Posted on 10/03/2006 2:22:38 PM PDT by kristinn
(CBS4 News) MIAMI Mark Foles attorney, David Roth attests that Foley is not a pedophile and "never ever" had sexual contact with minors.
Instead, Roth, a prominent criminal defense attorney with offices in West Palm Beach, portrayed the 52-year-old Foley as a troubled alcoholic who has suffered from mental illness much of his adult life. "Mark is an alcoholic. He drank in secret. He did not drink in public," Roth said. "He had two lives with regard to his alcohol consumption. In public, and in public service, he was sober. When he was alone, he was not sober. He is an acknowledged alcoholic."
Foley is now in treatment for alcoholism and mental illness at an undisclosed center, where he is expected to remain for at least 30 days, Roth said. Roth said he was contacted by Foley on Friday, minutes after the Fort Pierce Republican resigned from Congress after being confronted with sexually explicit Internet messages he exchanged with a teenage boy.
When asked whether or not Foley had sexual contact with the minors he was conversing with, Roth said, "Based on all the information that I have, Mark Foley has never ever had an inappropriate sexual contact with a minor in his life."
Roth described the former Congressman as "contrite, remorseful and devastated by the harm that his actions have caused.... He blames no one but himself."
On Capitol Hill, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and other leaders were moving quickly and vigorously to distance themselves from Foley. Hastert said Monday that House Republican leaders were unaware of the "vile and repulsive" sexually explicit messages Foley had sent to a former page.
"Congressman Foley duped a lot of people," Hastert said at a news conference. "He deceived the good men and women in organizations around this country with whom he worked to strengthen our child predator laws. I have known him for all the years he served in this House. He deceived me, too."
Foley's name was removed from the wall outside his office early Monday. Later in the morning, a congressional employee posted a new sign reading, "Office of the 16th Congressional District of Florida."
His staff now works for the House clerk's office, which also took over his congressional Web site. The staff was warned early Monday not to talk to the media, one staffer said.
Foley's name will remain on the ballot.
House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a radio interview with Sean Hannity that Negron is virtually doomed because "to vote for this candidate, you have to vote for Mark Foley. How many people are going to hold their nose to do that?"
The GOP leaders' handling of the matter prompted criticism even from some Republicans who said they should have acted more forcefully.
"If they knew or should have known the extent of this problem, they should not serve in leadership," said Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn.
Republican leaders are concerned the aftermath of Foley's exit could hurt other GOP candidates in November.
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said there is "a real chance" the episode could threaten the GOP's majority status.
"I think the next 48 hours are critical in how this is handled," he said. "When a party holds itself out as the guardian of values, this is not helpful."
Democrats were quick to accuse Republicans of not doing enough to protect the congressional pages who live in dorms near the Capitol.
"Republican leaders admitted to knowing about Mr. Foley's abhorrent behavior for six months to a year and failed to protect the children in their trust," said Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "Republican leaders must be investigated by the ethics committee and immediately questioned under oath."
The White House was even brought into the firestorm. Spokesman Tony Snow attempted to deflect the political repercussions. "The House has to clean up the mess, to the extent there is a mess," he said. "This does not affect every Republican in the United States of America, just as bad behavior on Democrats' part is not a reflection on the entire party."
The Justice Department sent Hastert a brief letter that said the FBI was "conducting a preliminary investigation into this matter and will work closely with the department's prosecutors to determine whether any violations of federal law have occurred." The Washington Post reported that a former chief of staff for Foley made one last effort to keep the most damaging messages from going public.
According to media reporter Howard Kurtz, the unnamed chief of staff contacted ABC's Brian Ross, offering to give the network an exclusive about Foley's resignation if Ross agreed "not to publish the raw, sexually explicit messages." Foley resigned after ABC confronted him with those messages.
Bipolar disorder would be my guess.
*****
"Got Caught Syndrome" is mine.
One of the new IMs out today was about getting together to drink with some underage kid at Foley's place. If this happened, are we supposed to believe (a) all they did was drink and/or (b) the kid was not a "minor" (by DC law) at the time?
Scarborough (weasel) says that it seems like "after they get in there and get entrenched in power, it seems like they have a "god given right to control Congress and they'll do anything to keep it".
This isn't just about Foley..they aim to bring down the Republicans and it's glaringly obvious.
sw
Bears repeating.
A sixteen year old is not a child.
The law in most states disagrees with you.
That's going down on my word a day calendar.
You are confusing minor with child.
pedophile [pee-duh-fahyl]–noun
Psychiatry. an adult who is sexually attracted to young children.
pederast [ped·er·ast]n. A man who has sexual relations, especially anal intercourse, with a boy.
In the words of the immortal Phil Hendrie, "Why don't you ask mommy to scoop you an extra helping of dumb tonight?"
Fair enough, but I use the two interchangeably (rightly or wrongly).
Foley is apparently attracted to adolescents, which makes him an ephebophile. 'Pederast' is a more appropriate colloquial term than 'pedophile,' as it refers to relations between an older man and a youth, as was common in ancient Greece. A true pedophile is one attracted to prepubescent or peripubescent childrne.
"Shall the Government pass a law that no gays can hold public office?"
I don't care what people do in their private lives, as long as it doesn't involve underage kids. 17 and under. Especially if it involves my tax dollars.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.