Three More Former Pages Accuse Foley of Online Sexual Approaches

Well, that should do it. Its all a question of how much the GOP leadership knew and when. Is there any indication that any of these new three pages told anyone about Foley’s behavior at the time? in 1998 or 2000?

Has ABC news asked any of these (or other) pages whether they have been approached by other congresspeople? Or whether they know of anyone who was?
It seems to me that a serious interest in this problem doesn’t begin and end with Foley.

As far as i am concerned any congressman or senator,indeed anyone who knew what this scum was doing should not only be fired but prosecuted.The attitude seems to be whatever we need to do to keep republicans in office is acceptable.If dems knew the same applies to them.When is this country going to actually give a damn about its children,child molesters dont change their sexual preference just as we have finally accepted that gays dont.Wake the hell up America and keep these scumbags in prison forever when they molest a child.the recidivism rate is astronomical and i would bet its 100 percent, just some dont get caught again.When will our government quit worrying about the aclu and other organizations.These pedophiles wont ever change.Its past time our laws did

Have you asked these pages whether they know of any other congresspeople who have approached them? With 535 to choose from, including hundreds of both Republicans and Democrats, it seems to me that this is a fair question.
I hope your intent is to genuinely find out what is happening here, not to just nail Foley and call it a day.

The Republican Party must think that the American public is asleep. This “Grown Man” is ignorant to the fact that we are not looking the other way when it comes to “Sexual Child Abuse”. What are they thinking? I am outraged at the “mess” that is coming off the Hill. The Republicans need to STOP making excuses and call for this “man” to step down and take legal responsibility for his actions. The law make sure that everyone else does. If this “man” does not step down, it makes a joke of the laws of this country concerning our children!!!

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
I don’t buy Hastert’s assertion that no one knew about this. People talk about this sort of thing, and the house leadership was told long ago about Foley’s behavior. All they’re doing now is covering their behinds, too concerned with power to overn effectively or wisely.
As for Drudge, I’m not sure why ABC and the rest of the media give him so much attention. Besides the Lewinsky scandal, he’s never broken significant original news on his own, and as a partisan operative, it’s to his benefit to make legitimate news organizations look bad. Why help him?

i wish you would release the names of the people who knew all this was going on,this is great journalism because you are serving the public,isn`t that what its about.peace

Where is your proof? When someone makes this type of allegation they should be willing to reveal their name and their proof. Kind of like a rape victim. I could say my neighbor did something to me ….but can I proove it and is it true. Before revealing these things, you should back these things up with fact!

this is a nuclear bomb for the repubs…..
Hasert should resign to save his party….otherwise they may well find themselves facing a super-majority of dems in congress and much, much more trouble on the horizon.
If ever there was a time for maximal damage control it is now. This may be the bigggest scandel they have faced since watergate.

I think both Democrat and Republican leadership should be under oath answering questions and I think that all Congressmen in both parties should have their computers seized and examined. I think Freeh was a good choice to investigate for the House – makes me wonder what Pelosi was afraid of to have blocked him,

As a Democrat, I never dreamed that something this horrid could happen–we are surely witnessing the meltdown of the Republican party. I can’t say that I’m sorry, as I think that a Dem majority is the only thing that will save us now, but geez, guys, this is a new low even for the GOP.

Note that this story doesn’t say whether or not any of these former pages reported Foley’s advances. I’d bet not… and how can you blame the gov’t officials for not doing something if these incidents aren’t reported??

This inappropriate action of Mark Foley should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, as should and circumstances that involve other people in the scandal. Democrats that try to turn this into a political issue need to back off. WE, THE GOP, DO NOT SUPPORT THIS PEDOPHILE IN HIS ILLEGAL ACTIONS.
God Bless Justice.

Unfortunately, the Republicans have become so used to being in power, that they have no moral compass anymore and cannot regulate themselves anymore than they can the President! Although I wish to God there was a viable third option, I’m giving my votes to the Democrats next time around. Gridlock is better than unchecked arrogance and corruption!

This country is is in serious trouble. Both parties are a joke and only care about their little country club in DC. We need another party who really care about doing what is right.

You say that one pages reported that Foley “arranged a sexual liaison after the page had turned 18″. Did this liason actually occur, or did Foley just try to “arrange” it?
Foley claims he never actually had sex with any of these pages, so it seems to me the distinction is important here.

Ouch, this has to hurt for the Republicans. They were hoping this would get out after the elections, but I guess that backfired! Rush Limbaugh compared this to the Clinton scandal, and he predicts this will backfire against the Dems. Ok ok, Clinton vs. Foley. One guy cheats on his wife with an adult female (pathetic, and the lying as well), but do not compare that to a pedophile. Dems will take back the house and senate, and hopefully we can return to something resembling a functioning government.

this is ridiculous. i mean my god. and they dump on democrats for “immorality” and “having no morals”. what the hell? they cover for each other so much and then when they get busted, they backpeddle like crazy and try to STILL blame their screw ups on anyone but themselves. absolutely pitiful.

How about investigating ALL congressmen and congresswomen for inapproprite contacts with pages and interns. I bet there are more from both parties. How about it, ABC news

Foley is a pig.
So glad he is gone! But to try and blame Hastert for the actions of Foley is pathetic.
I wish Foley wouldn’t have resigned so soon, maybe wait a week and then be forced out.
The dems want blood, Foley’s resignation just isn’t good enough for them.

Anyone who is serious about preventing this kind of thing in the future should advocate an investigation of all emails and ims to pages from all house members of both parties. Who is on board for that?

It’s funny listening to the Republican spin once the shoe is on the other foot. There is nothing anyone, including Hastert, can do to sugarcoat this. The sad fact is, by Spring 2006, Hastert’s office had been told at least 4 times that Foley was a predatory pedophile. How can Hastert respond with anything other than a resignation?

The misinformation forces of the dishonored
including Mr. Drudge and the hypocrite Mr.
Limbaugh along with the Fox Propagandists
owe the Citizens of the USA an explanation of their obivous lies. Thank you to ABC News for
bringing this forward and to Mr. Brian Ross and Staff for their efforts to bring this important issue before the Public before the election cycle.
CdR.

Why is it that Rush and Drudge defend this man

This is the democrats fault, they are to blame because um…wait where did my conservative talking points go?

All I hear is we cant even trust our children with congressmen WOW. Thats not a good sign to any party or anything at all. Where are we headed and how do we expect other people and cultures to be moral.

A predator. That’s what Foley was, and that is what the Republican leadership was protecting. It is telling that Alexander, who decided to report the original “overly friendly” emails, went up the political chain and never said “boo” to the House Page Board.
Republicans are toast. Remember when Republicans were all about personal responsibility?

I’m close to as far left as they come, and I find it hard to believe this is anything but a cut and dry case of a man who was attracted to young boys. I don’t think Hastert would have protected Foley, nor do I think anyone in the GOP leadership would allow this kind of thing to occur. This is the kind of stuff no one who can physically restrain themselves (Foley clearly couldn’t) would touch with a ten foot pole. It sounds to me like appropriate action was taken when things first surfaced, and I hope Foley is treated the way anyone with his M-O is treated. This isn’t a political issue. Fantasizing about underage boys has nothing to do with political alignment and I don’t think of this case should either.

bu$h just expressed full confidence in Big Denny, which is bu$hese for, “you’re doing a heckuva job, Denny…you’re outta here.”

I remember a young student one confided to me that one of the muckety mucks where i worked was harrassing her and making innappropriate comments.
i went to my boss, told him this student needed advice about what options she had for filing a complaint. And I let me boss know that the issue wasn’t taken seriously and handled ‘right’, i would quit – I couldn’t work for an outfit that permitted that kind of abuse to take place.
hastert, reynolds, shminkus, and the others should have had the exact same attitude.

Ok let’s not jump to conclusions. 3 kids coming out and speaking to an ABC investigation line? No emails, nothing written? Come on.

Republican or Democrat, a pedophile is a pedophile and in an affiliation all thier own – stop blaming parties, Hastert did not lure in young male pages, Foley did – place blame where it should be placed, with the individual who is and should be held accountable for his individual actions.

This whole thing is very amusing. Foley is a just a punch line for office jokes now. ABC can keep printing more IM’s every day and people will be bored of it by the time the election comes around. This is not significant, nobody was harmed and Foley has resigned.
If any Republicans are looking for a moral compass as a result of the transgressions of one gay congressmen they are not going to look across the aisle at the Democrats for hope. Liberals don’t get it . Disappointment or disgust with Bush, or Hastert or Foley does not suddenly make Hillary, Pelosi or Barney Frank people we want to elect.
I’m a Florida republican and I hope the Democratic plan is to keep this Foley thing in the news every day, dishing out more salacious details and trying to bring down more GOP leaders. When the vote results come in they will once again be saying “Why didn’t we gain control? The GOP base was upset over this. The polls showed it!!”
I’m glad Foley is gone and we do not miss him. But none of this has me looking seriously at Democrats as a viable alternative.

