Fordham said he can demonstrate that he warned Hastert chief of staff Scott Palmer about Foley's approaches to male pages in 2002 or 2003. Palmer denied the warning took place.
Posted on 10/12/2006 4:21:26 AM PDT by TexKat
Gay Senate staffers come out for new caucus (Gay)
New group cites FMA as key reason for forming GLASS
By ADRIAN BRUNE
Friday, May 07, 2004
As he approached Capitol Hill on the evening of April 28 for a gay and lesbian reception, Chris Barron expected to eventually find it in a cloistered corner of the Russell Senate Office Building with little pomp or circumstance.
But climbing the stairs to SR-385 with the other 50 or so attendees, Barron, the legislative director of the Log Cabin Republicans, noticed the stately flags adorning the large, paneled doors. Walking through them, he saw gay Hill staffers and their supporters — including several members of Congress — mingling over drinks in a decorous room with vaulted ceilings typically reserved for key Senate hearings.
As he entered the inaugural event for the Gays, Lesbians & Allies Senate Staff (GLASS) Caucus, Barron said he knew gay staffers had prominently arrived in some of the nation’s most important halls.
“I remember coming up, I thought ‘Where exactly will this be tucked away,’” Barron told a buttoned-down contingent of federal employees. “Then I saw Room 385, and I didn’t think it could possibly be here. But it is.
“We have come a long way. It is extremely courageous and important what you’re doing by just standing here.”
For more than a decade, a gay and lesbian professional association has met regularly on the House side of Congress to raise the visibility and awareness of gay congressional employees. Inspired by that group’s success and prompted by the Federal Marriage Amendment, two staffers — a young man from a voluble Democrat’s office, and a long-term administrative director for a conservative Republican — decided to establish a sister organization across the Hill.
GLASS co-founder Lynden Armstrong, an employee of Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), said that he has received significant support for the GLASS Caucus from members, including his own, who backed the FMA, but is “supportive of my professional development as an employee.” However, Armstrong acknowledged that many other Republican staffers “have been reserved about getting involved.
“When they see that it’s not an activist organization, I believe they will be more inclined to join,” he said.
No political or federal organization keeps statistics on the number of gay men and lesbians currently working for Congress. Those who have publicly come out say they believe the numbers are much higher than estimated, and that many gay staffers still fear termination or ostracism if they declare their orientation.
“There are hundreds of gay and lesbian staffers here; it’s just a matter of letting people know there is a supportive network,” said Mat Young, the Democratic half behind the GLASS Caucus and a legislative aide to Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.). “They need to know that they can be openly gay and still have a successful career in Congress.”
While appearances by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), as well as progressive Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Mark Dayton (D-Minn.) lend legitimacy to the GLASS Caucus, they don’t speak for the other senators with a history of intolerance.
Over the past decade, several have publicly indicated their refusal to hire gay or lesbian staffers, including Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), according to Capitol Hill newspaper, Roll Call. Others have made other disparaging remarks, comparing homosexuality to kleptomania in the case of former Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) in 1998, and equating it to bigamy and incest, as Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) did in a 2003 Associated Press interview.
http://www.washblade.com/2004/7-9/news/localnews/outed.cfm
Gay community analyzes Foley resignation
In 1996, The Advocate, a gay newsmagazine, outed Foley. During his 2003 run for U.S. Senate, several Florida newspapers reported the old Advocate story. Foley has never publicly said that he is gay. On May 23, 2003, he called a news conference and said that the innuendo about his life was "revolting and and unforgivable" and that he would not discuss his sexual orientation.
"Elected officials, even those who run for the United States Senate, must have some level of privacy," Foley said during a half-hour conference call with newspaper reporters from across Florida . "My mother and father raised me and the rest of my family to believe that there are certain things we shouldn't discuss in public. Some of you may believe that it's old-fashioned, but I believe those are good ideals to live by."
Fordham said he can demonstrate that he warned Hastert chief of staff Scott Palmer about Foley's approaches to male pages in 2002 or 2003. Palmer denied the warning took place.
check out Mike Rogers post today:
http://blogactive.com/
LOL..he knows the FBI is on to him and he is trying to deflect!
His 'internet consultant' is not important....but his links to an internet provider on Capitol Hill are!!
Man....what a web of tangled deception.
Gee, I knew my softball coach, but didn't know he was a KILLER!
Key Figure In Foley Case To Testify
Former Top Aide Says He Warned Hastert's Office About Foley As Early As 2002
WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, 2006
CBS/AP) Investigators are questioning witnesses in the House page scandal whose information could potentially sink Republicans trying to maintain a congressional majority.
The testimony Thursday of former Rep. Mark Foley's chief of staff, Kirk Fordham, will directly question the truthfulness of Speaker Dennis Hastert's top aide.
Fordham said he can demonstrate that he warned Hastert chief of staff Scott Palmer about Foley's approaches to male pages in 2002 or 2003. Palmer denied the warning took place.
Hastert's aides said they first learned of an overly friendly Foley e-mail to a former page in the fall of 2005 — and never knew about sexually explicit messages to others until late last month when they became public.
The scandal continues to chase Hastert on the campaign trail. Democrats have suggested there's been a cover-up.
On Wednesday, President Bush gave Hastert words of support.
"I appreciated Speaker Hastert's strong declaration of his desire to get to the bottom of it," the president said at a White House news conference. "And I want to make sure we understand what Republicans knew and what Democrats knew in order to find the facts. I hope that happens sooner than later."
