Overseer of House Pages to Be Questioned

AP ^ | 10/13/06 | LARRY MARGASAK

[TexKat]

WASHINGTON -- By LARRY MARGASAK Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON -- The chief congressional overseer of House pages, who says he tried to stop ex-Rep. Mark Foley from e-mailing a Louisiana page in late 2005, is ready to explain his actions to House investigators. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., scheduled for questioning Friday before the House ethics committee, says he kept the two other House members overseeing the pages in the dark as he confronted Foley last fall. Shimkus, chairman of the House Page Board, said he was following the wishes of the boy's parents by not telling the other members.

A four-member ethics investigating panel, operating in closed session, is hearing key witnesses with knowledge of how Republicans handled several alarms raised about Foley's conduct over the past five years. The Florida Republican resigned Sept. 29 after he was confronted with sexually explicit instant messages sent to former male pages.

Foley's one-time chief of staff testified before the investigative panel for nearly five hours Thursday. Kirk Fordham has said publicly that he raised alarms with House Speaker Dennis Hastert's top aide nearly three years ago.

Fordham would not comment on his testimony. His extensive knowledge of Foley's actions include the Florida Republican's attempt to enter the page dorm while drunk several years ago, one of the events that triggered several alarms raised by Fordham with House officials, according to a source familiar with Fordham's actions and knowledge.

Hastert, R-Ill., has said he learned of inappropriate approaches by Foley in late September and his aides found out in the fall of 2005. Hastert's chief of staff, Scott Palmer, has denied that Fordham contacted him at least three years ago, contradicting Fordham and creating one of the major conflicts the committee must resolve.

[TexKat]

Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (L) and Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) speak to reporters about Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) on Capitol Hill, October 2, 2006. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

[Perdogg]

http://strata-sphere.com/blog/index.php/archives/2686

[TexKat]

Chairman of page board to meet with ethics panel

CAPITOL HILL The House Ethics Committee continues a closed-door meeting today on former Mark Foley's e-mails to male pages.

The chairman of the page board, Illinois Congressman John Shimkus, will be quizzed by the panel today. He met with Foley last year and didn't tell other board members at the request of the page's parents.

Foley's former chief of staff met with the committee for several hours yesterday. Kirk Fordham has said he told aides to House Speaker Dennis Hastert about Foley's inappropriate e-mails several years ago.

His lawyer says Fordham "has been consistent" in his accounts of what happened. But Hastert's top aides dispute that.

Foley resigned from Congress last month after being confronted with sexually explicit instant messages.

http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=5533752&nav=menu37_3

[tobyhill]

Who to believe? Palmer, someone with nothing to lose and nothing to gain or Fordham, a gay drama queen who wants nothing more than to cause trouble because his former lover Foley likes someone else?

[maggief]

Shimkus should read this thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1718486/posts

[Suzy Quzy]

YIKES!!! All Freepers should read that!! A little confusing but that Freeper is a real detective!

[Uncle Chip]

This from Strata-Sphere by way of CNN or vice versa:

"It seems that the earlier warnings about Rep Mark Foley and Pages had nothing to do about salacious emails or IMs, had nothing to do with concerns about sexual predation by Foley on the Pages, had nothing to do about sex. They were about being DRUNK!

"The source said Fordham was to say he notified Scott Palmer, Hastert’s chief of staff, three or four years ago about a report that Foley had shown up drunk at the dormitory that houses the teenage messengers.

"Emphasis mine. Notice how CNN has to add in their 20/20 hindsight spotter’s scope by getting the word ‘messengers’ into the sentence. Of course the event, if it happened, had nothing to do with IMs and emails. In fact, it would be hard to make this about anything but a drunk congressman."

[American Butterfly]

This "investigation" is useless If all anybody has is just words to contribute. Did any of these people document any of the supposed warnings about Foley? If not then it's just another case of he said, she said. You can't get anywhere with that.

[TexKat]

CAPITOL HILL 'OUTING' CAMPAIGN - PHASE 2. Last week we reported about the effort by a few gay rights activists to "out" high-ranking, closeted gay staffers on Capitol Hill if their bosses supported the proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Now, Michael Rogers -- one the two who led the effort to "expose hypocrisy" -- is turning his efforts in a new direction. The target: married heterosexual Congressmen and US Senators who loudly decry gay marriage as endangering the sacred institution of marriage -- while they privately engage in adulterous affairs. Rogers is currently collecting money so that he can purchase ads seeking tips. He promises to investigate all leads and report upon any facts he can establish. Hmmm ... this could get very interesting!
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 07.16.04 | COMMENTS (98)

http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:qTbq1Y9cMaAJ:www.politics1.com/blog-0704a.htm+RON+GUNZBURGER+mike+rogers&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=2

[SunkenCiv]

...he was following the wishes of the boy's parents by not telling the other members.

Next up, the boy's parents are called to testify in a transparent attempt to smear Representative Shimkus.

[windchime]

Congressman John Shimkus

http://www.house.gov/shimkus/about.shtml

[TexKat]

Page Overseer Testifies About Foley

Friday October 13, 2006 4:48pm


Washington (AP) - An Illinois lawmaker who as an overseer of House pages acted to stop ex-Rep. Mark Foley from e-mailing a Louisiana page in late 2005 testified for more than three hours Friday before House investigators. Rep. John Shimkus, who testified in private, told reporters later that in retrospect, he wished he had handled the episode last year differently.

"Having 20/20 hindsight, a lot of things would have been done differently," Shimkus said.

Shimkus has said he kept the two other House members overseeing the pages in the dark as he confronted Foley last fall. Shimkus, chairman of the House Page Board, has said he was following the wishes of the boy's parents by not telling the other two lawmakers of overly friendly e-mails sent by Foley to a former page.

A four-member ethics investigating panel, operating in closed session, is hearing key witnesses with knowledge of how Republicans handled several alarms raised about Foley's conduct over the past five years. The Florida Republican resigned Sept. 29 after he was confronted with sexually explicit instant messages sent to other former male pages - not the episode that Shimkus testified about.

Shimkus said he testified to assist the investigators in finding out "who knew what, when and where."

Written By LARRY MARGASAK

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1006/368820.html

[TexKat]

U.S. Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) (C) answers questions after appearing before the House ethics committee in their offices at the Capitol in Washington, October 13, 2006. Shimkus oversees the House Page Board, and is a central figure in the scandal surrounding former Rep. Mark Foley's alleged cybersex activities with Capitol pages. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES)

[windchime]

"A four-member ethics investigating panel, operating in closed session, is hearing key witnesses with knowledge of how Republicans handled several alarms raised about Foley's conduct over the past five years."

 

Wonder which four are on the panel.  I thought they all would be.

Members of the House Ethics Committee are, top row from left, Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., chairman; Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Ill.; Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas; Rep. Melissa Hart, R-Pa.; and Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla. Bottom row from left are, Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., ranking minority member; Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio; Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas; Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif.; and Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa.