CREW members say they turned copies over to the FBI in July. But they didn't turn them over to responsible authorities in the House (the page board, for example, or any one member of it), as they could have. From what I have read, Foley IMs, or at least the ones we have seen, probably wouldn't justify a prosecution under federal criminal law; that requires some act rather than just words.
But the House holds its members to higher standards than the criminal law. Democrats or their sympathizers can withhold information politically damaging to Republicans until a time when disclosure seems likely to do the most damage. It's an adversary system. But is it ethical to withhold information when its earlier disclosure might serve to protect young people from harassment? I should think not. That may not be a question for the ethics committee, if the withholders were not House members or staffers, but it should be a question for the press.
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This represents the next step of the investigation in my opinion....It could get very interesting.....
I should think that it IS a question of who on the Demonrat side knew and withheld this information. There has been some suggestions that Pelosi knew. The House Ethics Committee could sure go after that!! If they have the spines for it, that is.
When the IM's were made public this was the big question that cried out for an answer: How did those IM's go from the privacy of someone's computer to ABC news? The DBM and the Democrats have managed, though, to ignore that question and turn the whole thing into 'who knew what, when'. This keeps the scandal focused completely on the Republican leadership in the House.
It will be well after the election before the facts are known. In the meantime, on the talk shows they are still saying that these IM's involved underage pages when in fact the very IM's that ABC published on their website involved Foley and a former page who was 18 years old. They can keep bringing out former pages who may or may not be telling the truth and who may or may not have been 18 when Foley contacted them. The details don't matter now, just the next headline on the hourly news.
I think the Republican party should come out with some ads explaining some of this and comparing the way Republicans handle their offenders (Foley) and the way Democrats have handled theirs (Studds, Frank).
Somehow I don't believe this 'next step' will take place until after the election, in which case, it won't matter one iota politically. In addition it will get scant attention from the DBM!!
Under the protection of CFR, the Republican response may be crippled. If the Dems are successful in taking over the House, this is the dirtiest dirty trick in modern times.
I think we're going to be surprised at the outcome of this.