Internal Review of Contacts with the Office of the Speaker Regarding the Cong. Mark Foley Matter

Office of Speaker Hastert | Saturday, September 30, 2006

[kristinn]

This it not up on the Speaker's website yet. I found it via The Chicago Tribune.

[RKBA Democrat]

Looks like the "plausible deniability" game.

[kristinn]

The press release is also at The Hotline.

[REDWOOD99]

Good find, Kristinn! This needs to be widely disseminated immediately.

[holyscroller]

Amazing. These birds never even have time to read the content of the many bills they pass, but there's always time for listening to lobbyists and trying for daliances with one sex or the other.

[tobyhill]

"The Clerk asked to see the text of the email. Congressman Alexander's office declined citing the fact that the family wished to maintain as much privacy as possible and simply wanted the contact to stop. The Clerk asked if the email exchange was of a sexual nature and was assured it was not. Congressman Alexander's Chief of Staff characterized the email exchange as over-friendly."

The parents only wanted it to cease and if they had thought it was more of a problem at the time they would have called the police.

[OldFriend]

Once again. Thank you.

[don-o]

What is the large point? I am lost on this.

[OldFriend]

The parents did not want this pursued. Since the explicit nature of the communication was not revealed I don't see how Hastert's office can be faulted.

Let's not allow the drive by media to dictate our response.

loveya, Jan

[Dane]

Let's not allow the drive by media to dictate our response.

But some drive by "true conservative" posters on FR will.

[nj26]

When a 50yo gay man starts asking a 16yo boy for a picture, anybody with common sense would start asking some difficult questions.

If those questions weren't asked, it was either stupidity or corruption.

I think Hastert needs to resign, and Foley belongs in prison.

[RonnG]

What puzzles me is that 10-11 months went by after Foley was warned to have no contact with the page. If the boy was still receiving e-mails, especially the obscene ones reported in the news, why did he not report them either to the authorities or his parents?

Something smells. Either the boy and his parents knew of these more explicit e-mails much earlier and chose to neither say nor do anything for months or they did make a fuss to the House authorities who decided to cover it up.

As I cannnot fathom either scenario, I suspect that the parents must have approached a third party, perhaps the press, who advised them to remain silent, keep track of them and bide their time.

[nj26]

"Either the boy and his parents knew of these more explicit e-mails much earlier and chose to neither say nor do anything for months or they did make a fuss to the House authorities who decided to cover it up."

Or the boy knew about continued emails but the parents only found out later.

[Dane]

If the boy was still receiving e-mails, especially the obscene ones reported in the news, why did he not report them either to the authorities or his parents?

The e-mails were not sexually explicit, creepy yes, but not sexually explicit.

The IM's to another page were sexually explicit. The page who worked for Alexander did not receive sexually explicit e-mails or IM's.

Hastert and the leadership had no knowledge of the IM's.

[Dane]

Haster had no knowledge of the IM's, but you do your usual kneejerk dance.

[alnick]

If the boy was still receiving e-mails, especially the obscene ones reported in the news, why did he not report them either to the authorities or his parents?

Could the IM's have been to a different boy?

[tobyhill]

I wish there was a law that would put Foley behind bars but unless there was porn involved or the authorities can prove he had at least sexual intentions then he's not going to jail. Dirty talk is just that, dirty talk and is protected as free speech. The parents could have very easily become parents and either took the kids communication devises or had the kid change all his e-mail addresses so as the perv would leave him alone. Know what your kids are doing all the time and it definitely helps keep the pervs away.

[dogbyte12]

Pink Elephant in the Room. Why are we all assuming that all Foley did was cyber sex? I think we shouldn't be shocked if another shoe drops.

[sageb1]

Thanks for posting this. Had to laugh when Ann Coulter pointed out that such problems have existed for the Democrats, that those individuals again ran for office, and won. When she told the Dem operative that Republicans won't accept the same behavior, the Dem had nothing else to say and shifted uncomfortably. He knew she was right.