Question:
Did all pages receive warnings about Foley or just selected pages?

Do these Pages have any proof of these Instant Messages and emails?

This is just ridiculous. I voted Republican in the last 2 elections but I’m sitting this one out. The Republicans knew about this guy and they just sat on their hands? Power corrupts, folks, and these guys are now corrupted to the core. Unbelievable. These guys were supposed to restire dignity to politics, but between Jack Abramoff, this and the war (I have alot of family in the service and the news from Iraq is bad, bad, bad) these guys are unfit for command. What a stab in the back this Republican party has been.

If you read the Drudge story referenced in this news report it’s obvious that the young man caught up in this scandal is fearful of being outed as a homosexual. Whether he is or isn’t gay is beside the point. His sexual preference does nothing to change the criminal intent of Foley in his email and IM exchanges with the boy. Hastert’s address today accepting full responsibility and, quote, “the buck stops here”, is so typical of the current GOP leadership. How many times have we heard this? They all accept full responsibility–for the Katrina disaster, for the Valerie Plame leak, for incorrect intelligence regarding yellowcake uranium and weapons of mass destruction, etc., etc. They accept full responsibility for their mistakes, but they never seem willing to step down. That IS NOT accepting full responsibilty. That is cowardice and hubris.

If they won’t step down then it’s time to fire all of them! This whole thing is sickening. Just imagine when you were a teenager and how you would have felt if this were done to you. Give our children a chance to grow up and make their own choices about sexual orientation and politics.

who cares? Do the dems? do the Pubs? It is all politics whith the prize being the aquisition/retention of power. This is not about kids. Has anyone heard anyone ask how the “victims” are doing? Did anyone actually have sex?

This is what happens when the Supreme Court puts a moron in the President’s office and every fool in office gets the message that the law no longer applies.
What’s child molestation compared to dropping bombs on thousands of innocent people?
The Party of Nixon does not honor human life in any form.

In the past year we have seen 4 House Republicans facing prosecution or already in jail: Delay, Cunningham, Ney and now Foley. Meanwhile House Republicans continue to wait for federal prosecutors to uncover criminal behavior long after the problem is out of control. This sad case with Foley is just another example, with the problem first reported over 5 years ago.
Some Senators in response to the disclosure of the Abramoff and Delay scandal advocated an independent ethics watchdog, which could possibly detect some of these problems before they get to the stage of criminal behavior. Legislation was even drafted by these Senators, but was rejected by the Senate.
Perhaps an independent ethics watchdog deserves reconsideration – an independent office might have been contacted by these ex-pages years ago.

Warning: I’m a Democrat to state my bias but this goes beyond political biases. I mean look at George “state of denial” Bush what does he do today? He commends Hastert…. When will Bush ever acknowledge that both him and his political party are not infallible (as anyone with an IQ above 60 knows).

I just want to say thank you for bringing the truth to light about an individual who abused his power and manipulated minors.
If you hadn’t broken this story Foley would right now be seeking two more years of access to pages.
Those blame the ‘drive by media’ for Foley and Hastert’s problems, or far far worse blame the kids who Foley harassed, are missing the point. By a mile.

Foley is a real monster. Taking all of these electronic exchanges into account, it seems a pattern is developing. He was very conscious of their ages, questions of that nature were asked repeatedly. When the kids were 15/16, he was probably cultivating them as sex partners until they turned 18. You have to bet that when he was certain a former page turned 18 Foley was ready to pounce. You can also bet someone will admit to it.

I think in court it is called heresay. I don’t know what Foley did or did not do, I was not there. I do kinow that anybody can say anything about anyone and it is believed by the mindless masses. Foley deserves his day in court, so does Hastert. If they are guilty they should be punished, if not they deserve an apology.

Astounding.
Just another hint that decency and morality don’t know party lines. Liberals and fundamentalists alike should think about that.

So far there is no evidence Hastert knew about the sexualy explict IM messages. However it does appear that Democratic operatives have been sitting on this “October surprise” sincxe at least this summer. Aparently they were more concerned with making political hay they stopping Foley’s misconduct.

Foley never actually molested any of the pages, while Clinton & Monica really did have oral sex. Choirboy? Heh. Right.

But this still makes no sense…again with these three, we’re talking about sitting on information for 2-3 years. Why would anyone do this if the allegations as made now are truly so serious?
It doesn’t add up…

You really are left wing plebes, aren’t you?

America is at War, and the topic changes to gays just before the elections. Dan Rather tried, and look at him now.
MSM is on the way out, and so is the Democrat Party…followed later by the weak Republican Party.
i never Voted until the mid-terms of 2002, and i am older than most. Simply put…i don’t Vote for the Republican Party, but do Vote against the Democrat Pary, and for “W”.
KårmiÇømmünîs†

I think the media is having a field day with reporting on what they do not know. Lets get back to the election issues and talk about what the Rebublicans have done for you. All the Democrats do is smear.

Isn’t there some more important issues than this? Its been a week.. Time to move on to another GOP bashing article

The Republicans really need to watch what they say. When I heard them blaming ABC and the Democrats for leaking the story, my immediate reaction was that the GOP leaders must have been covering it up all this time until after the elections. When they compared this to past scandals by Democrats it gave the impression that they didn’t take it very seriously. These arguments certainly will not fly with the Values Voters who at one time liked to consider themselves morally superior.

Please don’t say things like all gay men are pedophiles. As a gay man, I find that a clumsy, horribly violent and closeminded statement — especially since you don’t have the facts and don’t even know me! If the situation was a straight man having sex with a girl, you wouldn’t say “lets keep straight people out of our schools, blah blah.” (ever read Lolita?) The point is, adults are responsible if they have sex with minors — period! That’s what our society has agreed are the rules. Let’s not use this as an excuse to gay bash. That makes you no better than Foley.

no one knows yet if there was any underage actual physical contact
that is pivotal i think
but what a deviant mindset for a lawmaker
i wonder how many boys were approached

To Rocco, who thinks the Drudge Report story is viable–
Get freakin’ real. Have you read the relevant IMs? This is not a “prank” set of IMs (and who has ever SEEN a “prank set of IMs”?!?!)–The messages are too stop-and-start, too disjointed, to be a “prank”. The e-mails read VERY CLEARLY like a drunk pedophile talking to a somewhat star-struck kid. Don’t embarrass yourself with support for this ridiculous story–Drudge will bury this “Drudge exclusive” within 2 days (because the STORY DOESN’T MAKE SENSE). Learn to evaluate your news stories more carefully, especially when they’re not delivered by real news sources. And think carefully before defending pedophiles–It just looks very, very strange.

You are all sick get a life and stop thinking about your own small and feeble personal agendas. THIS WAS A KID FOR GOD’S SAKE!!!! Next thing you will be saying it’s the kids fault. GET A LIFE!!!

Please don’t say things like all gay men are pedophiles. As a gay man, I find that a clumsy, horribly violent and closeminded statement — especially since you don’t have the facts and don’t even know me! If the situation was a straight man having sex with a girl, you wouldn’t say “lets keep straight people out of our schools, blah blah.” (ever read Lolita?) The point is, adults are responsible if they have sex with minors — period! That’s what our society has agreed are the rules. Let’s not use this as an excuse to gay bash. That makes you no better than Foley.

Oh, I know this was all a prank and these young democrat undercover pages are now lying to the FBI. Our wonderful President Bush and those brave republicans have my support now more than ever. This is no time to be arguing over harmless e-mails while the vital war on terror is being fought.

I have to agree that we really should look at all Congressmen and not concentrate on just one individual. How about all those congressmen that hire prostitutes while holding a political office? This is apparently another instance of the media monopolizing on an individual Congressmen, who happens to be a supposed homosexual, making other gay men and women appear to be just like him. Show me the actual IM conversations and emails that ‘supposedly’ took place, and then I MIGHT believe that this whole thing actually happened. Why have these individuals waited 8 years to come forward and now there are all sorts of young men coming out of the closet (no pun intended).
I read that one top aide alerted Hastert two years ago, then why did this not surface then? Did Hastert have his own political agenda? Was he afraid that he had engaged in morally questionable behaviors himself and was afraid if he was investigated they would come to light as well?
Don’t you people see this as a political agenda that the media is benefiting from?????

