Washington DC Congressional Pages Scandal

[Luke_Wilbur]

Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) issued the following statement regarding Congressman Mark Foley:

 

“The instant messages, reportedly between Congressman Foley and a former page sent in 2003, are vile and repulsive to me, and to my colleagues. No one in the Republican Leadership, nor Congressman Shimkus, saw those messages until last Friday when ABC News released them to the public. When they were released, Congressman Foley resigned. And I’m glad he did, if he had not, I would have demanded his expulsion from the House of Representatives.

 

“The page program is an important part of this institution. It has inspired many generations to enter public service. It is a trust, and as a parent and as the Speaker of the House, I am disgusted that Congressman Foley broke that trust. Anyone who had knowledge of these vile instant messages should have turned them over to authorities immediately so that kids could be protected.

 

“I repeat again, the Republican Leaders of the House did not have them. We have all said so. On the record. But someone did have them. And the ethics committee, the Justice Department, the news media – or anyone who can -- should help us find out who.

 

“Yesterday I sent a letter to the Attorney General requesting he investigate to what extent any federal laws were violated by Congressman Foley, and also to find out who might have known about the sexually explicit instant messages. I was pleased to read in the newspaper this morning that the FBI has begun to investigate.

 

“I also sent a letter yesterday to Governor Bush, requesting an investigation to determine what state laws were violated. And I am certain the state of Florida will take my request seriously.

 

“Today I have met with Congressman Shimkus who is the head of the page board to discuss what we can do to make sure this never happens again. This will not be my last meeting on this subject. I intend to get advice on how we can make this program as safe as possible.

 

“Since I’ve been Speaker we have moved aggressively to insure the safety of these kids. We constructed new living quarters with state of the art security systems. We have added even more adult supervision. But we obviously need to do more, including providing assistance to these kids after they return home. After all, this vile instant message exchange reportedly took place after the page had returned home. Moms and Dads all across America know what a challenge it is to monitor contact with their kids in this new world of instant communication and cyberspace. That is our challenge too.

 

“Over the weekend I asked the clerk to move aggressively to set up a hotline. So parents, grandparents, pages, former pages…anyone who has a concern about improper contact…can confidentially report improper contact. Our pages are already taught to bring any concerns to their adult supervisor; but this will be one more opportunity, especially for them after they leave the program.

 

“Before I turn over the microphone to Mr. Shimkus for his statement, let me add this.

 

“Congressman Foley duped a lot of people. He lied to Mr. Shimkus and he deceived his instate newspaper when they each questioned him. He deceived the good men and women in organizations around this country, with whom he worked to strengthen our child predator laws. I have known him for all the years he served in this House. He deceived me, too.”

[Luke_Wilbur]

The Mark Foley scandal centers on e-mails and sexually explicit instant messages allegedly sent by United States Republican Congressman Mark Foley with a male who was originally reported by ABC's Brian Ross to be a "minor" at the time of the exchange in 2003. Media accounts now indicate the male was 18 during the exchanges and is now 21. He is a former congressional page. The questionable conversations, which took place between 2003 and 2005, are under investigation by the FBI and Florida officials for possible criminal violations. Foley has issued a statement saying that he has never had sexual contact with a minor. He also stated that he was himself molested as a teenager, that he is gay, and that he is an alcoholic.

 

In 2005, Foley sent five emails, some of them suggestive, to a 16-year-old former page sponsored by Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-LA). Among other things, Foley asked for a photo of the page, and expressed admiration for the physique of another young male friend. The page forwarded the emails to a colleague in Alexander's office, saying "this really freaked me out," and repeating the word "sick" 13 times to describe the photo request. He added, "if you can, please tell Rodney [Alexander] about this."

 

After the initial story on the emails, other pages contacted ABC, providing transcripts of sexually explicit instant messaging (IM) conversations that Foley allegedly had with pages. Some said they had not shared the events earlier because Foley was a powerful Congressman. On September 29, in a second story, ABC News reported that it had seen excerpts of these instant messages which made repeated references to sexual organs and acts.

 

When the extent of Foley's action was discovered, members of the Republican party strongly condemned his actions. They voted unanimously with House Democrats to refer the matter to the Ethics Committee for investigation. Republican Speaker Hastert also demanded a criminal investigation by writing the Attorney General asking for a full investigation both into Foley's actions and into the possibility that earlier clues were not properly acted upon by Congressional officials, representatives, the media, and the FBI.

 

The National Republican Congressional Committee is now focusing on finding another candidate for the upcoming Florida House race, since Foley voluntarily agreed not to run. Carl Forti, NRCC spokesman, said on October 2, 2006, that the Republican committee would "gladly accept" Foley's $2.7 million campaign fund, should he donate it to them.

 

U.S. Representative and U.S. Senate candidate Katherine Harris (R-FL) said, "The media would be quite disingenuous, trying to make it a partisan issue. If anything, the Republicans didn't know about these issues, and we're going to be very anxious to see who in the media or on the other side of the aisle knew about it and kept this from the public interest, because our children were at stake."

[Human]

There is only one scandal here, and that is that if the democrats get in power, the African American community will become a permanent third in line in the minority business development group.

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The Mark Foley scandal centers on e-mails and sexually explicit instant messages allegedly sent by United States Republican Congressman Mark Foley with a male who was originally reported by ABC's Brian Ross to be a "minor" at the time of the exchange in 2003. Media accounts now indicate the male was 18 during the exchanges and is now 21. He is a former congressional page. The questionable conversations, which took place between 2003 and 2005, are under investigation by the FBI and Florida officials for possible criminal violations. Foley has issued a statement saying that he has never had sexual contact with a minor. He also stated that he was himself molested as a teenager, that he is gay, and that he is an alcoholic.

