Posted on 09/30/2006 3:06:00 PM PDT by wjersey
Rep. Thomas Reynolds, head of the House Republican election effort, said he told Speaker Dennis Hastert after learning a fellow GOP lawmaker sent inappropriate messages to a teenage boy.
Reynolds, R-N.Y., was told months ago about e-mails sent by Rep. Mark Foley and is now defending himself from Democratic accusations that he did too little. Foley, R-Fla., resigned Friday after ABC News questioned him about the e-mails to a former congressional page and about sexually suggestive instant messages to other pages. The boy who received the e-mails was 16 in summer 2005 when he worked in Congress as a page. After the boy returned to his Louisiana home, the congressman e-mailed him, and the teenager thought the messages were inappropriate, particularly one in which Foley asked the teen to send a picture of himself.
The teen's family contacted their congressman, Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La., who then discussed it with Reynolds sometime this spring.
"Rodney Alexander brought to my attention the existence of e-mails between Mark Foley and a former page of Mr. Alexander's," Reynolds, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a written statement Saturday.
"Despite the fact that I had not seen the e-mails 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 said.
Reynolds added that Alexander also discussed it with the clerk of the House, and the congressman who oversees the page program, Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill.
Shimkus has said he learned about the e-mail exchange in late 2005 and took immediate action to investigate.
Shimkus said Foley told him it was an innocent exchange. Shimkus said he warned Foley not to have any more contact with the teenager and to respect other pages.
Democrats charged Reynolds did far too little and said more digging should be done.
"Congressman Reynolds' inaction in the face of such a serious situation is very troubling, and raises important questions about whether there was an attempt to cover up criminal activity involving a minor to keep it from coming to light before election day," said Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Karen Finney.
New York Democrats hoping to unseat Reynolds blasted the congressman, saying they call into question the Republican's values.
"Mr. Reynolds knew about these allegedly inappropriate emails from a fellow congressman to a minor for months and didn't lift a finger," said Blake Zeff, a spokesman for the state Democrats.
Surprisingly Foley was never caught on NBC Dateline To Catch A Predator.
I stand corrected. It was not a page technically but a male he put on his payroll (at taxpayer expense).
I don't know anything conclusive other than what I've read on FR>
See a shrink before it's too late. There's help out there, and good meds too.
That's an excellent idea! May I have the phone number to your shrink? I don't want the same meds you're taking, though, because they're obviously not working. LOL
Pedophilia refers to the attraction to prepubescent or peripubescent children, and is not the correct term in the case of soliciting a 16 year old boy, something a majority seem to have a hard time grasping. When it comes to postpubescent adolescents, the correct term is hebephilia (or ephebophilia). Judging from this incident alone and without knowledge of what else he might've been up to, Foley is a practicing hebephile - or pederast - and not a pedophile.
This little exercise in semantics naturally doesn't change the fact that he should be dealt with accordingly; but the use of incorrect terms is a slight source of irritation to me.
No, what it demonstrates is that Hastert did not have any knowledge of the actual content of the emails, and was not in a position to comment, as I read it - the family of the former page in question contacted their Congressman, who in turn took their concerns to Congressman Reynolds, who brought it to the attention of the Speaker.
It would be safe to say that there are so many allegations that fly around the House of improper conduct each and every day that it cannot be expected for the Speaker to have detailed knowledge of each and every one. That is why he designates and delegates other members to look into things like this.
So what did the "other members" find?
These are extremely serious allegations, and when confronted Foley admitted to part of them. That should have triggered a full-scale investigation.
It looks like the House leaders had several months, at least half a year, to investigate. Did they? Whatdid ABC do that Congress was unable to do?
If it comes out that Hastert or any of the other House leaders decided not to investigate, or put the investigation on the back burner to get past the election, then they must be forced to resign as well for sheltering this sick freak.
"He is a child molester."
Where is the evidence to support this?
You cannot be serious.
Anyone who talks to a minor about removing that minor's clothing, or asks if he makes the minor "horny" is a child molestor. He created a sexual situation with a minor for his own sick gratification.
The only question is the extent of the molestation, whether it went to physical contact or was only verbal.
"I don't know and why he's being investigated."
Have you been enlightened in the past 11 hours?
"FACT: There was no sex between Foley and the young man."
There is no sex between child porn possessers either. But they are prosecuted much more severely than Foley will likely be.
"That means all the gay people in Congress are going to have to start proving they leave kids alone ~ none of them should be accepted on their word alone. The percentage of the ones in Congress who are pedophiles seems to be VERY HIGH, and that's a risk we can't take."
What in the hell are you talking about? Just how many pedophiles can you identify for us please?
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