Speaker Hastert's Office On Mark Foley
The Speaker's office has just released the results of an internal investigation on what they knew and when they knew it:
INTERNAL REVIEW OF CONTACTS WITH THE OFFICE OF THE SPEAKER REGARDING THE CONGRESSMAN MARK FOLEY MATTER
On Friday, September 29, the Speaker directed his Chief of Staff and Outside Counsel to conduct an internal review to determine the facts and circumstances surrounding contact with the Office of the Speaker regarding the Congressman Mark Foley matter. The following is their preliminary report.
Email Exchange Between Congressman Foley and a Constituent of Congressman Alexander
In the fall of 2005 Tim Kennedy, a staff assistant in the Speaker's Office, received a telephone call from Congressman Rodney Alexander's Chief of Staff who indicated that he had an email exchange between Congressman Foley and a former House page. He did not reveal the specific text of the email but expressed that he and Congressman Alexander were concerned about it.
Tim Kennedy immediately discussed the matter with his supervisor, Mike Stokke, Speaker Hastert's Deputy Chief of Staff. Stokke directed Kennedy to ask Ted Van Der Meid, the Speaker's in house Counsel, who the proper person was for Congressman Alexander to report a problem related to a former page. Ted Van Der Meid told Kennedy it was the Clerk of the House who should be notified as the responsible House Officer for the page program. Later that day Stokke met with Congressman Alexander's Chief of Staff. Once again the specific content of the email was not discussed. Stokke called the Clerk and asked him to come to the Speaker's Office so that he could put him together with Congressman Alexander's Chief of Staff. The Clerk and Congressman Alexander's Chief of Staff then went to the Clerk's Office to discuss the matter.
The Clerk asked to see the text of the email. Congressman Alexander's office declined citing the fact that the family wished to maintain as much privacy as possible and simply wanted the contact to stop. The Clerk asked if the email exchange was of a sexual nature and was assured it was not. Congressman Alexander's Chief of Staff characterized the email exchange as over-friendly.
The Clerk then contacted Congressman Shimkus, the Chairman of the Page Board to request an immediate meeting. It appears he also notified Van Der Meid that he had received the complaint and was taking action. This is entirely consistent with what he would normally expect to occur as he was the Speaker's Office liaison with the Clerk's Office.
The Clerk and Congressman Shimkus met and then immediately met with Foley to discuss the matter. They asked Foley about the email. Congressman Shimkus and the Clerk made it clear that to avoid even the appearance of impropriety and at the request of the parents, Congressman Foley was to immediately cease any communication with the young man.
The Clerk recalls that later that day he encountered Van Der Meid on the House floor and reported to him that he and Shimkus personally had spoken to Foley and had taken corrective action.
Mindful of the sensitivity to the parent's wishes to protect their child's privacy and believing that they had promptly reported what they knew to the proper authorities Kennedy, Van Der Meid and Stokke did not discuss the matter with others in the Speaker's Office.
Congressman Tom Reynolds in a statement issued today indicates that many months later, in the spring of 2006, he was approached by Congressman Alexander who mentioned the Foley issue from the previous fall. During a meeting with the Speaker he says he noted the issue which had been raised by Alexander and told the Speaker that an investigation was conducted by the Clerk of the House and Shimkus. While the Speaker does not explicitly recall this conversation, he has no reason to dispute Congressman Reynold's recollection that he reported to him on the problem and its resolution.
Sexually Explicit Instant Message Transcript
No one in the Speaker's Office was made aware of the sexually explicit text messages which press reports suggest had been directed to another individual until they were revealed in the press and on the internet this week. In fact, no one was ever made aware of any sexually explicit email or text messages at any time.
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Wow this is the biggest bunch of bull and I can't believe Hastert thinks people are stupid enough to believe it...Amazing. Does it seem like there are lots of sex scandals involving right wingers and young boys lately?
Very, very sad...good ridence to Mark Foley--but I am very concerned that the republican leadership only cares about political implications...again, where is our moral authority? Shame on them!
Google \"Conspiracy of Silence video\". How many more Foley\'s are there?
Okay let's try and focus on what matters here. The boy was underage, Foley was one of the members working on legislation to protect children from pediphiles preying on children, Republican members on the committee responsible for the Page program let Foley continue even after being notified in September 2005, the only Democrat on the committee was kept in the dark.
