Hastert 'disgusted'; Rep. Foley enters rehab

[Darius11 12]

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Hastert 'disgusted'; Rep. Foley enters rehab
FBI, Fla. probing congressman's explicit messages to underage male pages
The Associated Press


Updated: 12:15 a.m. ET Oct 2, 2006
WASHINGTON - As former Rep. Mark Foley, under FBI investigation for e-mail exchanges with teenage congressional pages, has checked himself into rehabilitation facility for alcoholism treatment, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., returned to Washington saying he was "outraged and disgusted" with Foley's actions involving sexually charged e-mails and instant messages to underaged, male, Capitol Hill pages.

Foley's attorney, David Roth, would not identify the facility, but told the Associated Press in West Palm Beach, Fla., that Foley had checked in over the weekend.

According to a statement from Hastert spokesman Ron Bonjean, Hastert is to meet with Page Board Chairman John Shimkus and current Clerk of the House Karen Haus to "review procedures" on the page system and to "discuss how to prevent this from happening in the future." According to an aide for Hastert, they will also discuss "how to protect people after they leave."


It should be noted that Haus was not the clerk last year, and Shimkus is being called in without the presence of Dale Kildee, the Democrat on the page board.

Foley accepts 'full responsibility'
Foley released a written statement Sunday night saying he's entering a treatment facility for his alcoholism and behavioral problems.


"I strongly believe that I am an alcoholic and have accepted the need for immediate treatment for alcoholism and other behavioral problems," Foley said in a statement, Roth told the AP.

Foley, a Republican, abruptly quit Congress on Friday after reports surfaced that he'd sent sexually charged electronic messages to boys working as pages. In the statement, Foley said the "events that led to my resignation have crystalized recognition of my long-standing and significant alcoholism and emotional difficulties."

"I deeply regret and accept full responsibility for the harm I have caused," Foley said. He also expressed "gratitude for the prayers and words of encouragement that have been conveyed to me."

Federal and state investigations
The FBI "is conducting an assessment to see if there's been a violation of federal law," according to FBI spokesman Richard Kolko.


The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Monday it was also investigating whether the e-mail communications violated state law. Spokesman Tom Berlinger called the state probe "a precursor to a possible criminal investigation."

GOP concerns
The Foley developments sent House Republicans into damage control mode amid charges by Democrats that some House leaders may have known for months about Foley's inappropriate overtures toward the young pages.

Democrats have questioned whether the GOP leadership, including House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., tried to protect a House seat in an election year at the expense of the well-being of teenage pages.

White House press secretary Tony Snow, asked about that Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America," urged greater efforts to "figure out what happened here." He called it "a terrible story" and said he considered it unfortunate that "people are thinking, 'OK, can I get political advantage out of this'."

Hastert in a letter sent Sunday to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, asked the Justice Department to "conduct an investigation of Mr. Foley's conduct with current and former House pages," including "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."

Political cover-up?
Democrats demanded that investigators determine whether Republican leaders tried to cover up Foley's actions for political reasons.

"The attorney general should open a full-scale investigation immediately," Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada said in a statement, including whether GOP leaders "knew there was a problem and ignored it to preserve a congressional seat this election year."

Foley's West Palm Beach district is largely Republican, but now may be won by a Democrat. Republicans are struggling to maintain their House majority in the upcoming election. Florida Republican leaders were meeting Monday to try to choose a candidate to replace Foley in the November election.

The investigation
FBI cyber sleuths are looking into the text of some of the Foley messages, checking to see how many e-mails and instant electronic messages were sent and how many computers were used, according to a law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.

The FBI also was trying to determine if any of the teenagers who received messages are willing to cooperate with the investigation, the official said.

Ironically, Foley, who is 52 and single, could be found to have violated a law that he helped to write as co-chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus.

Rep. Thomas Reynolds of New York, head of the House Republican election effort, said he told Hastert months ago about the allegations involving a 16-year-old boy from Louisiana.

Hastert acknowledged that his staff had been made aware of concerns about what they termed "over-friendly" e-mails Foley had sent to the teenager -- including one requesting his picture -- in the fall of 2005, and that they referred the matter to the House clerk.

But Hastert said those e-mails were not viewed as "sexual in nature" and that he was not aware of "a different set of communications which were sexually explicit ... which Mr. Foley reportedly sent another former page or pages."

Congressional pages, a staple of Washington politics since the 1820s, are high school students who serve as gofers in the House and Senate.

NBC's Mike Viqueira contributed to this report.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15103356/

I don’t know which is worst blaming alcohol for your actions, or the attempted cover up by the Rep.

Oh yea before Clay says it Clinton got a blowjob.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[Gravitymaster 0]

What, other than being a sleazeball, has Foley done wrong? Please explain what laws he has broken?

[jakee 1,501]

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What, other than being a sleazeball, has Foley done wrong? Please explain what laws he has broken?

Does the US currently have laws against 'grooming' minors for sex?

