A Jasper in Washington
Kevin Agnese
Issue date: 11/1/06 Section: Perspectives
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It is often said that the three most important elements of a property sale are location, location, and location. Lately, here in D.C., it has been all Foley, Foley, and more Foley. The scandal, which was first reported to the public on Sept. 29, centers on sexually explicit and solicitative instant messages and e-mails that were sent by Congressman Mark Foley to male congressional pages.
Foley, a Republican from Florida, quickly resigned after the scandal broke, as news surfaced that he had sent explicit e-mails to a 16-year-old former page in 2004. Several other former pages have claimed that they received inappropriate messages, some dating as far back as 1997. The midterm elections are just two weeks away, and it has become quite clear that this scandal will most likely affect the outcome.
Beyond the reprehensible behavior of Congressman Foley, the apparent cover-up that many Republican leaders orchestrated after learning of Foley's conduct is far more disturbing. When the story first broke, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert publicly stated that he first learned of Foley's messages the week the news surfaced. Republican House leaders, like Majority Leader John Boehner of Ohio and Rep. Tom Reynolds of New York, stated that they told Hastert about the Foley e-mails in the spring of 2006. Hastert later conceded that he had learned of the e-mails earlier in the year, but claimed that he had only learned of the most flagrant instant-messages on Sept. 29, which the conservative editorial page of The Washington Times called "irrelevant," in an October 3 piece entitled "Resign, Mr. Speaker."
As the Washington Times op-ed article said, "The original e-mail messages were warning enough that a predator -- and, incredibly, the co-chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children -- could be prowling the halls of Congress. The matter wasn't pursued aggressively. It was barely pursued at all. Moreover, all available evidence suggests that the Republican leadership did not share anything related to this matter with any Democrat."
Foley, a Republican from Florida, quickly resigned after the scandal broke, as news surfaced that he had sent explicit e-mails to a 16-year-old former page in 2004. Several other former pages have claimed that they received inappropriate messages, some dating as far back as 1997. The midterm elections are just two weeks away, and it has become quite clear that this scandal will most likely affect the outcome.
Beyond the reprehensible behavior of Congressman Foley, the apparent cover-up that many Republican leaders orchestrated after learning of Foley's conduct is far more disturbing. When the story first broke, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert publicly stated that he first learned of Foley's messages the week the news surfaced. Republican House leaders, like Majority Leader John Boehner of Ohio and Rep. Tom Reynolds of New York, stated that they told Hastert about the Foley e-mails in the spring of 2006. Hastert later conceded that he had learned of the e-mails earlier in the year, but claimed that he had only learned of the most flagrant instant-messages on Sept. 29, which the conservative editorial page of The Washington Times called "irrelevant," in an October 3 piece entitled "Resign, Mr. Speaker."
As the Washington Times op-ed article said, "The original e-mail messages were warning enough that a predator -- and, incredibly, the co-chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children -- could be prowling the halls of Congress. The matter wasn't pursued aggressively. It was barely pursued at all. Moreover, all available evidence suggests that the Republican leadership did not share anything related to this matter with any Democrat."