So now does the GOP stand for Grand O'Party or Grand O'Pediphiles?
This is to much... I don't know that anyone with any sort of sence would not remember a subject like this when told about it. It seems to me they will lie about anything just to get elected and stay elected. I would not be surprized that everyone in Washington knew about this and kept their mouths shut. Kick them all out as fast as possible. Oh the high moral ground, so far has a lot to be desired. I would bet that even the top Administration knew about this, but don't let that interfer with keeping the marjority, they may just pass a law that say it's none of our business, trust us.
They worship the all-time ped:
"Come follow me, I'll make you fishers of boys." Mk 1:17
I really dont know what conservative right winger comments have to do with this conversation. Immorality and sexual perversion know no political party (Clinton?). Take him for what he is, a single homosexual predator. Wether he is in the closet or not does not justify the behavior. This is one of many reasons why I do not blindly follow political leaders. As far a christian goes, be not decieved you will know them by there fruits.
Well, we have had lies about WMD, rubbing out Saddam and "democratizing" Iraq, plus the deaths now over 2,000 and thousands of seriously injured military. So, now we have a Republican congreesman from the great Republican state of Florida. Are we all happy with Florida, the state of the world, and this country that was once almost Camelot. What's next Repubs???? I ask you.
Let's not forget the history of Hastert and "The Hammer" Tom DeLay. Haster canned the Ethics committee chair when the committee was going after DeLay. The repubs new ethics chair was Doc Hastings...a low ranking and ineffective republican that could be manipulated and will probably be reelected by the blind people here in eastern Washington.
'Immorality and sexual perversion know no political party (Clinton?)'
He got a blowjob from a woman that was over 18, sorry but there is no comparison whatsoever. Its just ironic that the anti-gay party is getting busted for gay sex chat with minors.You rightwingers just have to shut up and swallow this for what it is, another hypocrite republican pedophile.
Is Mark Foley going to come out now and release a book like the idiot from New Jersey, James McGreevey.
It's bad enough to be gay (happy) in politics, but to be happy propositioning young boys is even more nauseating of a thought, plus isn't that a Dateline’s unprecedented look at Internet predators stint. ARE THE POLICE WAITING OUTSIDE HIS DOOR ready to arrest THIS PEDOPHILE ??? !
"Take him for what he is, a single homosexual predator"
Pedophilia has nothing to do with homosexuality. Whether or not Foley is homosexual (which he very well may not be) has absolutely no connection with the fact he is a pedophile.
so you're saying if a democrat would have been busted for being a homosexual pedophile it wouldn't have been such a big deal because it's kind of expected? i'll go along with that...
This is an individual case that has nothing to do with either party's politics. Unfortunately, both sides are trying to make it political. Neither is really taking the high road.
Does anyone care about the fact the Dems. knew about Foley and just now care weeks before the election? They do not seem to care about the kids involved but just to take the focus off the issues of the elections. What ever happened to caring about things that really matter instead of winning at all costs. We are all in the same boat if we don't stop letting all sides take the focus off the true issues of this country then God only help what we will turn into. Please I just have one hope and that is the people will see through the smoke screens and find the strength to stand up for this country as a whole, and not just for their side.
Get your heads straight, people. This is a case of one perverted homosexual chasing kids. It had nothing to do with the Speaker or the GOP as a whole. This is pure election year politics and the Democrats and liberals are taking advantage of an unfortunate situation. It will blow over soon after Election Day, you watch. One question, though, for the liberals: Are you for or against homosexuality? Normally, you would be defending Mr. Foley's actions and shaming the rest of us for daring to judge. Hmmmm? We will remember. I look forward to the Speaker hanging in there. He's a good man.
Ted Van Der Meid: The institutionalist
http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/102005/meid.html
“He’s a jack of all trades, master of none,” said Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.), whom Van Der Meid worked for when LaHood served as former Minority Leader Bob Michel’s (R-Ill.) chief of staff. “He has a lot of influence. He does everything that [Hastert Chief of Staff Scott Palmer] does not want to do.”
“He has the Speaker’s ear, and he’s a good man,” said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.).
jonny