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[freethefly 6]

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What, other than being a sleazeball, has Foley done wrong? Please explain what laws he has broken?

How about sending sexually explicit emails to underage boys? Damn shame that Dateline didn't catch this scum on camera. I hope he is charged and convicted to a life of misery behind bars.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[Gravitymaster 0]

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What, other than being a sleazeball, has Foley done wrong? Please explain what laws he has broken?

Does the US currently have laws against 'grooming' minors for sex?

I have no idea. Do you think the reaction would be the same if Foley had sent similar emails to a female page? I don't. I think this has more to do with the fact that Foley is a homosexual and it's being used indirectly by Democrats as an attack on gays.

Here is an article from the newspaper that originally obtained the information on Foley.

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September 30, 2006
A Note From the Editors
There still seems to be some confusion about the order of events related to our coverage of Rep. Mark Foley and his email exchanges with teenagers he met through the congressional page program. Let me try to clear this up.

In November of last year, we were given copies of an email exchange Foley had with a former page from Louisiana. Other news organizations later got them,too. The conversation in those emails was friendly chit-chat. Foley asked the boy about how he had come through Hurricane Katrina and about the boy's upcoming birthday. In one of those emails, Foley casually asked the teen to send him a "pic" of himself. Also among those emails was the page's exchange with a congressional staffer in the office of Rep. Alexander, who had been the teen's sponsor in the page program. The teen shared his exchange he'd had with Foley and asked the staffer if she thought Foley was out of bounds.

There was nothing overtly sexual in the emails, but we assigned two reporters to find out more. We found the Louisiana page and talked with him. He told us Foley's request for a photo made him uncomfortable so he never responded, but both he and his parents made clear we could not use his name if we wrote a story. We also found another page who was willing to go on the record, but his experience with Foley was different. He said Foley did send a few emails but never said anything in them that he found inappropriate. We tried to find other pages but had no luck. We spoke with Rep. Alexander, who said the boy's family didn't want it pursued, and Foley, who insisted he was merely trying to be friendly and never wanted to make the page uncomfortable.

So, what we had was a set of emails between Foley and a teenager, who wouldn't go on the record about how those emails made him feel. As we said in today's paper, our policy is that we don't make accusations against people using unnamed sources. And given the seriousness of what would be implied in a story, it was critical that we have complete confidence in our sourcing. After much discussion among top editors at the paper, we concluded that the information we had on Foley last November didn't meet our standard for publication. Evidently, other news organizations felt the same way.

Since that time, we revisited the question more than once, but never learned anything that changed our position. The Louisiana boy's emails broke into the open last weekend, when a blogger got copies and posted them online. Later that week, on Thursday, a news blog at the website of ABC News followed suit, with the addition of one new fact: Foley's Democratic opponent, Tim Mahoney, was on the record about the Louisiana boy's emails and was calling for an investigation. That's when we wrote our first story, for Friday's papers.

After ABC News broke the story on its website, someone contacted ABC and provided a detailed email exchange between Foley and at least one other page that was far different from what we had seen before. This was overtly sexual, not something Foley could dismiss as misinterpreted friendliness. That's what drove Foley to resign on Friday.

I hope this helps clarify a bit about what we knew and when we knew it.

Scott Montgomery

The attacks on Foley are one of the biggest non-starters I've seen since the attacks and investigations of Scooter Libby. It's pretty obvious they are politically motivated.

[Gravitymaster 0]

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What, other than being a sleazeball, has Foley done wrong? Please explain what laws he has broken?

How about sending sexually explicit emails to underage boys? Damn shame that Dateline didn't catch this scum on camera. I hope he is charged and convicted to a life of misery behind bars.

What do you want him charged with? Being a scumball?

[billvon 3,009]

>What, other than being a sleazeball, has Foley done wrong?

Sent sexually explicit messages to minors, perhaps? That is, after all, illegal in most states.

"Recent news stories remind us that there are predators using the Internet to target children. And just as we warn our children about `stranger danger' when they are at the park or answering the door or telephone, we need to be aware of potential dangers in Cyberspace."

[Gravitymaster 0]

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>What, other than being a sleazeball, has Foley done wrong?

Sent sexually explicit messages to minors, perhaps? That is, after all, illegal in most states.

"Recent news stories remind us that there are predators using the Internet to target children. And just as we warn our children about `stranger danger' when they are at the park or answering the door or telephone, we need to be aware of potential dangers in Cyberspace."

Have you actually seen the emails or are you relying on the press?

[SkyDekker 1,465]

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Have you actually seen the emails or are you relying on the press?

I have seen copies of chat transcripts. Though, will be inetersting to see how they prove it is him in the chat. In one he is asking an underage boy if he is making him horny. I would think that is somewhat inappropriate, wouldn't you?

[Gravitymaster 0]

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Have you actually seen the emails or are you relying on the press?

I have seen copies of chat transcripts. Though, will be inetersting to see how they prove it is him in the chat. In one he is asking an underage boy if he is making him horny. I would think that is somewhat inappropriate, wouldn't you?

