The House leadership could have "asked" Foley to retire with some dignity once they determined that Foley (who they knew was gay) was sending emails to pages that were creeping them out. They didn't.
Rep. Tom Reynolds
Scandal in Washington D.C. hits close to home
9/30/06
A scandal in Washington D.C. is hitting close to home. The New York State Democratic Committee is accusing Congressman Tom Reynolds of covering up an alleged sex crime. The scandal involves representative Mark Foley of Florida. On Friday he stepped down after accusations he sent sexually explicit emails to a minor.
Democrats say, Reynolds knew about these emails and did nothing. In fact, they say he helped cover them up. Foley is accused of sending emails to a former congressional "page". Pages are basically high school students who attend classes and perform various administrative duties.
This scandal comes at a critical time. Democrats need to win 15 seats in the upcoming November elections to take control of the house. Reynolds admits congressman Rodney Alexander brought the emails to his attention. But says, even though he didn’t see the emails, he still took action.
Reynolds released this statement today, "despite the fact that I had not seen the emails in question, and Mr. Alexander told me that the parents didn't want the matter pursued, I told the Speaker of the conversation Mr. Alexander had with me."
Reynolds says as far as he knows, Congressman Alexander took the matter to the clerk of the house, where an investigation was conducted.
Democratic spokesman Blake Zeff says, "this is not politics, these are facts, and these facts raise serious questions about Mr. Reynolds judgment and values."
Reynolds says he thinks Foley’s actions are unacceptable and believes he should be held accountable.
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