, etc.)? It certainly sounds that way to me.
This current “culture of corruption” in Washington, in general, and within the innermost circles of the GOP, specifically, bespeaks a level of decadence yet heretofore unprecedented in this country. When are the people going to say “enough already”?????
October 1st, 2006 at 9:50 am…or perhaps more accurately, the GOP reply will be “the devil made him do it”….sulphur, anyone?
October 1st, 2006 at 9:51 amYou guys dont get it. Under the twisted logic of the Bush regime if you oppose Foley you are anti-american and for the terrorists since by extension Foley is an ardent supporter of the regime’s policies. Your rights to habeas corpus could be suspended because you are against a child molester!! Only in America.
October 1st, 2006 at 10:10 am#55 This current “culture of corruption†in Washington, in general, and within the innermost circles of the GOP, specifically, bespeaks a level of decadence yet heretofore unprecedented in this country. When are the people going to say “enough already�????
Short of an armed revolution or military coup the status quo will prevail in the country regardless of the outcome in the Nov election. The system may not be broken fundamentally but it will take a major cleansing to renew the vigor and trustworthiness that the founding fathers envisioned for our country.
October 1st, 2006 at 10:23 amfoley’s actions and the subsequent cover-up directly embolden our enemies
October 1st, 2006 at 11:24 am#51 Great post.
Okay, let’s go over the talking points. The one about the parents wanting to keep it quiet is your strongest. I would wrap myself around that one just as tightly as possible. Play it this way: The GOP leadership dearly wanted to address the issue, but the parents didn’t want them to do anything for fear of embarrassing the boy (but use the term ‘young man’ - makes him sound older). The parents weren’t making a big deal about it, so the GOP leadership didn’t realize the implications. The parents just wanted Foley to stop contacting the young man, and, after the GOP leadership gave him a stern talking to, he knocked it off. It plays into the concept that parents should be the ones who decide issues for their kids. The Congress can’t tell parents how to raise their children, that’s their business.
The point about just following procedures is not quite as strong. Better to say the response was appropriate given the information the leadership had at the time. NOW, with new information thanks to our sainted news media, we see that his behavior was bad, bad, bad - not just overly friendly. That’s a keeper phrase by the way. “All we knew was that he was overly friendly.” Yeah, like a funny uncle, bothersome but harmless. Hammer on that point.
Your lead point, that the GOP wanted to avoid creating a hostile climate for gays, is really weak. First of all, nobody will believe it. Secondly, gays are bad (even Republican gays). And saying that the GOP leadership was afraid of getting criticized for gay bashing, well, that point needs a little work. The GOP is proud of its record of fighting the culture war. After all, it’s the most important issue facing America. I would drop this line of argument and stick with my strong points.
Glad we cleared that up. U S A, U S A, U S A . . .
October 1st, 2006 at 11:36 amI wrote a letter to the editor of the most popular suburban Chicago newspaper (Hastert’s area) and expressed my outrage that they, once again, have shown their true Republican bias. Not only did they fail to mention Hastert’s involvement in the Foley cover up, they failed to cover the Foley story at all!
October 1st, 2006 at 11:41 amThey don’t cover John Laesch who is running against Hastert.
They didn’t report Duckworth’s response to the Bush radio address yesterday.
This is a glaring example of why the corrupt Republicans continue in power, the media is complicit, aiding them every step of the way, by keeping the general public uninformed.
pgw,
October 1st, 2006 at 11:54 amI know you were being facious about aiding the enemy but actually the Muslim fanatic line is that godless America is engaged in a crusade against righteous Muslims, ergo Foly’s godless actions and the Republican leadership coverup support their claims
#52 Jeanne,
October 1st, 2006 at 12:03 pmI can’t believe I forgot that one. Thanks.
The problem as I see it is that the Republicans have had a lock on power for so long now they have become arrogant and self serving. The most constructive action that could be taken by all of us that appose there lock on power is to remind every friend , acquaintance , co-worker, the guy at the 7-eleven, anyone we might meet that they must vote for there Democratic candidate even if that candidate is not there perfect choose, remind them that without a Democratic majority in one of the houses the cover-ups will continue.