Regarding the Mel Reynolds matter, plus the guy who molested and murdered the Amish girls this week, plus all of the men seducing teenage girls — things we hear about on a daily basis — it seems to me that heterosexual men are a menace to society. They must be kept out of schools, churches and anywhere else these sick perverts can get near their prey. Right, Gene?

I believe the Republican party has an obligation to respond as swiftly and decisively as the Democrats have in similar past circumstance: the immediate censure of Foley and then give him a standing ovation.

OK, Lets be honest. Foley is a creep. BUT, 17 year olds are of consent age in DC. They are considered ADULTS! These IM’s demonstrate that these men were GAY and knew what they were involved in or they should have STOPPED all communication.
After all they were considered ADULTS in Washington DC.
So, enough with the Pages coming forth! We know Foley was deranged. He RESIGNED. End of subject.

Even if it was a prank, Foley played into it (and how!). So now what you have is a foolish predator.

How long are we going to allow the Republicans to blame all of their misdeeds on the Democrats. The Republican talking points are encouraging its followers to blame Soros and Abc for their perversion. SHAMELESS!! Guess what….America is smarter than that. Vote them out of office. Every single one of the SHAMELESS Republicans.

This is so FUNNY – how suddenly the party of values is downplaying Foley. “Um… Um.. it’s just a bunch of gay teenagers trying to set him up! Clinton was worse! Democrats suck!”
Heehee – see you on election day, freaks.

Wow. Decent people everywhere are appalled at Foley, and appalled at the Republican leadership that protected him. Then there are those few wingnuts who only know one response: if it’s a Democrat scandal, it’s the Democrats’ fault; if it’s a Republican scandal, it’s STILL the Democrats’ fault. I particularly like the comment that wants to wait for the proof against Hastert (there’s plenty out there already) while gleefully engaging in the absolutely unsubstantiated gossip that, somehow, somewhere, some Liberal is at fault!
I also like the comments from those folks who can’t figure out why someone would sit on damaging information about a powerful politician who could ruin their lives in an instant. Gee, I can’t imagine why a 17-year-old might think twice before taking on a powerful senator. Just can’t. Nope.

Why don’t you admit that you are just trying to coverup that you are a part of “dirty tricks” just before the mid-term elections. Can’t you win on the issues confronting this country?

Foley was doing cyber sex. He never had sex. He needs treatment, and he should have resigned. Millions of men in the US do this, and it is a symptom of a greater problem. Our society approves of the pron industry, then convicts people when they engage in it. Stop the Pron industry, and stop the other problems

You people are just skirting the issues to cover for these republicans.The fact of the matter is that foley resigned and checked himself into rehab almost as soon as these charges were leveled and has not truly denied any of the charges wholeheartedly. Not the actions of an innocent man. Clinton and lewinski were consenting adults.there is a difference. get it

What Foley did was disgusting. The reaction of Republican leadership has been to blame someone else. This continues to demonstrate that absolute power corrupts as we have seen for the past 3 years. We need accountability, with one party in control you do not have it. Since we do not have a third party, we need a balance of power as neither party can be trusted. We need protection for our kids, the best thing that could happen with this is that the Republican leadership resigns or the American public turns them out so that we have balance of power.

And one guy says they didnt actually have sex… WE DONT KNOW THAT. some of these ims leave that open to debate. ex: miss you lots since sandiego and having extended conversation about what the kids are wearing and these kids are still texting back. whats the deal there? doesent prove it happened and it doesent prove it didnt so dont say nothing happened we dont know that …..YET

Let’s start a don’t ask don’t tell policy in the congress. Isn’t that how Clinton would have solved this.

Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil running Congress? Is the American public supposed to be so gullible that we believe that out of 435 representatives working together for at least 2 years, no one even suspected or knew that Foley was acting a little too friendly to pages? Perhaps Foley is only the tip of the iceberg and some kept their mouth shut because they were involved in the same activities. There seems to be a “code of silence” when it comes to authority groups, a mentality of “protect your own” right or wrong. I’m inclined to believe this scandal goes far deeper than has been exposed so far. Every representative needs to be investigated by the FBI at the very least. The “who knew what and when” question should be who knew ANYTHING about it and how soon after they knew or suspected a questionable act by another member did they do anything about it. As far as trying to turn this into a gay issue is a diversionary tactic and every gay activist should demand and apology for associating them with an obvious act of questionable activities with a minor by a gay politician. Foley’s activities were wrong because of the age of the pages, not because he or they might be gay. Don’t let the offenders cloud the true issue of this scandal. Demand justice for all.

IM has been going strong since 1996 BTW when ICQ came out.
Not that makes any difference whatsoever, its not like IMing someone is the only way a perv like Foley can prey on little boys.
Get a grip Neocons.

And one guy says they didnt actually have sex… WE DONT KNOW THAT. some of these ims leave that open to debate. ex: miss you lots since sandiego and having extended conversation about what the kids are wearing and these kids are still texting back. whats the deal there? doesent prove it happened and it doesent prove it didnt so dont say nothing happened we dont know that …..YET

The big issue is the coverup by the republican party. If Foley resigned and nobody else had known about it, it would of been out of the mainstream news already.
Also, teenage boys who are manipulated by a rich man who holds power to influence their careers are not going to be thrilled about speaking out against Foley. They also dont want to be associated with a pedophile no matter how much they want him caught so it’s not suprising that nobody spoke out. (They actually did speak out to the people they thought would do something about it, they just never did)

Was instant messaging even around in 1998? These new revelations sound suspect. I don’t doubt that Foley is attracted to young men, but this sounds like someone is just piling on.

I know I was using AOL’s Instant Messenger program in 1998 and I wasn’t on the cutting edge. So quit grasping at that straw.

I don’t know about anyone else but we should let the F.B.I. do their job, and wait till they find out what happened. Despite what happened we have more things going on then this. And as far as I’m concerned if we don’t pull together as a country. Those that want us to fail won’t have to do anything we’ll do it ourself. So think about that and votr who you think is best suited to do the job right.

This man used his position to solicit sex from 16 year olds. Regardless of whether the actual sex act took place(he was obviously finding pleasure in the messages), please find the parent that would solicit this kind of relatiionship for their son. Foley used his position to coerce these children into a relationship at least online. He was the champion of protecting “children” on the internet. He obviously did not consider Congressional pages children. I find that the leadership of the House first considered the political implications before they moved to protect the pages. From the party that proclaims to have family values, I find it particularly appalling that by their silence they condoned the actions of one of their own based on political considerations. For Foley himself, the “rehap” excuse that liquor made me do it, is the sorriest excuse I’ve ever heard in my life. Pedophiles go after boys and girls alike. Foley happened to be a pedophile that liked young men and he was also gay. There are many pedophiles that are “family” men that abuse girls and boys. Just because he was a Congressman does not give him a free pass to solicit online sex from children who have been entrusted to the Congress for safekeeping. The excuse that they would have been accused of being unfair to gays is bogus. Pediiophiles like children – they are straight and “gay.” Anyone that things only “gay” people target children needs a great big wakeup call.

What does it matter which party people belong to? Foley did something horribly wrong and should be held accountable. Those that knew should be held accountable regardless of stature or party affiliations. Lots of people should be stepping down from their posts.
Affiliation with a particular party, religious sect, et al means nothing; your actions define who you are.

The people on here who actually believe the pages are at fault and call it a lib conspiracy are as bad as Hastert, Drudge, and the other scum who are or were involved in covering up and trying to divert our attention from the real problem of the sexual predator in Congress and his fellow Congressmen who knew and kept it hidden.
These idiotic comments of conspiracy and boys trying to bring down a Congressman make me believe we should have an intelligence test before people are allowed to vote!

What is totally lost in all of this – is the fact that Hastert is next inline for the Presidency if naything happens to Bush/Cheney! He can’t handle this issue/problem, how could he run the country! Gotta Go Friends! And KarmiCommunist – Russia is looking for more voters! And There “W” is basically the same!
Vote Nov 7th – For SOmeone you really believe in!

I am in disbelief that a sexual scandal such as this is dominating public debate forums again when the country needs to focus on important issues. My countrymen and women in Iraq/Afghanistan deserve better. If or when things go very badly in the future who is going to care about who Clinton, Foley or Paris Hilton was fooling around with.

All you guys that think this is so HUGE, and it is disgusting no doubt, please put into perspective: he hasn’t committed ANY crime to date. Clinton committed adultery, purgory, Monica could have blackmailed the President over his actions, and furthermore, flat out LIED to the AMERICAN public. Foley resigned. The Demo’s still have Congressmen in office who have done far worse ACTS.
I especially like DEMOCRAT who says “At least monica was female” – oh, a little anti-gay are you?

