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.
Too bad the republicans don't have the stones to do it.
"How come its ok for queer dems?"
This ass is more than 'queer'. He is a child molester. Hastert and all others who have tried to cover for him should immediately resign.
We ask that of dems knowing full well it won't happen but we should make it happen to our won to set the example!
I wouldn't like it and don't expect it but it should happen none the less!
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.
First, the *Rats* look ridiculous here. They LOVE perversion anyway and could care less about the sexual exploitation of young people.
Secondly, since it seems all the Republicans here were going on was the report that the page felt uncomfortable that Foley had asked him for a photo, their actions don't look that stupid. It wasn't a huge flag that they should have launched an investigation over.
Also they warned Foley; if he had any loyalty, at that time he should have 'fessed up and taken the consequences rather than put his party in this situation. He should have said, "Here's the bad news, boss, so you hear first from me: I've done more than ask that kid for a photo, and what I've done will not look purty if/when it comes out."
Further, the warning should have caused Foley to at least STOP this crap and he doesn't seem to have done that either.
Only by a few months -- Monica Lewinsky was hardly a *worldly-wise* woman, possessed of complete maturity and able to comprehend all the decisions she was making. She participated in a conspiracy to commit perjury, by the admission of Clinton's own Impeachment lawyer, Cheryl Mills.
It is the very same thing, IMMGAHO, older men with power and influence using the same, and their public office, in order to satisfy their baser needs. The gender doesn't matter, it is irrelevent to the subject that Clinton had a girl in his sites and Foley chooses boys. They both took advantage of people who were too young to deal with the ramifications of the whole ... and it is too bad the only thing people are looking at with Foley is the gay aspect and not the preying upon young people with ill intent.
And why the military should exclude homosexuals.
Yes, but these things take time, and he may not have owned up to it in the beginning. If they needed an investigation, or if the congressman in question was in the middle of governmental things that he had to finish and couldn't leave for the next guy, that too would take time. I'm sure he was monitored from the time the GOP was made aware of it, and I am equally sure it was immediately known that he had to resign.
I agree that Foley should be prosecuted to the max.
"He is a child molester."
Where is the evidence to support this?
It has not been a good week.
Good advice.
Oh, yes they can go a witch-huntin'. It makes no difference to them that it's totally hypercritical.
At this point who's to know it wasn't anymore than a few dirty jokes that past between them? The parents don't seem to be too upset.
Ms. Lewinsky was 24, not 16.
Prosecuted for what?
OTOH the IM's are over the line. Those were released by CREW, the "public interest" group fronting Wilson/Plame's laughable civil suit against Cheney et al. When did they get them? Did they share them with anyone? Why did they wait until now to make them public?
Don't let yourself be played yet again by these masters of deceit."
BINGO!
And the Dems running the House is good in what way...? Jack Murtha as majority leader, Nancy Pelosi as speaker...? Constant investigations of Bush, impeachment, raise taxes, stop funding the war...? Do you really want that??
How about the GOP retaining the House, and then getting a new majority leader. I'd rather have some bad apples in the GOP we can deal with when the time comes than a whole lot of rotten Dem eggs in charge any day!
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