E-mail E-mail E-mail
October 1st, 2006 at 12:20 pmThe “Do Nothing” Congress strikes again! I bet they are kicking themselves for that now. The fact that so many people were aware of this is especially damning. They shold have had the NSA spying on him, to make sure he stopped sending those e-mails. At the very least they should have removed him as Chairman of that caucus, but that didn’t happen either. Ah well, live and learn… or not.
October 1st, 2006 at 12:25 pmThe transcript:
http://americablog.blogspot.com/foleychatim.jpg
October 1st, 2006 at 12:55 pmI am no friend of the GOP, but the emails I saw COULD be innocent enough. Asking for a photo could just mean he has a bad memory for faces and is worried that he might see the kid again in Congress and not recognise him. I say could… Of course I don’t know for sure, but it’s slippery ground for a witchhunt.
October 1st, 2006 at 1:56 pmOK, here’s my problem with this. If it had been anyone but a politician he would have be dragged out by the police and we would have seen film on the news.
Instead, he’s allowed to resign and walk out.
This members of Congress are better than everyone else is getting really old.
He should be sitting in jail along with Hastert for covering this up.
October 1st, 2006 at 2:30 pm[…] WaPo detailed the chain of event leading up to Foley’s disgrace and concluded, “Republicans appeared to have kept the matter under wraps.” ThinkProgress has a timeline of the alleged cover-up. […]
October 1st, 2006 at 3:17 pmFoley was stupid. He should have known you can only have gay sex with a page and stay in office if you are a Democrat from MA. Otherwise, you’ll always get kicked out.
October 1st, 2006 at 3:42 pmWOW-What an interesting bunch of posts-Amerika is not ready for the truth-The Repewblicans gave us Watergate, Monicagate, Iraq, Roberts, Scalia and Scalito, Tom Delay and now this. But many people will say-”Hey-no big deal” Clinton did……
It has been said that “no-one ever lost money underestimating the American public.” No doubt Faux news will spin this like a yo-yo and Shrub will have nothing to say. The Supreme Court of the US is being reminded ever day of their obscene dereliction of their duty to be fair and just when they handed the election to their friends. As a seventy- one year old Korean War Veteran I am ashamed of my country and of the people who think that bush is a great president.Those who are interested can look up the definition of what a Foley is.
Peace out Brothers and Sisters!!
October 1st, 2006 at 8:08 pm[…] Think Progress » The Foley Coverup Timeline [I]t’s become clear that Congressional leadership “knew for months about e-mail traffic between Representative Mark Foley and a former teenage page, but kept the matter secret and allowed Mr. Foley to remain head of a Congressional caucus on childrenâ (tags: politics) […]
October 1st, 2006 at 8:32 pmI wish I could post something witty and original, but I can’t… I’m disusted, just disgusted…..
October 1st, 2006 at 8:41 pmKinda affirms that many Republicans are closet gays. Explains why they are so damn scared of homosexuals.
October 1st, 2006 at 10:32 pm[…] Exhibit D: Mark Foley The Foley Coverup Timeline courtesy of Think Progress […]
October 1st, 2006 at 10:35 pmThere are many other Tom Foley’s in the Congress and Senate. Our elected leaders simply feel they will never get caught. What an embarassment to think that Foley was suppose to protect kids, but instead was having affairs with who knows how many male teens.
His public statements are a disgrace and voters are completely naive when it comes to how personal lifestlyes cloud political decisions. If elected leaders are dishonest about their personal lives, they also lack the will to make proper decisions when it comes to decisions made for the good of the country.
Richard Markland
October 2nd, 2006 at 8:52 amQ: Why doesn’t Rep. Foley use bookmarks?
A: He just bends over the pages.
Somebody had to say it.
October 2nd, 2006 at 9:32 amMr. Speaker, You Must Resign…
This Foleygate story is shifting so quickly, I don’t know where to begin. But I’ll take a stab at it.