Lord, these GOP fanatics on here are a bit crazy! Would any of them want a 50-year-old man pursuing their 15-17 year old son or daughter? Because if you don’t have a problem with that, then maybe you shouldn’t have children. Send your name to the FBI and do America a favor. Foley’s behavior is indefensible; the children are not to blame. HE is the one who was supposed to be the responsible party. The man was grown, an adult. Democrats aren’t responsible for this, a Republican who had no respect for himself, who was hypocritical in his actions, one minute claiming to protect children and the next pursuing them, and a Republican leadership that not only didn’t address this man’s problems, but also didn’t bring in Democrats to deal with it. Why didn’t Shimkus even tell fellow Republican Shelly Capito about this? Was he afraid that she might demand some action on Foley? What sort of perverse game were these grown men playing? Would you want them to play these games with your children, whether you were a Democrat or a Republican? I think not–Lord knows, I hope not. They all need to beg for forgiveness, from the former pages, their parents, and the American people!

Spin away Bushies. It’s the only thing you got left.

The ONLY reason this saw the light of day, was someone wanted it to. Don’t kid yourselves though….. for those of you too yuong, or with too short a memory, there is a simple explanation why Gerry Studds, the Democrat, was “let off the hook”, after a sexual relationship with a 17 y.o., in 1983. 3 words. “The Franklin Coverup”. Google it, and do some digging, and you will discover why the Republicans didn’t want to make a big deal out of a Dems sexploits. Both sides of the aisle give each other a hell of a lot of “professional courtesy”…. i.e., I’ll look the other way, if you will too. Clintons “Monica-gate” was far from the worst thing he did while in public office. Remember, the Clintons “accidentally” came into possesion of the comprehensive FBI dossier’s of every Republican lawmaker on the hill, when Clinton held the Whitehouse.
For the record, I’m a conservative, and I voted for Bush. Currently, I think the ship of state is out of control, and neither side gives a damn about the United States (read: The People), or the oath they swore to uphold and defend the Constitution….. unless, it’s election time. We couldn’t do much worse, if every single incumbent was voted out of office, regardless of the party affiliation voted in. The beltway has become a sewage pit, flat out, and the electorate is still bickering about “liberal” and “conservative”. Wake up folks. The train has left the tracks, some time ago.
Well, at least I’m not cynical. :)

A vote for Republicans is a vote for CREEPS!

So was 18 years old when he got suggestive e-mails and maybe embarrassing text messages which then led too…? There has been no suggestion of physical contact, plus the page was a young adult! Have we lost our minds? This is way overblown. It’s absurd how much attention this is getting from the media; another sad, stupid example of how technology has retarded the functioning of one of our major institutions. We are drowning ourselves in titillating, scummy nonsense. And the Democrats are hyperventilating. I feel like Colonel Kurtz in “Apocalypse Now”, but instead of saying, “The horror, the horror”, I’m clawing my face and saying,”the hypocrisy, the hypocrisy.” Our discourse is total rot.

Foley is just a distraction to Bush redefining torture and gutting our constitution
Homepage

Why would anyone save all this on their pc. Blackmail later???????????? I really do not think these pages are innocent. 16 year old boys know what they are doing. Why didn’t they stop the communication instead of continuing with it.
How do we know for certain these emails were from who they say. If someone knows your password can’t they post messages and use your email to send emails using your password? Who would know the difference except the person that used it.

The Republicans have no one to blame but themselves for the timing of the revelations about Foley’s sexcapades.They have known about his proclivities for years but chose to cover it up. The Republicans could have had him prosecuted at any time of their choosing, but they chose to tolerate a pedophile in their ranks for partisan advantage. Their hypocrisy is truly putrid.

I hate to make use of a cliche that seems like it should be common sense, but since it appears that it is not as common as I thought, here are my two cents:
“Thou shalt not judge anyone hastily or harshly.”
One of the 42 Principles of Ma’at, the Goddess who personified the ideals of Truth and Righteousness, this saying was known to nearly all ancient Egyptians. So I ask, have we truly regressed so much from those ancient times that we can’t simply wait for the facts to be disseminated from the rumors? Is it so difficult for those of you passing snap judgments to admit that maybe the judgment would be better made by those with: direct access to those involved; the means to verify the authenticity of each IM, email, or phone call; and the training to determine which laws the findings prove to have been broken?
Does anyone here actually believe that their cursory readings of distanced journalists’ reportings have made him or her an overnight expert in what is a prosecutable offense? Throw in a few of the readily accessible video clips, “investigative” discovery claims, and “unbiased” opinion polls and you have the recipe for one convoluted version of what actually happened, cooked up by the shoot-first/edit-later media types.
Give this story a rest until the entire truth surfaces.

OMG Adultery! Let me break out my law books. Oh, I don’t see that one in their. But soliciting sex from a minor sure is. Oh yeah, he lied under oath, but are you seriously willing to compare consensual sex with a 22 year old adult with pedophilia? I wouldn’t let my kids play in your neighborhood.

As a gay man and journalist, I find this story very interesting. Since when did the pages need to be protected from those that are supposed to be protecting us? Now we are going to in act new procedures to protect the pages from members of congress. What is going on with this country? As a gay man and journalist, I don’t understand those that chase anyone under 18. The law is very clear and every gay man knows.

This dialogue is getting disgusting. This issue has nothing to do with Clinton. We should not be questionning the credibility of the pages that are speaking out because “no teenage boy would keep a secret like this” or “there wasn’t instant messaging in 1998″. If you actually read the testimony from the other pages at this point, you would read that Foley actually did more than send emails. Also, not all discussed contact through instant messanging. In addition, as many people don’t know, email was actively used in the federal government before the rest of the world started using it (it was actually created by the federal government for internal communication). Additionally, a teenage boy is more likely to be too embarassed to tell others about sexaul advances from another man. And finally, for the very sick lot of you that thinks that this Foley matter is nothing compared to Clinton because Clinton had sex and these were just “harmless emails” – if the emails don’t disturb you, then you should read the latest testimony from some of the pages – it looks like there is sex involved here.
This dialogue is not about politics. Its about an irresponsible Congress. If we can’t see this with how they are handling the environment and war, maybe we can see it a little better when they chose to ignore evidence of child molestation.

“Get your news from a reliable source before judging others.”
I’ve read [similar to] this from a number of commentors. What reliable source[s] would you recommend?

Here is the thing everyone seems to be overlooking; A grown person was making sexual advances to a minor. What does it matter what party he is in? It seems all everyone is worried about is the fact he is a republican and that the republicans may loose a seat in the senate over this.
What about the innocent children who may have been abused or could have been abused if this didn’t come out?

It is refreshing to see an American news outlet actually doing real journalism. A refreshing change from the usual useless reporting about consumer trends, dogs down wells and lottery winners.

I love Edward’s comment from “down under.” A minor correction: the American people did not elect W in his first term … he was appointed President by the Supreme Court with a minority popular vote. Our freedoms here are disappearing faster than rats on a sinking ship. Some Americans may choose to believe the hype about our “democracy,” but I think it’s more out of fear of facing the truth. Just during W’s time we’ve legalized torture, arrest without cause, censorship, eliminated the right to legal counsel in addition to wrtiting gays out of the constitution in many states and banning abortions in others.
The Foley issue is probably a smokescreen for something bigger that Bush is trying to slip past the average American. That’s been the pattern.

Wow. Reading some of the comments from conservatives makes me afraid of the future for our country.
When will y’all get a clue? The Republican party is rank with hypocrisy…moral majority huh?

I love all the people here claiming IM’ing wasn’t bing in the late 90s. Really funny since I remember not only myself but all of my friends in college IM’ing each other back and forth in _1997_! *Everyone* in my school had AIM at that time!

I see no reason for Hastert to resign unless there is something that comes out that shows he was trying to cover this up. Hastert was not my first choice for speaker but I believe he is a decent man.I also believe him when he says that all he had seen was the first email that was just overly friendly so there is no reason for him to resign just as there was really no reason for Lott or Gengrich to resign. gengrich was vindicated and had done nothing wrong. Nor had Lott other than trying to be nice to a very old man. We need to wait till the investigation is complete. Some would have all the Republicans resigning for nothing.

Shelle,
President Clinton was impeached because he lied under oath (his deposition in the Paula Jones case), not because of a few BJs from an intern.

That Foley would quit the House, declare himself an alcoholic and check into rehab, and then claim that he had been molested by a priest does not sound like something a victim of a mere prank would do. If Foley really was innocent, he, or anyone would defend themselves vigorously and not shrink away as he has. Thus, the prank story that is now being promulgated seems quite unlikely and a disingenuous attempt to blame the victims.
If responsible Republican would just ‘fess up to the cover up and announce their retirement from government, then we could maybe move on to the coverage of other Republican outrages, such as the legislated suspension of habeas corpus.