Yes I would call that inappropriate. I'm not sure if it's illegal, though.

[freethefly 6]

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What do you want him charged with? Being a scumball?

The investigation has only just begun. There are indications that there are more emails that point to sexual misconduct. His quick departure and then checking himself into rehab points towards guilt as he is quick to blame this on alcohol. He knows he has been caught and he is quickly trying to weasel out. As with any online predator, he should be charged accordingly, if there is reason to charge.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[nathaniel 0]

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I think this has more to do with the fact that Foley is a homosexual and it's being used indirectly by Democrats as an attack on gays.

It is pure anti-gay malice to confuse pedophilia with homosexuality.

My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski?

[billvon 3,009]

>Do you think the reaction would be the same if Foley had sent
>similar emails to a female page?

If it was an underage female page? The reaction would have been just as bad. The sex of the page isn't an issue; it wasn't even stated in the first few news stories I saw about the scandal.

The issue is not that he's gay, it's that he's sending sexually explicit email to miors.

>I think this has more to do with the fact that Foley is a homosexual
>and it's being used indirectly by Democrats as an attack on gays.

What the heck does his sexual orientation have to do with it? You are the first one in this thread to bring it up. Again, no one cares (other than a few right winger anti-gay groups) whether he sends sexually explicit emails to men or women, but they care very much that he sends them to minors.

[Darius11 12]

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I think this has more to do with the fact that Foley is a homosexual and it's being used indirectly by Democrats as an attack on gays.

It is pure anti-gay malice to confuse pedophilia with homosexuality.

That’s an excellent point.

Another point would be this. Who is more Anti Gay rights the republicans or democrats?



If you read this article you wo0uld also see how this guy was on American Most wanted talking about how he wants to change the current Sex laws increasing punishment for sex offenders.

How do these people sleep at night? I mean how can you lie so easily?

I don’t get it. It seems most politicians are scum, the reason I didn’t say all is I am hoping there are some out they’re who have not sold their soul yet.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[freethefly 6]

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I think this has more to do with the fact that Foley is a homosexual and it's being used indirectly by Democrats as an attack on gays.

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is it not the GOP that are always screaming that the Dems are pro-gay? Does anyone care if he is gay? I doubt it. This is about misconduct towards an underage boy.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[idrankwhat 0]

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Have you actually seen the emails or are you relying on the press?

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/BrianRoss/story?id=2509586&page=1

[lawrocket 3]

His mistake was the "underaged" thing. Had the boy been over 18, there wouldn't have been a problem. In fact, he would be lauded, and the Dems would be defending him towards those unscrupulous Republicans who would make nasty allegations about patently private conduct!

We all know it to be true. Had it been an adult, th Republicans would have tried to ruin Foley's life and the Dems would be steadfastly defending him. It wasn't even a blow job. Just e-mails.



Foley's life is, hopefully, ruined. It is nice to know, though, that alcoholism is the new chic thing to have to explain mistakes.

I think I need to become an alcoholic. I gotta be cool somehow...

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[rehmwa 2]

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Had it been an adult, th Republicans would have tried to ruin Foley's life and the Dems would be steadfastly defending him. .

No. it doesn't matter what they do, just which party they are in. Dems defend Dems and attack Reps no matter what the situation. Reps attack Dems, sometimes defend other Reps when they don't just drive them out of the party.

The libertarians and green party types do something, it's just that no one listens long enough to care.

Could be the exact same offense, only on the other party and the discussions would be reversed but the same content.

The only difference here is the pervert resigned a bit earlier than if he'd been a Dem. But that's just because it's a bit more hostile in his camp. The Dem would have also resigned and then checked into therapy too.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[lawrocket 3]

Thank you for distilling my point so eloquently!

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[Gravitymaster 0]

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Have you actually seen the emails or are you relying on the press?

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/BrianRoss/story?id=2509586&page=1

I only read 4 pages. Agreed, pretty disgusting.

[Darius11 12]

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His mistake was the "underaged" thing. Had the boy been over 18,

Not trying to attack you hear but did anyone say otherwise? I am sure we all agree that the issue is this man is a pedophile, and that there might have been a cover up.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[freethefly 6]

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I only read 4 pages. Agreed, pretty disgusting.

I can imagine that there is more, other than this one. No doubt, he is scum and should be charged to the full extent.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[kallend 2,034]

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I think I need to become an alcoholic. I gotta be cool somehow...

One of my children is alcoholic. It isn't at all cool, quite the opposite.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[billvon 3,009]

>he is scum and should be charged to the full extent.

Ironically, he will likely be tried under laws that he helped create during his tenure as chairman of the Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus. That group handled sexual predator laws.

[idrankwhat 0]

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Have you actually seen the emails or are you relying on the press?

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/BrianRoss/story?id=2509586&page=1

I only read 4 pages. Agreed, pretty disgusting.

Good for you to quit reading when you did, it got worse.