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."
Mostly standard homosexual pickup lines and so forth. Guy was cruising the net for conveniently available House pages.
Yes, I've been pinged! With the new information since last night, it's now clear that he was pursuing sexual relationships - at least online, if not in person - with teenage boys.
Guy's gotta' go ~ one too many pervs in the Congress.
How's that "Dems set him up" Theory working out for ya?
As do I. However, I trust my guts on such things. Guess this time I was right; the weasel resigned today...........he didn't just drop out of the race, he resigned his office. Guess there was plenty of "there" there.
You were right! I was giving him the benefit of the doubt before those IM"s became public.
I could see myself asking a kid about their birthday and making small talk about what they had been doing. I am on a message board that has a demographic from 8 to 80 and every age in between--we all talk to the younger ones that way and yes we ask for pictures. Nothing shameful about it. I guess I just needed more info.
Just fine. I still stand by it. My "set up" theory had nothing to do with whether or not he was guilty or innocent of preying on the kid.
My "Set up" theory had to do with the possibility that the kid contacted Foley on the Dems behalf. And even if that wasnt the case, I still get the feeling that the Dems were indeed still involved somehow. For example: Has anyone checked into how the news media (particularly ABC) got the story in the first place?)
And don't ever act sarcastic towards me ever again. This was your first warning, big nose. /Monty Python
"Who are you calling Big Nose?!" And remember, Blessed are the Cheesemakers. ;-)
If the dems set him up, then I say "Good for them!" Have you read the rest of these emails? This guy is a total predatory sicko who should have his penis cut off. He is a disgusting pervert who should have been taken down by the Republican leadership years ago but they were too gutless and/or concerned about holding onto their power to keep innocent pages safe from this monster. Shame on them!
I completely agree. Dont get me wrong. I'm not excusing his (perverted) actions even if he was set up. But I would love to see a Dem set up fall flat on its face every now and then.
But Democrats are attempting to make hay by alleging that the Republican leadership may have known about the inappropriate emails and covered them up for months. Their hope, no doubt, is to discourage turnout by disillusioned evangelical and other voters sensitive to moral issues. But the emerging background detail suggests that this is simply not the case, and that an attack strategy has been devised by parties anxious to damage the GOP and swing the coming election.
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