Please do what you can to make sure public opinion will dampen any attempt to give Mr. Foley any of our tax dollars for his pension or retiree health care benefits.

Having been a male teenage runaway in south Florida when I was 15 I know all too well the ilk of Mr.Foley. Privacy concerns notwithstanding, a peek through his internet history will reveal what a true pedophile this guy really is. Adult men who seek out young men and boys for their repugnant sexual desires prey for their victims everywhere: street corners, malls, hitchhikers and of course, the internet. There are sections in almost every major city where young men ply the only thing they have, their bodies, to survive. Trust me, Mr. Foley knows very well where to find his victims. Men like this don’t stop at provocatiive and boorish emails and IMs. These revealations are the type of Foley’s perverse iceberg.

Trial by media has become a favorite tool to deal with anyone who opposes you. All that is required is a sympathetic ear of a newshound to report the story. As a society we believe anything negative reported in the news must be true or at least based on the truth. Whatever happened to innocent until PROVEN guilty?

Everyone has a point of view about the Foley case…but the bottom line is that right is right and wrong is wrong. We all agree that Foley’s actions are abominable. Can we really just move on to more important issues? Discussing it to death will not change anything.

The allegations keep getting worse and worse. He is so arrogant only thinking of himself and self gradifaction. His family must be humiliated by the stories that keep coming out each day. He might not want to have hurt his parents by telling him that he was gay butthis circus atmosphere is only making it worse. Parents do know even if their not told. The man is 52 years old. I truly feel bad for his family. One last point, how would he react if someone was pursuing one of his nephews in the sexual manner he has. Mr. Foley you need help.

Funny how republicans are complaining about the timing of this. They are the king of timley pre-election news. Karl Rove is the master. Let’s see the swift boating of Kerry, bringing up the gay marriage issues, raising terror alerts. Conveniently these issues all creep up right before the presidential elections just to sway voters..and it worked. The focus regardless of the politics and timing is the absolute abhorrence for the acts commited by Foley. It cannot be denied or or just swept away. Saying its a prank is ridiculous because if it were he would not have resigned.

Amazing how the GOP is trying to turn this sordid mess into a leftist Soros “prank”.. and having the audacity to say it’s all about pre-election “timing”. Sorry, Reps, the gigs up! Sad, sad, sad.

This guy is a sick pervert and should be locked away for ever!

The same folks who demonized Bill Clinton for an affair with a consenting adult cry foul with the outing of the far more serious, and possibly illegal, indiscretions of one of their own.
The GOP cannot own the moral high ground when there are folks like Foley in their ranks.
Never again let a conservative Republican lecture you on morality folks!

This is a disgrace for Foley for sure but I don’t know about Hastert just yet. The media loves to turn this into a “conservatives vs. liberals” kind of issue but it really isn’t that at all. Of course given all the association that the GOP has tried to make with the Christian right and “moral majority” in this country, I can see how something like this scandal really goes at the heart of their credibility.
If politicians would stop catering to the poll numbers and start following their own notions of common sense and decency instead of worrying about their party’s public image, then this scandal would only be exactly what it is: a disgrace for Foley and nothing more. I hope Hastert didn’t sacrifice his integrity, not because im a Republican (I’m a Democrat, mostly) but because I think it will be really sad if any politician would sacrfice his ethics just to protect the interests of his/her political party.

Hastert MUST resign. Ignorance is not an excuse. It does not matter if he knew about it or not, he SHOULD have known about it. I’m tired of the GOP always passing the buck. Our current political system has zero accountability and the Dems are no different. Plus, why are people above even mentioning Clinton??!!! Wake up and live in the here and now. If you are a Republican you should be embarrased.

Partisanship should have nothing to do with this issue. If you or I solicited a 16 or 17 year old for sex, male or female, and the age of majority was 18 in our jurisdiction, and we got caught, and that became a part of the local news in Joe Six Pack America, we would be ruined, with a capital “R.” And, if we tried to blame our behavior on the Democrats, a former clergyman, alcohol, mental problems, Clinton, Barney Frank, NAMBLA, Hillary, the liberals, the leftists, San Francisco, etc., we would be the laughing stock as they slammed the jail door shut, and threw away the keys. So, all you apologists and spin doctors out there, get out of Washington, D.C. and the rarified world of Pat Buchanan, and welcome to the real world of just about anywhere else in America!

Hi, I would like to know when Brian Ross first became aware of IM’s between Foley and pages/former pages.
Also, how did he obtain them? Somebody gave them to him. Who?
Thanks.

How much you want to bet everyone gets away with this, I wouldnt be surprised if even Foley himself gets off with a slap on the wrist. I guess FOX news can continue to report Foley as a democrat and can continue to blame clinton, the media, and the democrats for this and we as citizens can be so darned confused with misinofrmation that we just stop caring alltogether, sort of like the Iraq war…

Steve, get a clue! Do you really think that there’s a decent person at all in Congress? It’s about being untouchable and above the law. The fact that they don’t have to pay into Social Security and can collect $15k a month for the rest of their lives from the same system they don’t have to pay into (apparently for their servitude to the rest of us grunts) and then can vote themselves raises whenever they feel they deserve it. I really can’t comprehend how they can sleep at night, knowing how badly they’re screwing the people they’re supposedly SERVING. Since when should we be afraid of them, they should be afraid of us, we vote them in or out! If you think that’s true, I pity you!

I think that it is amazing that a person in the position of Senator Foley does not admit his guilt until he is caught. He said that he was molested as a child, but declined to share this information or seek counseling until he was caught. Not everyone has the option or finances to enter rehab to avoid prosecution and disciplinary measures. I also believe that it is sad that the Speaker of the House would blame Democrats and media for information that is apparently the truth ‘being leaked.’ I fail to understand how a flagrant disregard for the law, and engaging in illegal, unethical, and immoral sex – whether physically or emotionally – with underage young men is the fault of anyone but the person who does this. When will we take responsibility for our own actions? As a volunteer chaplain in a maximum secuirity prison, I see the results of many who do not take responsibility for their own actions, and must bear the consequences. They, like Mr. Foley, had a choice. We all do.

Man oh man I wish there was a viable 3rd party out there that just tried to do the right thing. Instead we are stuck with these 2 parties today that can’t seem to accoomplish ANYTHING. Instead all they do is become power hungry, try to set each other up for a fall and then do anything they can to protect their turf. To me this Foley episode reeks of arrogance and dirty tricks on both sides of the aisle.

So, in review. Predator GOP Congressman = Democrats are bad? Please. Every source indicates GOP leadership knew of potential issues, no Dem did. Oh, and the unsourced “prank” post by Drudge *6 days later* was raw meat to the frothing, rabid base: nice try.

This is probably just the tip of the iceberg … keep up the investigation and I bet you will find a child porn ring connected to these guys. Get them all out.

This Foley character is a horrible human being. Kudos to ABC for exposing this creep. It’s reporting like this that ABC should be most proud of.
I’m still not clear on which leaders knew about Foley’s preying on kids. Can ABC write a timeline? All politicians who knew about this and remained silent should be given the boot!
Also, when did Mr. Ross become aware of the existence of the instant messages between Congressman Foley and House pages? And were these instant messages given to Mr. Ross and the Staff of The Blotter directly by the pages, or were they filtered through an intermediary?

Why is everyone trying to make this an democrat vs republican issue? My issue is whomever has been trying to have sex with a minor regardless of the political preferance should be punished!!!!! & those who say their innocent until proven guilty must not be listening to the news because Foley is gulity and ABC News has the pages and email messages to prove IT!!!!!!!!

After reading the above comments, it’s confirmed. We’re no longer Americans. We’re either Democrats or Republicans. We pick our side and follow blindly picking and choosing which news story to believe based on how the light shines on our party. We can’t even watch the same news channel or read the same newspapers. We defend the indefensible and have become lap dogs to these parties. The heck with doing right by America, my party is more important so I must support her first. Iraq is not the only country in denial about a civil war. There’s one going on right here.

A scandal that appears to be a lot of fluff and emotion that erupts a month before an election? Wow, what a surprise? What pervasive naivety in this blog.

it amazes me that so many think this is just a left wing political attack. have you read this stuff? this is one sick man, and by the way minica was an adult.
put your party aside and look at this as a parent. no kid is gonna come out by himself against a setting member of congress. he knows that he would get crushed. the spin has already began. these where just jokes, the dems and abc are just out to get the gop. think about what you are saying, and that is it is more imprtant to protect your party than children. this is sad and i for one will not be voting for any gop this year. they’ve spent like drunken sailors, they done no oversite at all, and now they have put winning an election above the safety of these kids.and anyone who spins this as political is doing the same thing. throwing the kids under the bus to win an elelction. now you see why none of these kids came forward. because they knew the political machine would crush them

Yeah, Foley is a disgusting guy. But there was NO sexual contact – just email and IM. So, was there a crime committed? Doubtful, and tough to prove. Glad he’s gone. But this is getting blown way out of proportion. Previous incidents where there WAS sexual contact were way more serious, and getting glossed over by the press .