 

In 2005, Foley sent five emails, some of them suggestive, to a 16-year-old former page sponsored by Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-LA). Among other things, Foley asked for a photo of the page, and expressed admiration for the physique of another young male friend. The page forwarded the emails to a colleague in Alexander's office, saying "this really freaked me out," and repeating the word "sick" 13 times to describe the photo request. He added, "if you can, please tell Rodney [Alexander] about this."

 

After the initial story on the emails, other pages contacted ABC, providing transcripts of sexually explicit instant messaging (IM) conversations that Foley allegedly had with pages. Some said they had not shared the events earlier because Foley was a powerful Congressman. On September 29, in a second story, ABC News reported that it had seen excerpts of these instant messages which made repeated references to sexual organs and acts.

 

When the extent of Foley's action was discovered, members of the Republican party strongly condemned his actions. They voted unanimously with House Democrats to refer the matter to the Ethics Committee for investigation. Republican Speaker Hastert also demanded a criminal investigation by writing the Attorney General asking for a full investigation both into Foley's actions and into the possibility that earlier clues were not properly acted upon by Congressional officials, representatives, the media, and the FBI.

 

The National Republican Congressional Committee is now focusing on finding another candidate for the upcoming Florida House race, since Foley voluntarily agreed not to run. Carl Forti, NRCC spokesman, said on October 2, 2006, that the Republican committee would "gladly accept" Foley's $2.7 million campaign fund, should he donate it to them.

 

U.S. Representative and U.S. Senate candidate Katherine Harris (R-FL) said, "The media would be quite disingenuous, trying to make it a partisan issue. If anything, the Republicans didn't know about these issues, and we're going to be very anxious to see who in the media or on the other side of the aisle knew about it and kept this from the public interest, because our children were at stake."

[Luke_Wilbur]

I heard that Foley immediately apoligized for his actions. He promised to turn over a new page : )

I cannot understand why the Democrats are getting so shocked. Maybe, its because they thought he was cute.

 

In 1983, then-Democratic Rep. Gerry Studds of Massachusetts was caught in a similar situation. In his case, Studds had sex with a male teenage page -- something Foley hasn't been charged with anything.

 

In 1989, Rep. Barney Frank (news, bio, voting record), also of Massachusetts, admitted he'd lived with Steve Gobie, a male prostitute who ran a gay sex-for-hire ring out of Frank's apartment. Frank, it was later discovered, used his position to fix 33 parking tickets for Gobie.

 

In 2001, President Clinton, who had his own intern problem, commuted the prison sentence of Illinois Rep. Mel Reynolds, who had sex with a 16-year-old campaign volunteer and pressured her to lie about it. (Reynolds also was convicted of campaign spending violations.)

 

This is a Bi-Partisan problem. And this problem needs to be resolved. If this Congress does not motion up a Bill to make sure this does not happen, every damn one of them needs to be booted out on their asses. That goes for Democrats and Republicans. I have not seen any statements as of today. If you see any please let me know.

 

I have been getting emails asking me what a DC Page is.

 

The United States House of Representatives Page Program is a program run by the United States House of Representatives in which appointed high school juniors act as partisan federal employees in the House of Representatives, providing supplemental administrative support to House operations in a variety of capacities in Washington, D.C. at the United States Capitol. Some page responsibilities in the House include transporting legislative documents between Congressional offices, delivering new bills and amendments to the House floor and performing non-specialized www.google.com duties for various House offices, both partisan and non-partisan. Pages are nominated by representatives based upon a highly competitive application process. Congressional Pages have served within the U.S. House of Representatives for almost 180 years.

[Psycho]

Was this sentance on your part intended as a joke: "I heard that Foley immediately apoligized for his actions. He promised to turn over a new page :"

I heard that Foley immediately apoligized for his actions. He promised to turn over a new page : )

I cannot understand why the Democrats are getting so shocked. Maybe, its because they thought he was cute.

 

In 1983, then-Democratic Rep. Gerry Studds of Massachusetts was caught in a similar situation. In his case, Studds had sex with a male teenage page -- something Foley hasn't been charged with anything.

 

In 1989, Rep. Barney Frank (news, bio, voting record), also of Massachusetts, admitted he'd lived with Steve Gobie, a male prostitute who ran a gay sex-for-hire ring out of Frank's apartment. Frank, it was later discovered, used his position to fix 33 parking tickets for Gobie.

 

In 2001, President Clinton, who had his own intern problem, commuted the prison sentence of Illinois Rep. Mel Reynolds, who had sex with a 16-year-old campaign volunteer and pressured her to lie about it. (Reynolds also was convicted of campaign spending violations.)

 

This is a Bi-Partisan problem. And this problem needs to be resolved. If this Congress does not motion up a Bill to make sure this does not happen, every damn one of them needs to be booted out on their asses. That goes for Democrats and Republicans. I have not seen any statements as of today. If you see any please let me know.

 

I have been getting emails asking me what a DC Page is.

 

The United States House of Representatives Page Program is a program run by the United States House of Representatives in which appointed high school juniors act as partisan federal employees in the House of Representatives, providing supplemental administrative support to House operations in a variety of capacities in Washington, D.C. at the United States Capitol. Some page responsibilities in the House include transporting legislative documents between Congressional offices, delivering new bills and amendments to the House floor and performing non-specialized www.google.com duties for various House offices, both partisan and non-partisan. Pages are nominated by representatives based upon a highly competitive application process. Congressional Pages have served within the U.S. House of Representatives for almost 180 years.