October 2nd, 2006 at 9:34 amDennis Hastert, Speaker of the House of Representatives, you must resign.
Here’s the backstory:
The deviant and reckless conduc…
#76 Richard.. you nailed it.
This is yet another example of one hand washing the other. As this story will get investigated further, other pages will come forward. There will be glaring facts many Congressional leaders new of it, but did nothing. What you will not hear is the ‘why’ no action was taken to stop it. The ‘why’ is that everyone that could have stop it earlier probably has some ‘dirty laundry’ themselves. When you start a public investigation of a Congressional leaders personal life, you never know where the magifying glass will stop. They were afraid to expose themselves of similar ‘moral lapes.’
The best way for Republicans to spin this will be to bring up a some crisis so that the American public can be blinded by fear once again. Remember Gary Condit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Condit) benifited from the tragedy of 9/11.
October 2nd, 2006 at 9:55 amFeeling bummed out, I was listenning to the Randi Rhodes show after the 2004 elections and she said †don’t move to Canada yet, these neocons will shoot themselves in the foot sooner or later†she was prophetic, theirs a whole lot of republican body parts missing. Speaking of shooting, some pellets adorn the face of a unnamed lawyer courtesy of our VP. Take a look at Crain’s NY Business September 18 - 24, 2006 issue, “Conservative malaise hurts Fox news†they are losing viewers by double digits. This no Spin Factor. Keep hope and live, get out and do something!
October 2nd, 2006 at 11:35 am# 27, Juan+C…..You and Zooey miss me when I am gone, don’t you? That’s sweet…Okay, well, you can relax. I am back.
Alas, Juan, you couldn’t be more wrong. Foley is a vile and odious human being; morally depraved pervert who should be investigated by the House and the FBI. If anyone in the House leadership knew of his sexually explicit e-mails to teenage pages and did nothing, they should step down.
October 2nd, 2006 at 11:42 amThis is really sick. We send our children (boys or girls) away to Congress and provide them a privileged opportunity to sit at the feet of the nations lawmakers at the historic and hallowed halls of justice and at the very foundation of all that makes these United States stand tall among the peoples of the world only to risk their being sent back to us sexually aroused, emotionally distorted, corrupted, with a warped perspective and even raped.
America? Nahh! Lock the creeps up and throw away the sabres used to behead them!!
As the father of children, I thank God that this is not America as I know it and that my children have first class relationships (i.e. their father, mother, pastor) to rely upon as role models and heroes. But this opportunity is not one that I would comfortably allow my children to be a part of. This is soooo disgusting and I hurt for the children and their families that had to experience this mess.
–A concerned Dad
October 2nd, 2006 at 11:57 am[…] The apparent cover-up and scrambling that is going on around Rep. Foley’s resignation around charges of having sexually explicit instant messages with a house page is hot news. You can get a pretty good timeline over at Think Progress. […]
October 2nd, 2006 at 11:59 am[…] From the reports I’ve been seeing, thus far we’ve got at least four members of the House who knew: Dennis Hastert (R-IL), John Boehner (R-OH), John Shimkus (R-IL), and Rodney Alexander (R-NY). And those are the ones who have come to light after less than a week. I anticipate the names of even more members of the House are going to be discovered and I anticipate the majority of them are going to be Republicans. […]
October 2nd, 2006 at 12:44 pmrelax everyone. you forget
October 2nd, 2006 at 1:10 pmIOKIYAR! (It’s Ok If You’re a Republican)
For the record I believe that Foley’s behavior in all regards was completely and utterly reprehensible and that there is no worse crime than one committed against a child. That being said please forgive me for playing devils advocate.
The age of consent in D.C. is 16.
October 2nd, 2006 at 1:59 pmThe teens in question were not, if I am correct, currently employed at the capitol when contacted by Foley.
So really any illegality is entirely dependant on the age of consent law for the state the teens were in at the time.