Wow. The neo cons are in such denial. Hastert will definitely resign in the days/weeks to come. Criminal charges should be filed for all those involved in the cover-up (but, sadly, probably won’t).

Far-right comments on this blog try to dismiss the whole thing–real seventeen-year olds would have come forward if this were true–
wake up! THEY DID COME FORWARD, a long time ago. THEY WERE IGNORED BY LEADING MEMBERS OF THE SUPPOSED MORAL MAJORITY.
We hear that information about this cover-up was supplied by a Republican–why is that so hard to believe? SURELY there are Republicans who are horrified by this hypocrisy and would, after seeing this slime for a while, feel the need the speak up out of CONSCIENCE.
Or is CONSCIENCE a dirty word in the far-right Republican party now?

“Then there are those few wingnuts who only know one response: if it’s a Democrat scandal, it’s the Democrats’ fault; if it’s a Republican scandal, it’s STILL the Democrats’ fault. I particularly like the comment that wants to wait for the proof against Hastert (there’s plenty out there already) while gleefully engaging in the absolutely unsubstantiated gossip that, somehow, somewhere, some Liberal is at fault!”
But didn’t you know, it is a liberal’s fault! Fox News has been peppering their info bars on the former congressman with (D-Florida) and even the AP picked it up. And a headline on a Fox News debate read something to the effect of “Did Dems keep Foley Scandal Quiet to Keep a Seat”.
New strategy – if the screwup is on your side, pretend he works for the other side!

The partisanship on this issue (as much from the citizens, as from the members of Congress) is truly disturbing. I am a Democrat, and even what could be described as a Yellow Dog Bleeding Heart Liberal Democrat. But I am willing to bet that Foley is not the only one guilty of this type of behavior – and there are probably Democrats who are guilty also. I say identify all of them, and identify every creep who knew about it for even one day without trying to get something done to put a stop to it – and then prosecute every one of them who is indictable, and vote all of the others out of office. This stuff is unforgiveable, people. No matter the Party. These bloggers who are blaming the fact that Foley is Gay, or forgiving his actions because the children were adolescents rather than small children, or touting the fact that Foley is entitled to his day in court and infering that he might be guilty of nothing (and might even be due an apology) – in spite of his quick resignation and entry into rehab and acceptance of guilt (via the voice of his attorney)are sick themselves. How can anyone write that stuff and still look themselves in the mirror???? I am apalled – as much by the writings of those people as by Foley’s actions.

ABC and the Democrats are counting on the ignorance of the American people to not know the difference between e-mail and text messages. They will both be sadly disappointed!!
The e-mails were reviewed by Hastert and the FBI. They did NOT see the text messages until recently.
What was it the Dems said, “Stop the politics of personal destruction”

What I find laughable about this is that most of you forget the words of a former Speaker of the House – Tip O’Niell. All politics are local. Foley and his association with the Republican Party will not likely change why people will vote for their local candidate – Republican or Democrat. They’ll lose Foley’s seat but all the rest will be determined by what goes on in the districts. Unless your guy or gal is involved somehow, does Foley’s crap really make a difference to your vote? If it does, you have to question your own principles.

I getting sick of Matt Drudge and his Republican bias. His headlines often imply something not borne out in the article it’s linked to. The whole Foley mess and the ensuing coverup is about power and the lengths to which politicians will go to hold onto it.

I know quite a few life long Republicans, myself included, who have come to realize that Bush is really too opinionated and stupid to be president. POWER, POWER, POWER – lots of it and used poorly. BRAINS, BRAINS, BRAINS -forget them, never did have much. Yeah, ABC timed their investigation to do in Foley. Wake up you right wing dummies. I’ll take a smart president who likes sex over one who claims he is God’s gift to the American people. Makes one want to be an agnostic. Get your head out of the sands and face reality. This ex Republican is pulling the lever for everyone who is not Right Wing. They make me sicker than Monica doing oral sex .

Hastert should resign, so should anyone aware of a crime (soliciting minors for sex) and not acting (how about the police?). Why is this so hard for anyone to understand, if anything, shouldn’t they be charged with abeiting? Even if the page (or pages) was of age, what about honoring the page program, protecting those young people intrusted into the care of the Congress?

Why won’t Brian Ross answer a simple question: When did you first get the information regarding Mark Foley?

The war in Iraq is in the toilet. If you take that and add the Intel report that says the war has increased terrorism and add Bob Woodward’s book “State of Denial”, the Bush Administration needed something to divert Media attention for the weeks ahead going into the mid-term elections. A nice sex scandal, intentionally leaked by the Republicans, is better than having the Media discuss the war, intel report and the book. The Republicans know that they can hold the public’s attention with their “full investigation” and dodge the fatal bullet of Iraq until after the election. The Media attention has already faded on the intel report and the book. The sex scandal will eventually reach across the isle befor this is over, so it’s a net gain for Bush and the Republicans when all is said and done. Anything to keep control of the House and Senate, especially the House, to avoid impeachment proceedings.

I fear that Foley’s homosexuality will be used by the evangelical right to link his sexual preference to immoral behavior by any gay man. Pat Buchanan said as much on MSNBC. Foley’s attraction to teenaged boys is not because he is gay. It’s because he has psychological problems. The fact that he worked so hard in Congress to prevent the very things he is accused of, as well as the fact that he is a member of the political party that champions family values, makes the whole affair absurd. If it is revealed that Foley carried out his perverse fantasies, I hope he goes to jail.

Studies show that (a) nearly all sex crimes against children are committed by men (93%); (b) 1/3 of all sex crimes against children are committed against boys, and (c)only 3% of the male population is gay. A subset of the 3% is committing 33% of all sex crimes against children — the math shows that while most gays are not pedophiles, gay men are 10 times more likely to be pedophiles than straight men. Everyone’s just to afraid to recognize this fact.

its about time that the republicans get a dose of their own medicine.in politics,sadly, all is fair game.to say that the timing just before the elections was suspicious amazes me, like the swift boat was not!

I’ll put this in conservitive language. RIGHT IS
RIGHT AND WRONG IS WRONG!!! There are no
“butts” or are there?

I personally think that with all the Perv’s we seem to have in Gov’t, that any parent who lets their child go to Washington should be subject to child endangerment laws. Let’s throw out the Gov’t and start fresh.

If any of you still think that Matt Drudge’s reporting isn’t fiar or balanced, why would he put a link to this story on his page?

I just spent 15 minutes reading nothing but a bunch of hate-filled, name-calling BS .. from both sides; and I’m ashamed. It’s no wonder our government is out of control. If what all of you are spouting is any indication of what is happening in Washington, we’re in serious trouble. My child’s kindergarten class gets along better than the adults posting here. I admit that none of you will ever see eye-to-eye on any issue, but I would sure love to see rational discorse as opposed to this. This accomplishes nothing.

Once again. The age of consent is 16 in DC and most states. The pages are not considered minors at 16 for the purpose of having sex.

Republican/Democrat… Same thing. Both sides would be fighting this thing. No one really has values, they all have agenda’s. This country is lost right now because of how polarized the country has become. The fish stinks from the head down; we need a strong leader. Sadly, the last meaningful president we’ve had was JFK. I think Barack Obama or John McCain could make a difference in this country and I hope one of them does in 2008.

As a Republican, who voted for Kerry, I think this proves why the Party has lost contact with America. They think they are holier than thou and can’t come to grips with the real world. This behavior was WELL known, ignored and buried.People can make mistakes in life, the Party can’t accept it, so they bury . To admit that this is an imperfect world, would remove you from the high altar they sit on and you would lose your status. Some other holier than thou fraud would take your place. It’s a shame the USA is so polarized that people are afraid to make mistakes and admit it.

It is important to note the salary these pages are getting. 18,000 for congress pages and 20,000 for senate pages. I to believe this is the price for silence, and what it takes to get a head (no pun intended).

From the party that gave us Clinton as President and his sexual affair with a young aged Intern and his steadfast defence by the Liberals etc it is funny that Dems are portraying themselves as spotlessly clean and holier when it comes to moral values.
The age of consent in Washington DC is 16 and Democrats have said gay sexual relationships at that age are normal and should be accepted. Now to turn back and indulge in a little bit of gay bashing is not going to fool voters. Dems and their media friends think voters are fool, they should not that there a lot of people in this country who are not fooled by their ons sided reporting and can think to differentiate propaganda from facts.

