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."
I agree with just about all the posts. This doesn't pass the smell test from either point of view. I don't trust tha congressman, and I trust the kid even less. As these things go, where there is smoke.........The email thing seems to be a classic pedo pattern, even if it's not. Glad I don't have to worry about HIM, but pedos are everywhere.
OK, whatever. BTW, can I have a picture of your 16 year old daughter? No reason, I just think it would be nice to have is all.
I see from someone else's post that this kid was not an intern in the Congressman's office. Yet the kid contacted Foley for a recommendation, so there must have been some interaction. Perhaps they met because the kid is from his district, and he visited his Congressman's office a few times. Still need more information before anyone reaches any conclusions.
Some of us here call it GAY-dar.
I went searching and it looks like foley is gay, mentioned all over the place. i did find where they said the guy didn't work for foley. I would still like to see this documented in something besides a blog.
This is a possible set up.
People get recommendations from people they have never worked for all the time. The kid probably worked with someone who knew Foley and said he would put in a good word to Foley. Happens all the time.
Would you, under any circumstances, ask for a picture of a 16 year old boy/girl (that is not a close family relation) during an email exchange? No matter who initiated the conversation? How about asking what they wanted for their b-day? C'mon now, you know you wouldn't.
The language in itself is damning.
No, but I am getting highly embarrassed. I have asked kids that I didn't know very well what they wanted for their birthday in casual conversation. I had NO IDEA I was engaging in such deviant behavior.
You get that vibe too?
That collection of words included "congressman" and "Arrested in Teen Sex Scandal," which made me subconcsiously think this story was about a congressman who was involved in a teen sex scandal....
Sounds like the "intern" might be in it too...did the intern send the initial email to the Congressman's aol account? If so, the guy just hit reply. I think there's more to this story.
I personally don't care what he does with other men (your mileage may vary).
It's a 16 year old page that bothers me.
Especially in light of all the past page scandals.
Either way, it's sickening..and the damage is done.
sw
Of course I wouldn't.
You're oversimplying a little bit, aren't you?
Could be part of the set up. Foley's enemies (who probably know alot more about him than just his personal email address) could have given it to the kid.
OVERSIMPLIFYING.............oversimplifying.
Bingo! And that would be my point to anyone on this post who doesn't see what was going on here. This is typical pedo perv on-line behavior. It's sick and this guy is a disgusting pig.
Well, we don't know for sure, but at the very least, this guy has put himself in this position with the personal emails.
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