This might be a case of sexual harassment if the conversations were not welcomed by the teens; however, if it was not discouraged…
Exactly what is the bases for this being a crime aside from our moral indignation? As a nation of varied faiths and moral backgrounds we have to set laws that are best for the average, the whole, not by one moral compass. While most people will surely be outraged at this behavior is that enough for this to be a crime? Was someone deprived of their rights or liberties because of his actions? Harm should be the determining factor in a crime and exactly what harm has been done? So perhaps the real crime isn’t that he has a thing for teens but that he may have abused the powers of office.
Personally I am outraged at the lies and deceit overall moreso the other improprieties, although lies from a politician shouldn’t be a surprise anymore.
Now that we have lost all our Constitutional rights, I suppose the administrartion will arrest Foley’s victims rather than the perpetrator. Each one of us might be on a “list”. Even worse than this cover up, is the fact that this Republican
October 2nd, 2006 at 2:29 pmCongress has passed bills that have undermined our entire Democracy. The passage of the “torture/habeous corpus bill is nearly the final straw. Anyone can be arrested on suspician of being a terrorist and detained permanently, without trial. To worry about Foley’s sexual inappropriatness is a waste of time. There are many more really important issues to consider. Do your homework and don’t get sidetracked (as we were by the Clinton scandal.) Big issues require big responses.
You all know if it had been any of us on the street..We’d be in jail. Our family home burned to the ground and our wife and children driven fomr the community!
It’s amazing how many of these fat bastards run to rehab, proclaiming god and repentance all the way, only to come back and reclaim what wrongfully belonged to them int he first place.
He should be dragged kicking and screaming to JAil. Put him in a cell with Tyrone and Bubba (two lonely inmates at out local Federal Penn) and turn the lights out..He can take lots of pictures then!
October 2nd, 2006 at 2:43 pmMy students were interested by all of this, and noted that Boehner is almost a local boy, plus that Ney and others of the GOP are getting a good bit of heat, though for other reasons. Apparently Ohio isn’t the has-been that some think!
October 2nd, 2006 at 4:05 pm[…] Better still, they've known about this sort of behavior for at least 10-11 months, if not several years. It's starting to sound less and less like spin and damage control and more and more like a coverup (timeline). […]
October 2nd, 2006 at 4:13 pmAlright- just to clear this up, being “gay” has nothing to do with being a pedophile. Just because his intended victims are male, does not mean he’s gay and off the reservation. As a former probation officer that supervised sex offenders, i can tell you this is the most common and dangerous misconception. There are many married guys that are pedophiles and target children. He’s a PEDOPHILE. Nothing to do with being gay, and worrying about “gaybashing” versus tolerating child predation…..it’s just a smokescreen. Gay people are attracted to age appropriate and consenting gays. This is total BS.
October 2nd, 2006 at 5:00 pmHey “For truth”
If Mark Foley didn’t break any laws why did Denis Hasbert cover it up just to win an election.
Tony Snow said that worse things go on on Capitol Hill. I think Dateline ought to set up a house near the capitol and see just how many pedophiles are in Congress.
Denis Hasbert classified those IM’s & e mails as “overly friendly”
I don’t understand how the Republicans can say that pedophilia is “just a pleasure of the flesh” How can anyone condone this sick act. Mark Foley took a underage page to Hughes steak house, took him cruising in his BMW convertible after the page got permission from his mother and the overseer of the Congressional Pages.
Rep Hastert knew what knid of person Rep. Foley was. So did Rep. Reynolds but they allowed him to perve that page in ways the kid is not aware of.
Of all the places to worry about sending your kids, Capitol Hill shouldn’t be a place you should have to worry if they are going to be safe.