I remember when the page program was explained to some of us in High School. I was interested until a former page told me that there were some funny things that happen. I do not know if this was true but it stuck with me. I graduated High School in 1978.

So, this makes Mark Foley little better than many Catholic priests. Funny, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid never called on any bishops or the pope to resign.

The above article we’re all supposed to be commenting on here, has absolutely no journalistic value. It is merely sensationalism. This article only piles on Foley, who is already GONE (good riddance). The Foley part of the story is OVER.
The only thing that could possibly matter now, is whether Hastert should have done more when he received a compaint years ago regarding an innocuous email with very little evidence of anything in it. This same innocuous email was also recently regarded as NOT NEWSWORTHY by Brian Ross himself, as well as several Liberal leaning newspapers and the FBI. There was no story there, so they didn’t run with it. BRIAN ROSS SAT ON IT, enabling Foley to continue. So, if you’re going to blame anyone, blame Brian Ross.
Brian Ross himself said on O’Reilly that Hastert never knew about the nasty IM’s until last week. Start using your own brains, people. And some of you need to learn to spell.

Nice try ABC. You guys have problems with gay bashing. Live with that….

Foley resigned and Hastert is trying to get to the bottom of who knew what, when, how and where?
Hastert knows that this is bigger than him. I believe that if thought that he could be implicated….he would be gone in a heartbeat as well.
What is wrong with Pelosi? This is a nonpartisan issue. Where in the hell is she?
The liberals and conservs had better start rowing in the same direction or Russia and China and Iran and NK and Vene and Indonesia and Germany and Spain and all the rest of the America haters will bury us in YOUR lifetime.

C’mon already…..can we have an interview with former Democratic Gary Studds from Mass…..he had ACTUAL SEX with an under age page!! Maybe he can help us understand how we did not resign and served several more terms!!

The no anwser liberals still have very short memories. Lets keep to the real issues. Foley is a freak and needs to fry. When a liberal had phyical Sex with a 17 yo page and stayed in office there was no outcry. Put the liberals in-charge and all of our loved ones will be in danger. Who do you think let all our spy’s go overseas. Who was offered OBL on a silver platter and said no. Get real!

This Republican is going to vote Democrat for the first time in many, many years, because someone needs to start watching over our all-powerful Congressional “perverts” who seem to have their slimey hands in the cookie jar and apparently other places too personal to even mention! It’s time to insert some much needed checks and balances back into the system.

You need to get real, “Frank”
Secretary of State Rice first cannot remember urgent cautionary meetings with counter-terrorism officials before 9/11.
Then within hours of this lie, her spokesman confirms the meetings in question.
Then she dismisses those meetings as nothing new — yet insists she wanted the same cautions expressed to Secretaries Ashcroft and Rumsfeld.

Karl Rove is behind all this. He is being funded by George Soros. He switched teams for the money. My blog has more information.

I love selective indignation! If only foley were “good” on abortion..the lefties just might give him an award! Oh wait…those go to Roman Polanski and the dude that produced the movie about the albino kid. Right now, the ENTIRE democratic party deserves an award for theirfeigned outrage. Perverts are your base people!

The “underage” issue is non-existant as the age of consent in DC is 16. Foley’s acts, while creepy, were not necessarily illegal (however, internet communications potentially fall under a different jurisdication). This means the past scandals with 17-year old pages is also irrelevant.
The issue at hand is the GOP cover-up. Almost as bad as the scandals with the Catholic Church: while the perps can be removed, it is the institution, answerable to a great many others, that bears responsibility as well.

Drudge isn’t a “journalist”, he merely collects articles that interest him, and sometimes the right wingers, and posts the same on the net.
The entire leadership of the House needs to step back. I’ve been doing phone banking for a candidate and Republicans are sickened and shocked. They are also sick of Congress.

Um, what’s wrong w/ you Repub apologists? First of all, Drudge didn’t “prove” anything. He reported some flimsy inuendo, less supported than most of the other junk that has flown around about this, but you people accept every Drudge word as truth. And just because this came out at an inconvienent time for Repubs, it MUST be a conspiracy and/or a lie. Do you have any shame? A 16 or 17 year old who goes to Congress as a page likely holds lawmakers in awe… If you were a page and got an explicit e-mail from a powerful Congressman, and you didn’t know that others had also gotten them, it doesn’t seem too unlikely that you’d think twice about making public accusations. You might be embarrassed, you might be afraid, and you very likely would be worried that people would either think you are gay, or, if you were gay, that this incident would “out” you. I cannot BELIEVE that any self-respecting “values conservative” would try and blame this on these kids…
I also think Hastert probably did nothing “wrong,” i.e. there was no cover-up. But errors of omission are no less erious than errors of commission. If doubts were raised, they should have been investigated. Why didn’t reynolds tell the other two members of the page board about this? I think he is more to blame than Hastert. Hastert is a decent, busy guy, who had this happen on his watch.

There wasn’t much publicity from the Democrat that had sex with a 17yo probably because he wasn’t chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children. Republican Hypocrisy is delicious.

I wonder how many of these people that are saying that this horrific American story is all hearsay and that we should not convict these men in the media felt the same way about the Michael Jackson, Scott Peterson, John Mark Carr, OJ Simpson, Robert Blake and countless other stories of people that were convicted in the media before they had their day in court? If you can say that you did not judge any of these men before they were convicted or not convicted, then you can use that line! Let’s face it, many of you are being hypocritical……..

This should never have become a political issue but I’m not surprised it has. I am a therapist working with sexual offenders on a daily basis and as it is my job I understand clearly issues surrounding these offenses. Before someone assumes something completely offbase, although I work with them, I am an advocate for the victims and public safety. The ignorence streaming from these emails is appalling but perhaps this is the current direction of our country..don’t attempt to solve a problem, just find someone and blame them. These are children, and as children it is our responsibility to protect them. Not the president re-election! Not the speaker of the house’s position!, and certainly not Foley. His messages could only represent a small piece of his very complex sexual offending puzzle. Let’s keep our eyes on the ball people! Let’s think of the children, not blame them for the sake of some political idelogy. Foley needs help and hopefully he’ll get that help, which in turn protects all of us.

I have read the IM messages and what I don’t get is how all the pages seem to go along with Foley’s sexual advances. I mean, these are bright kids – they were congressional pages. You would think at least one or two would have had the sense to tell an adult what was happening or tell Foley what he was doing was sick and report him earlier. I know I would have.

Perhaps we should prohibit anyone to “serve” in Congress if they’ve ever been overheard humming Judy Garland show tunes!

It won’t work, trying to spin this into, “Well, you democrats had Clinton and Studds!” Why? Because we have never tried to legislate morality and shove it down your throat. Had Foley run on the democratic ticket, he could have c campaigned as an openly gay candidate and gone out with men his own age. But as a guilt-ridden Gopster, he cowered in the closet and was reduced to praying on “chickens” in his work enviornment.

I’m amazed by people who believe these boys are lying because any 17-year-old who isn’t a wimp would tattle immediately. Unbelievable. Foley was a congressman — in a position of authority. Who would be believed? When something traumatic happens, the victim often is shocked. They often think no one will believe them. They are afraid to speak up. They think they are the only one. The tip line is an excellent idea. I believe many people will come forward and law enforcement can sort it out.

Let’s face facts. If you are a Republican .. Foley did nothing wrong .. the Dems are behind it .. Bush is the greatest Pres since Washington and so on and so forth. You will never convieince a Republican that their party EVER does anything wrong and the Dems never do anthing right. It must be really nice living in a fantasy world. I hope some day you people will wake up and smell the coffee. With this leadership we are well on our way to being the most hated country in the world. It is going to take decades to repair the damage this administration has done both domestically and internationally.

Previous post: “As for Foley, he clearly is a homosexual from everything we’ve heard. IMHO, they should ALWAYS be segregated from children; be it in the schools, the church, the Boy Scouts, or the page program. We don’t want them preying on our kids.”
Well, in that case, we should segregate all grown men from teenage girls…or grown women (especially blonde teachers in their 20′s) from teenage boys. Maybe alcoholics should be banned from the internet? Or all victims of childhood sexual abuse? Or Republicans?
Please. This comment is pure bigotry…this issue has NOTHING to do with him being gay – if he even is, in an adult sense. Homosexual does NOT equal pedophile. He’s (poorly) using it as an excuse, just like his “supposed” alcoholism and childhood experiences, and insulting the gay population of this country. He’s grasping at straws, failing miserably, and dragging the GOP down with him. Bottom line…he’s a creepy pedophile who deserves to have the book thrown at him.

