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.
Yes, he is.
Eeek.
Well put.
FWIW, jla, those were my words.
Thank you for the clarification, Highball. And again, well put.
Jim Kolbe in AZ is gay. I don't know that 'above board' is the right way to describe that, but I would agree to 'out in the open'. And at least he wasn't caught diddling a 15 yr old boy.
Now, that's what I call a first class inerview! Kudos! ;-)
Now, that's what I call a first class interview! Kudos! ;-)
Nah, I kept calling her Mr. No one is going to hire me after that interview, LOL.
Well, could be a natural mistake! Haha!
We already KNOW Hastert saw the blasted e-mails. It was the IMs he didn't see. The article mentions the E-MAILS only.
If people keep on mixing this up purposely, I will assume that they are from DU, because that's about the IQ level people are showing by not getting this straight.
"So it's not a Democrat plot? You admit that Foley did all this?
If so, then you apparently think it's okay to shelter a pedophile, just so long as he's a Republican.
That's obscene."
--Yeah, I think it's a Democrite plot. You also talking about Studds and Frank, the HANDS ON Democrites? ha! Woodward is on his 3rd book, sources say, BS deal! Now I read it was a prank by a 21 year old former page, who egged Foley on! The family of page requested that the matter be dropped! Did the Democrites do anything until now? NO! Good timing though! Democrites have just been little poor us minority party do nothings. Come to think of it, all the democrites have done for the past 6 years is try to impeach Bush, through a bunch of allegations, that went nowhere! Ya got that, hypocrite?
"This isn't about politics, it's about protecting kids from a predator. The more we try to soft-pedal it, the bigger opportunity we hand the Dims to score points."
--Yeah, sure. Bahahahahaha.....
"So it's not a Democrat plot? You admit that Foley did all this?
If so, then you apparently think it's okay to shelter a pedophile, just so long as he's a Republican.
That's obscene."
--Yeah, I think it's a Democrite plot. You also talking about Studds and Frank, the HANDS ON Democrites? ha! Woodward is on his 3rd book, sources say, BS deal! Now I read it was a prank by a 21 year old former page, who egged Foley on! The family of page requested that the matter be dropped! Did the Democrites do anything until now? NO! Good timing though! Democrites have just been little poor us minority party do nothings. Come to think of it, all the democrites have done for the past 6 years is try to impeach Bush, through a bunch of allegations, that went nowhere! Ya got that, hypocrite?
Foley has admitted sending the messages. Your assertion that this is some sort of plot is bizarre at best, delusional at worst.
I never denied that the Dims haven't had these scumbags in their party, nor that they sheltered them. I did say that the fact they were willing to sell out kids for political gain does not excuse us doing the same thing - I hold Republicans to actually having standards.
I am not the hypocrite. Your use of that word makes me question whether you actually know what it means.
I condemn anyone who solicits children. The hypocrite is the person who's willing to overlook such obscene behavior if it comes from a member of his party.
I repeat, that's obscene. To which I can only add that it's hypocritical.
"Foley has admitted sending the messages. Your assertion that this is some sort of plot is bizarre at best, delusional at worst.
I never denied that the Dims haven't had these scumbags in their party, nor that they sheltered them. I did say that the fact they were willing to sell out kids for political gain does not excuse us doing the same thing - I hold Republicans to actually having standards.
I am not the hypocrite. Your use of that word makes me question whether you actually know what it means.
I condemn anyone who solicits children. The hypocrite is the person who's willing to overlook such obscene behavior if it comes from a member of his party.
I repeat, that's obscene. To which I can only add that it's hypocritical."
---So you're saying any senator can't bring this up, demo or republican? And the poor little libbie demo senators are just seat warmers then! I see!
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