October 2nd, 2006 at 5:31 pm[…] House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s home page was scrubbed this morning, and no longer brags of the Congressman’s fight to keep children safe in cyberspace. Can’t say that I blame him. Think Progress also offers a timeline of the Foley scandal. posted by John at 6:28 pm […]
October 2nd, 2006 at 6:26 pm[…] Of course, this is an election year, and we’re nearly a month away from Election Day, so the liberal media and their Democrat lackeys are using this scandal as an opportunity to call for the resignation of every Republican in Congress, all because a detailed timeline of events indicates that high-ranking Republicans like Rep. Shimkus were informed about ex-Rep. Foley’s actions nearly a year ago. Rep. Christopher Shays, who like his fellow Connecticutian Joe Lieberman is a Republican in name only, has demanded that other congressmen step down: Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) said any leader who had been aware of Foley’s behavior and failed to take action should step down. “If they knew or should have known the extent of this problem, they should not serve in leadership,†he said over the weekend. […]
October 2nd, 2006 at 8:21 pmFoley’s actions, soliciting sex with minors, are crimes and covering them up makes House Republican leaders part of the crimes.
Let the impeachments begin!
October 2nd, 2006 at 8:55 pmWho would have thought , last week, that we would have come to this? What a World. One week man ! Jeez..
October 2nd, 2006 at 11:23 pmGOP, doesn’t that stand for Grand Old Pervert… or Predator?
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:52 amA parents most fear nightmare has happened again.
A person in power, a co-chair of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, has taken advantage of an innocent child.
In theory, anything innocent can be corrupted.
There should be another memorial for Adam Walsh because of the disrespect Foley has brought on his memory.
What is even worse is how the RNCC will go to lengths to keep ABC from reporting news.
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:21 amThe repo party is bringing itself down with continued conrruption
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:22 amIs it just me or is it a bit sad that after committing the gravest of crimes against humanity (an aggressive war), indefinitely incarcerating numerous people kidnapped for bounty payments, torturing prisoners, running up the biggest deficit in history, raising the level of pork-barrell politics to unprecedented levels, failing to come to the aid of people suffering from a catastrophic disaster and generally making the U.S. an international pariah that this government is in danger of going down because of a paltry sex scandal?
If that is the only thing that excites the Republican “base” and they are so numerous that this is the only way to unseat this government that is a sad sad state of affairs on many levels.
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:36 amwas watching scarborough country and pat buchanon in response to scarborough saying something like “how do you think having a pedaphile in the gop leadership will effect the election?”
Buchanon responded something like “pedaphile might be a little strong, we’re talking about a 16 year old, not a 9 year old.”
Guess they have different standards of what constitutes pedaphilia in conservative circles.
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:47 amthe act was obscene, whether there was phsyical contact or not. Gathering all the details the pattern for cover-up is apparent. As observers we must not focus on the How as much as we must focus on the WHY?
Why did the GOP hold a pedifile in it ranks for such a long time? To hold on to their majority hold? How far up the ladder does this go? Who knew about this and when will determine the level of deceit that this adminstration has been hiding.
It is amazing that this information is coming out during the winter recess after key legislation was pass. How very apporpriate.
October 3rd, 2006 at 9:08 amAbsolute Power Corrupts Absolutley. Remember that the next time someone tells you one party should control all three branches of our government.
Most of us our Independents at heart wanting the good parts of both Democrats and Republicans to show thru when they recieve the majority. Isn’t it amazing how the politicians screw it up every time.
God Bless America.
It seems that he is the only one who cares.
October 3rd, 2006 at 11:19 amRepublican morality is about having a “clean” public face, and being truly
shameful in private. Thats what they really mean by family values. Sex isn’t
shameful even rough nasty dirty sex. Whats shameful is true exploitation
from a position of true power. Adult taking advantage of a child, boss taking
advantage of an employee, etc.
Lets see more good olde fashioned consentual adult on adult sex, and less
October 3rd, 2006 at 12:15 pmof this crap.
Just intercepted message from the white house–
Attention all republicans we need a new fall guy to isolate top staff on this
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:36 pmone. Now taking volunteers but if it comes to it we’ll pick names.
How long before these pages are named as freedom haters and shipped off to Gitmo?
