Manlaw.
Posted on 09/28/2006 3:21:37 PM PDT by slowhand520
Sixteen-Year-Old Who Worked as Capitol Hill Page Concerned About E-mail Exchange with Congressman September 28, 2006 3:06 PM
Rhonda Schwartz and Maddy Sauer Report:
A 16-year-old male former congressional page concerned about the appropriateness of an e-mail exchange with a congressman alerted Capitol Hill staffers to the communication.
Congressman Mark Foley's office says the e-mails were entirely appropriate and that their release is part of a smear campaign by his opponent.
In the series of e-mails, obtained by ABC News, from Rep. Foley (R-FL) to the former page, Foley asks the young man how old he is, what he wants for his birthday and requests a photo of him.
THE BLOTTER RECOMMENDS Congressman Ney Pleads Guilty to Accepting Lavish Gifts NY Moneyman Arrested in Teen Sex Scandal Check out the Brian Ross Webcast on Home Page The concerned young man alerted congressional staffers to the e-mails. In one e-mail, the former page writes to a staffer, "Maybe it is just me being paranoid, but seriously. This freaked me out."
Foley's office acknowledges that Foley wrote the e-mails to the young man but says they were completely innocent and that Foley is at most guilty of being "too friendly and too engaging" with young people.
The e-mails were sent from Foley's personal AOL account, and the exchange began within weeks after the page finished his program on Capitol Hill. In one, Foley writes, "did you have fun at your conference…what do you want for your birthday coming up…what stuff do you like to do."
In another Foley writes, "how are you weathering the hurricane…are you safe…send me an email pic of you as well…"
The young man forwarded that e-mail to a congressional staffer saying it was "sick sick sick sick sick."
Foley's office says it is their policy to keep pictures of former interns and anyone who may ask for a recommendation on file so they can remember them.
The Congressional page program was started in the 1800s. In its current form, juniors from high school work on Capitol Hill after school or over the summer. The young man in question did not work or intern for Foley's office.
Elizabeth Nicolson, Foley's Chief of Staff, said they believe the e-mail exchange began when the page asked Foley for a recommendation and that the subsequent exchange was totally innocent. She said Foley's office believes the e-mails were released by the opposition as part of an "ugly smear campaign."
My son is working as an intern in Washington. The first thing they did was to take pictures of all of the interns and put them in a news magazine with publicity about the summer interns. I know - boys AND girls, together in a GROUP intern picture. When I think about the level of degeneracy those folks have descended into, well I just, well .. , I just, well, I just...., well, I just....
Oh my, all this interaction must stop! People will talk you know.
Yes, from a 16 year old. From a 15 year old. Etc. I've gotten photos from people of all ages. Several years ago one of my brothers teenage friends, female, sent me a photo of herself without me asking for it. Her email (my brother gave her my email address without my permission, and I dont like his friends), was something about where my brother was, as she was trying to contact him (Though I have no idea if she attached to the email a photo of herself accidentally or on purpose). Again, it's become quite common to exchange photos with someone you are conversing with over the internet.
According to the article, the kid initiated first contact.
It does to me.......
Another thing...just throwing stuff out there. Perhaps if this kid was asking for a recommendation, Foley wanted to verify who was he was recommending. Maybe he wanted to make sure it was a 16-17 year old boy and not a 65-year-old man or middle aged woman who has nothing better to do than play around online. Maybe the recommendation requires a photo? Maybe his office requires photos of those whom he recommends? Who knows?
May sound crazy, but I work for part of a gov't agency and we get all kinds of seriously disturbed whackos calling and trying to contact us every single day.
I just don't think until you see the full context of the emails anyone should jump to any conclusions - and yes, I'd say that regardless of political party.
If their case actually withstood publishing full version, they would have. Partial quotes, resequence, twist a few words - its a standard trick of cheap lawyers. Happens all the time.
if thats the case then give me the proof and I will recant my prior post........
Once a prey, always a sceptic...........
Smells fishy to me...
sw
"Have you ever seen a grown man naked?"
Can't argue with that.
Let's face it; if it was a Dem who did this we'd all be yelling "FAG ALERT".
You know, us old foggies don't always keep up with new fangled technology.... Like, I have this cell phone, something called a RAZR - shows you they can't even spell right anymore. My 16 year old son showed me - you push a button and it takes a photo, you push another button and it sends it like to someone else's phone or email or whatever. I think it is a cheap trick. You can't fool me. I tried it and the think beeps and blinks and puts gobbledeygook on the screen, and its all so confusing that all I can do is turn it off.
Next thing you know someone's going to tell some balderdash about men walking on the moon or some such nonesense.
Another MD4Bush type?
But the damage is being done to Foley even as we speak, even tho a Jury couldn't convict him of anything with what we have read in the article..
sw
Well, like he was a page and worked on Capitol Hill. I know it is a phobia around here about anyone getting to know your email address because of spam and all of that. Folks in Washington just accept it as the cost of living. You have an email address because, well, you want to send and receive emails. Washington works on communications, not secrecy. There is no important fact known by two people that is not known by everyone who as a remote reason to know it.
Manlaw.
If Foley wants to keep his job, there darn well better be a follow-up. If ABC doesn't want to release more, Foley can exonerate himself by releasing all the e-mail he has from this boy. Post it on his web site. We'll surely read it.
I suppose it's not out of the question..still..I'd want to know just WHAT the recommendation was for? The AF Academy..West Point? WHAT???
sw
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