The FBI is also investigating, trying to determine whether any crimes were committed by Foley.
On Wednesday, agents interviewed former page Jordan Edmund, now 21.
CBS News has learned that Edmund told the FBI he had limited contact with Foley as a page in 2001 and 2002, but that after Edmund left the page program Foley began e-mailing him.
They met in person twice, including for dinner in San Diego in 2002. They went to Foley's hotel room but Edmund told agents he left after about 20 minutes and nothing untoward happened, CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports.
While the ethics committee will try to learn who's telling the truth, the court of public opinion appeared to be moving against the Republicans, who hold majorities in the House and Senate.
Polls show most Americans say the House Republican leadership worried more about politics than the safety of teenage pages. However, most also say Democrats would not have handled the situation better.
Several polls also show a split on whether Hastert, R-Ill., should step down, with just under half of those surveyed saying he should. More than half in several polls said Hastert tried to cover up what he knew about Foley.
Next week, the committee is to hear from Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La., whose testimony also will raise questions about how GOP leaders handled the Foley problem. A former page he sponsored from Louisiana received friendly e-mails from Foley that were not sexually explicit but raised questions about Foley's motives.
The former page contacted Alexander's office about Foley in fall 2005. Foley, R-Fla., had asked the boy's age — then 16 — and his birthday. Foley also requested a photo.
There is no dispute that Alexander's chief of staff, who also will be questioned, called Hastert's office. This, according to a report by Hastert, was the initial notification that something was wrong.
Last spring, Alexander mentioned the Foley situation to House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. Alexander said Boehner referred him to Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Republican campaign organization.
Both Boehner and Reynolds said they spoke with Hastert, who says he cannot recall those conversations and raised questions about whether they occurred.
Boehner initially quoted Hastert as telling him the Louisiana page's complaint "had been taken care of."
Boehner has also been "invited" to appear before the ethics subcommittee and is "looking forward to meeting with them," Attkissson reports.
Another key figure, Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., chairman of the board overseeing the page program, is to testify under oath to the ethics committee Friday, said Shimkus spokesman Steve Tomaszewski.
Foley resigned Sept. 29 after his sexually explicit instant messages to former pages became public.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/12/politics/main2084565.shtml
Hastert's office better get ahead of this thing...and FAST!! Where is Freah? Who all has been called to HIS OFFICE so far?
Shimkus to testify before ethics panel
POSTED: 10/12/2006 10:06 am
COLLINSVILLE, Ill. (AP) - Republican Congressman John Shimkus from Collinsville says he'll gladly testify before the House ethics committee about his handling of electronic messages related to the congressional page scandal.
Shimkus says he has nothing to hide, and he tells the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he'll appear tomorrow before the committee.
That panel isn't only investigating former GOP Congressman Mark Foley's inappropriate and sometimes salacious electronic messages to former pages, but whether House officials covered up Foley's come-ons.
Shimkus heads the board overseeing the page program.
He says he had no reason to suspect Foley further when he questioned the Republican last year about suspicious e-mails.
Shimkus says he'll cooperate with an F-B-I investigation separate from the congressional inquiry.
http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=5530839&nav=1sW7
Congressman John Shimkus, R-Illinois, gestures during a phone interview with a reporter. ( J.B. Forbes/P-D)
The Ethics Panel will not be the ones to break this case. Only the FBI can do that and if we don't start hearing something soon on that front..then my research needs to come out in the open ,so you guys can decide!
I have really reached the limits of my patience with this whole thing!
Thanks for keeping me pinged Kat!
Bump!
"Polls show most Americans say .... Democrats would not have handled the situation better. Several polls also show a split on whether Hastert, R-Ill., should step down, with just under half of those surveyed saying he should."
---- What a disappointment these numbers must be with the media. They've been driving this story and pushing for Hastert's resignation 24/7 and yet "under half" of those surveyed buy what they are pushing, and you know that that "under half" is your Democratic faithful who think Hastert should resign for the benefit of the Democratic Party not the Republican or the country as a whole.
AMEN to that!
Thanks for posting this ...Texkat....Media is going to keep this alive.
OMG He looks like John Mark Karr's big brother in that photo!
I don't think Freeh is working on this. I've heard nothing since Pelosi nixed his participation.
It would be interesting to know who is being interviewed besides the players on a superficial level that are already known.
You mean a "woman scorned"!!
Well we know the FBI is working on this thing..now whether Freah is part of the investigation, I guess we can not be sure at this point. But, I am telling you, the ethics committee does not have the where with all to get to the bottom of this! That is why I sent everything I dug up last week to the FBI and to Hastert's office!!
I got in in the last few minutes of the Mike Gallagher show this morning...and HE was interviewing Mike Rogers...and IMHO, was treating him with WAY too much respect...
I wish I could tell you what was said..all I did hear was Rogers saying that a Republican Senator was being hypocritical...and he would make it known..
And Gallagher saying "thank you, well maybe I'll have you back soon"...or something like that.
ALSO...I just heard Rush say that some e-mails went from Foley to President Bush...so the DEMS are gonna say that Bush is in on the "cover-up"??
Good grief!!...I would be re-doing my office today!!!going to have to unhook the computer in a bit....arghhhhhhhh!
Folks..these people are getting all of these emails because some of the 'operatives' have a direct link to the internet provider!! That is part of what I sent to the FBI!! This is the wiretapping bit!!
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