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:38 pm[…] Think Progress […]
October 3rd, 2006 at 5:42 pmHard-hitting coverage in the Speaker’s hometown paper. :-/
“What we did is exactly what we had planned to do if there was this type of situation,” Hastert said. …
Hastert noted that he was not informed about the e-mail because he was more concerned at the time with making sure Hurricane Katrina funding was going to the right places
October 4th, 2006 at 6:44 amPeople are talking about the age of consent, and as far a legality thats important. Colorado has a law that says if the kid is under 21 and you are more than 10 years his senior it’s a crime again. I don’t know if DC has anything like that, but no one is mentioning it. This was a sick man abusing power to advance his ends. I have a 17 year old son and he could be misled by a mentor or someong in authority. Its wrong if not illegal.
I saw a message supposedly sent while he was in session and voting. It was encouraging a teenager to come to his house with a friend to drink. That is wrong AND illegal… AND makes my skin crawl.
The leadership knew and were more concerned with keeping his seat than raising any political stink by investigating. They didn’t even limit his participation in the page program. They were beyond negligent. Their inaction is beyond comprehension.
LEADERS?
October 4th, 2006 at 11:35 amWhichever of you said this was “funny” needs to get yer freakin’ head examined. Just so you know pedophilia is not funny, it destroys people’s lives and make it impossible for some to live “normal” ones.
In all your callous glee maybe you should think about all the damaged people left behind by tragic events such as these.
October 4th, 2006 at 2:49 pmI find it disturbing to know that a politician who was an advocate for child protection from sexual predators is actually involved in such a case. Even more disturbing is the fact that that he was present at the signing of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. People like this should not be in office and should be required to seek professional help. The worse part of this is that he didn’t break any laws! Why aren’t there laws to protect kids from people like this????
October 4th, 2006 at 3:16 pmHow Low will Fox news go to protect the Republican Party. Check out their latest picture of Mark Foley. He is listed as a democrat from Florida. Is this what Fox News thinks of the intelegence of the American people?
October 4th, 2006 at 4:41 pmTh. October 5, 2006
At this afternoon’s news conference outside his home in Illinois, Speaker Haster, stated that he only found out about the Foley email scandal on Friday 9/29.
Yet, your time line shows that Hastert, after first denying it, admited that Rep. Tom Reynolds had alerted him on this matter in the Spring:
SEPTEMBER 30, 2006 — Hastert admits he was told about the emails by Reynolds in the spring. [Hastert Statement, 9/30/06]
So, Hastert either lied then, or is lying now. Would TIME magazine please provide an unedited transcript of the Speaker’s news conference, including the Q & A segment on your web site.
Also, Richard Vigueri, who has also changed his tune, after speaking to Hastert, says “He believes him, “because Hastert is an honest man”.
The facts are the facts. Honest! HA!! The man is a coward and a scoundrel.
Danka,
A. F. Nariman
October 5th, 2006 at 6:59 pmIt’s obvious that our country is in serious trouble. This Foley thing should be vigoriously investigated and anyone found to know of Foley’s actions and not taking action on the information, should be arrested, charged and given their day in court. Foley should have already been arrested and charged, just like the regular pedofiles they catch on Dateline.
October 6th, 2006 at 3:41 pmFurthermore, I think this “party” thing is a joke. Dem, Repub… I don’t see much difference. They say different things but their actions say different. Why can’t we be Americans first and do our research on candidates, then vote for the person who is best for the job?? If we don’t wake up and become involved in one of our most sacred rights, voting, we are giving away our say in government and with that, our rights. Tell me this, if it was put on the ballott and the people voted on it, would we still have prayer in our schools?
The people are the moral majority, not the republicans, not the democrats, why are we letting judges legislate from the bench the things we should be allowed to vote on? Notice I said “allowed”. We are not given a choice in the matter. It’s up to the lawyers and a judge, not the will of the people. If this infuriates you as it does me, please, please, get involved in the voting process, research the candidates, vote for the right person for the job. If Americans will do this, I believe we can take back this country we all love so much.
My one comment is this:
Why now??
This has been known since before 2001. This story could have hit the friendly newstands before 9/11. Why did so many people sit on this until now, and then
Why now??
October 10th, 2006 at 11:19 pm[…] has been updated. Check it out HERE. Let us know if there’s something we missed. 2:57 pm | Comment (0) […]
October 11th, 2006 at 2:57 pmI understand that you dont want to get too far out, but some reports indicate at least some warnings as early as 1995. I guess these would qulalify as pre-”coverup” since there is no indication they were brought to the attention of the House staff or any congressman.
Ex-page from S.D. was warned about Foley
Republican staffers had raised red flag in 1995
By Dana Wilkie
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
1995: Pages Were Warned About Foley. “In 1995, male House pages were warned to steer clear of a freshman Republican from Florida, who was already learning the names of the teenagers, dashing off notes, letters and e-mails to them, and asking them to join him for ice cream, according to a former page.” [Washington Post, 10/4/06]
1996: Foley Suggested That He and An Intern Get Together at Republican Convention. “Beck-Heyman, who was a Republican page and is now a Democrat, said the attention was ‘weird,’ and he provided a handwritten letter that Foley sent him after the page left WashingtonCalifornia. The note suggested that they get together during the Republican National Convention in San Diego in 1996.” [Washington Post, 10/4/06]
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15132294/
1997: Tyson Vivyan was a congressional page from 1996 to 1997. Now 26, he tells NBC News that he knew Fla. Rep. Mark Foley somewhat during his brief Washington stay, but not well. It wasn’t until after he finished the congressional program and returned home to Tennessee, he says, that Foley began reaching out to him. Vivyan says that he began receiving instant messages in 1997 from someone with the moniker “maf54,” and that the messages were almost immediately sexual in nature.
Vivyan says he soon deduced that the mystery writer was Foley, and got the congressman to concede this online. Vivyan says he was 17 at the time, and not at all interested in a sexual relationship with the much older Foley. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15132294/
October 11th, 2006 at 3:11 pmTHOSE IN GLASS HOUSES……
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid collected a $1.1 million windfall on a Las Vegas land sale even though he hadn’t personally owned the property for three years, property deeds show.
In the process, Reid did not disclose to Congress an earlier sale in which he transferred his land to a company created by a friend and took a financial stake in that company, according to records and interviews.
The Nevada Democrat’s deal was engineered by Jay Brown, a longtime friend and former casino lawyer whose name surfaced in a major political bribery trial this summer and in other prior organized crime investigations. He’s never been charged with wrongdoing _ except for a 1981 federal securities complaint that was settled out of court.
Land deeds obtained by The Associated Press during a review of Reid’s business dealings show:
_The deal began in 1998 when Reid bought undeveloped residential property on Las Vegas’ booming outskirts for about $400,000. Reid bought one lot outright, and a second parcel jointly with Brown. One of the sellers was a developer who was benefiting from a government land swap that Reid supported. The seller never talked to Reid.
_In 2001, Reid sold the land for the same price to a limited liability corporation created by Brown. The senator didn’t disclose the sale on his annual public ethics report or tell Congress he had any stake in Brown’s company. He continued to report to Congress that he personally owned the land.
_After getting local officials to rezone the property for a shopping center, Brown’s company sold the land in 2004 to other developers and Reid took $1.1 million of the proceeds, nearly tripling the senator’s investment. Reid reported it to Congress as a personal land sale.
The complex dealings allowed Reid to transfer ownership, legal liability and some tax consequences to Brown’s company without public knowledge, but still collect a seven-figure payoff nearly three years later.
Reid hung up the phone when questioned about the deal during an AP interview last week.
The senator’s aides said no money changed hands in 2001 and that Reid instead got an ownership stake in Brown’s company equal to the value of his land. Reid continued to pay taxes on the land and didn’t disclose the deal because he considered it a “technical transfer,” they said.
They also said they have no documents proving Reid’s stake in the company because it was an informal understanding between friends.
The 1998 purchase “was a normal business transaction at market prices,” Reid spokesman Jim Manley said. “There were several legal steps associated with the investment during those years that did not alter Senator Reid’s actual ownership interest in the land.”
Senate ethics rules require lawmakers to disclose on their annual ethics report all transactions involving investment properties _ regardless of profit or loss _ and to report any ownership stake in companies.
Kent Cooper, who oversaw government disclosure reports for federal candidates for two decades in the Federal Election Commission, said Reid’s failure to report the 2001 sale and his ties to Brown’s company violated Senate rules.
“This is very, very clear,” Cooper said. “Whether you make a profit or a loss you’ve got to put that transaction down so the public, voters, can see exactly what kind of money is moving to or from a member of Congress.”
“It is especially disconcerting when you have a member of the leadership, of either party, not putting in the effort to make sure this is a complete and accurate report,” said Cooper. “That says something to other members. It says something to the Ethics Committee.”
Other parts of the deal _ such as the informal handling of property taxes _ raise questions about possible gifts or income reportable to Congress and the IRS, ethics experts said.
Stanley Brand, former Democratic chief counsel of the House, said Reid should have disclosed the 2001 sale and that his omission fits a larger culture in Congress where lawmakers aren’t following or enforcing their own rules.
“It’s like everything else we’ve seen in last two years. If it is not enforced, people think it’s not enforced and they get lax and sloppy,” Brand said.
SALE HIDDEN FROM CONGRESS
Reid and his wife, Landra, personally signed the deeds selling their full interest in the property to Brown’s company, Patrick Lane LLC, for the same $400,000 they paid in 1998, records show.
Despite the sale, Reid continued to report on his public ethics reports that he personally owned the land until it was sold again in His disclosure forms to Congress do not mention an interest in Patrick Lane or the company’s role in the 2004 sale.
AP first learned of the transaction from a former Reid aide who expressed concern the deal hadn’t been properly reported.
Reid isn’t listed anywhere on Patrick Lane’s corporate filings with Nevada, even though the land he sold accounted for three-quarters of the company’s assets. Brown is listed as the company’s manager. Reid’s office said Nevada law didn’t require Reid to be mentioned in the filings.
“We have been friends for over 35 years. We didn’t need a written agreement between us,” Brown said.
The informalities didn’t stop there.
PROPERTY TAXES LOOSELY HANDLED
Brown sometimes paid a share of the local property taxes on the lot Reid owned outright between 1998 and 2001, while Reid sometimes paid more than his share of taxes on the second parcel they co-owned.
And the two men continued to pay the property taxes from their personal checking accounts even after the land was sold to Patrick Lane in 2001, records show.
Brown said Reid first approached him in 1997 about land purchases and the two men considered the two lots a single investment.
“During the years of ownership, there may have been occasions that he advanced the property taxes, or that I advanced the property taxes,” Brown said. “The bottom line is that between ourselves we always settled up and each of us paid our respective percentages.”
Ultimately, Reid paid about 74 percent of the property taxes, slightly less than his actual 75.1 ownership stake, according to canceled checks kept at the local assessor’s office. One year, the property tax payments were delinquent and resulted in a small penalty, the records show.
Ethics experts said such informality raises questions about whether any of Brown’s tax payments amounted to a benefit for Reid. “It might be a gift,” Cooper said.
Brand said the IRS might view the handling of the land taxes as undisclosed income to Reid but it was unlikely to prompt an investigation. “If someone is paying a liability you owe, there may be some income imputed. But at that level, it’s pretty small dollars,” he said.
FEDERAL LAND SWAPS
Nevada land deeds show Reid and his wife first bought the property in January 1998 in a proposed subdivision created partly with federal lands transferred by the Interior Department to private developers.
Reid’s two lots were never owned by the government, but the piece of land joining Reid’s property to the street corner _ a key to the shopping center deal _ came from the government in 1994.
One of the sellers was Fred Lessman, a vice president of land acquisition at Perma-Bilt Homes.
Around the time of the 1998 sale, Lessman and his company were completing a complicated federal land transfer that also involved an Arizona-based developer named Del Web