There are two arguments people are posting here that I don’t buy:
1) They claim the teenagers are liars because adolescent males would not put up with Foley’s advances. I don’t agree. There are over 70 pages in the house. All Foley had to do was target susceptible boys. And I’m sure being a congressman helped him leverage some power over those kids.
2) People claim what Clinton did was far worse because Clinton actually had sex with the intern whereas Foley did not. I don’t buy this either. Clinton having an affair with Monica is not illegal. She was an adult in her 20s. What got Clinton in trouble is he lied about it under oath. Foley is a child predator. He’s no different than those sick perverted old men that show up at the door hoping to have sex with a 14 year old who they met in an internet chat room.

For those who debunk Drudge’s credibility on reporting….are you aware that he had the scoop on Monica before anyone else in the media?
It is a given that people believe what they want to believe, with no evidence to believe otherwise!

this is for all the president Bush haters you should be happy !!
Foley has left and he is done . Do what you want to him !!!!!
but don’t forget this young intern
will be affected and that will be for how long the press will chase him.
and the rest of his life.
so you big grown up people think about what you are writting and doing.. it will be over in NOV. and then cry……

You know the GOP is in trouble when they start to bring back former ringleader Newt Gingrich. Obviously the lack of any fresh faces to fill the leadership breach causes a stumbling party to grasp for straws.

if this is all liberal, democratic politics, why are so many, including foley, resigning so quickly? that’s certainly not the republican way?

Charlotte is smart, she gets all her news from a reliable source: Rush Limbaugh!!
According to Rush, this is a fabricated story by the liberal press to hurt the Republicans!
The liberal media working hand-in-hand with the democractic party.
Thank you charlotte for being on top of the real news and informing us easily fooled folks the real truth!
>Foley’s has resigned, Hastert is >not the problem.
>The problem is the drive-by media >making up stories to sell the >news – the news they want us to >hear…and believe.
>Get your news from a reliable >source before judging others.
>Posted by: charlotte | Oct 5, >2006 9:16:37 PM

I remember reading about Pages being used for sexual favors on one of the news tickertapes back just before the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal broke around February or so. This was apparently swept off the face of the earth, since I cannot find anything on it. I definitely remember reading it, because it was the first time I ever heard of the Page program. Not sure if this time the politicians will be so lucky. Maybe Korea will bail them out.
Its not a matter of what’s available in the world, it’s a matter of a highly paid person, with tax-payer funds, in a position of power and respect not holding up to the candle that he’s getting paid too. It’s the same with Clinton. If he wanted to dip his wicket, he could have at least had the decency to wait until his term ended and not further demoralize our nation and put us on the same morale plain as third world countries. If Bill Gates did this he’d never hear the end of it, much less Michael Jackson, but they both could afford most any perverted thing they desired without being supported by tax payer’s dollars. Rank or position has its privileges, but it also has its place of responsibility. People who abuse that become victims of friendly fire on the battle field.

its a shame that Pat Robertson, and Focus on the Family propose that the problem of Foley is due to him being gay. Too bad they haven’t researched the facts that over 85% of pedophiles are heterosexuals!
Get Foley and Hastert out of office immediately and into jail where they belong.
When Dateline NBC runs thier Internet Predetors series, you know those men are going straight to jail, where they belong.
Foley, who tries to hide in Rehab, for being an “alcoholic”, (which he isn’t) and Hastert basically aiding and abetting this behavior for years needs to suffer in prison for years to come.
I will no longer vote Republican ever again. Bush has made my decision hard enough, but in light of this recent outbreak of known pedophilic behavior has pushed me over the edge!
ConConConConConservatives……. sad, sorry bunch of grown men…. Lets not even talk about Anne Coulture!
GDP

RE: Age of consent.
Many of you are getting it wrong. Yes, the age of consent in Florida is 16, but only with a partner up to age 22. I was surprised to find that gray area granted to individuals in close age proximity. At age 23, it IS considered statutory rape and is actionable. So a 52 year old and a 16 year old is ILLEGAL in Florida.
Oh yeah, vast left-wing conspiracy … O.J. hide the IMs … and the illuminati is preparing to take over! Good immitation of a bat-poop crazy repub! Get the beer and the popcorn, the show’s about to start. Let’s watch a few heads explode out of frustration and sheer partisan demography.

Chewbacca:
Where are you getting your statistical information? You are citing stats that say gay men are more likely to be pedophiles. Please cite your sources; these are serious charges you are making against a group of people, so you should always give the source of your stats and information. Otherwise, you are simply adding to the inflammatory language and steering the discussion off course.

Blame the victims, blame the Democrats, blame the media. This is not much of a “party of responsibility” is it? Listen to Hastert say “The buck stops here” and then immediately pass the buck. It’s all pretty revealing to the average mom or dad or anyone who has followed the Catholic Church scandals.
Question: Do Republicans EVER take real responsibility for their screw-ups? EVER?

Wait. Clinton is worse because he had sex with a consenting adult and Foley is not-so-bad because he only taunted underage boys with emails? Then YOU pay for their trauma 5, 10, 20 years from now. Kids who have been abused like this frequently don’t talk about it–ever. Until one of the victims breaks the silence. An pre-election stroke of genius from the Democrats? No, no and no,

Obviously Foley felt he had done enough wrong to resign abruptly. I feel we should all just wait until the “investgation” is completed. After all, we Americans ARE presumed innocent until proven otherwise. After the investigation we can ride him out of town on a rail!!!
As to my political leanings, I am a Republicrat. I vote for the person, not a party.

I’d like to know if these pages that say that Foley sent them emails with all the sexual comments, have copies of these emails? While I think Foley is gross and disgusting. I’d really like to know if there’s something to back up their stories or is it just heresay?

Most of you Americans are unbelievably stupid. This country has never been as divided as it is today, a time when unity is crucial to America’s future. “Divide and Conquer” is the most proven military strategy to defeat your enemy. It’s ironic to see that Americans end up being their own enemy. Osama is laughing all the way to victory.
The question is, who is most responsible for dividing this country as well as its important foreign friends? George Bush & Co, the “loving” evangelicals, Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly etc. Oh, how history will damn them.

Why are so many making vitriolic comments about the press for doing their job? I don’t hear anyone bashing or faulting Chris Hansen of Dateline’s “To Catch A Predator.” Rightly, even Foley commented that the the show is doing it’s part to protect our underage children from online predators. So lay off the press for just doing their job.
To Chris who posted that the underage pages are “punks,” shame on you. Obviously you’re not a parent with underage sons. Comments like yours are why young victims tend not to come forward, especially against a powerful Congressman. Wonder what your comments would be if Foley sent a sexually explicit e-mail to one of your underage male family members?
Republican Fordham stated that two to three years ago he had informed Speaker Hastert about Foley’s inappropirate e-mails and IM’s to underage pages. So let’s stop pointing the finger at the Democrats. This isn’t a political issue, it’s a criminal one.
Where are the Republicans’ compassionate conservatism and family values when you really need them?
Let’s stop the petty party bashing and put Foley where he really belongs, in jail.
Noanie

Has anyone listened to Matt Drudge put the blame on the pages who he describes as “beasts.” Drudge, a gay man , is just one more self loathing closeted Republican. And that is the origin of this tale- closeted Republican gays afraid to speak up about Foley’s unprofessional/criminal behavior let this go further than it should have. Why would any gay person actually support the Republican party?

Why are the people who provided these IM’s not coming forward to testify before the House Ethics Committee?
Why did they chose to pass these IM’s anonymously to the press rather than go the proper authorities?
How long were the IM’s in their posession before they passed them to ABC?
How did they obtain the IM’s, since they were not the recipients of them?
Why is ABC not asking these questions and providing the answers?

So far we have at least 5 pages saying they received dirty emails/im’s from Foley.
We also have at least 2 staff members that say that Hastert and staff knew about Foley for 2-3 years, not the months that he claims.
We also have Boehner & Reynolds saying that Hastert knew about it.
We also know that Drudge’s claim of it being a prank has been called ‘a piece of fiction’ by the lawyer of the page.
We know all this. It’s been documented.
And yet what do conspiracy theory R’s want to focus on? That somehow, someway, it’s a D coverup. No proof mind you. No names. No facts. Oh yeah. And no personal responsibility.

Shameful. The GOP has finally sunken to new lows by defending pedophiles in its ranks. Its bad enough that the party has destroyed the constitution, got us into an unwinnable war, put us in massive debt that can’t be paid off in 100 years, and has divided this nation politically that hasn’t been seen since the civil war. Now they have perverts and people who protect perverts.
What’s next, ritual baby killings? Come on Hastert, you will be getting a $125,000/year retirement anyway, just leave for the good of the party and cleanse the GOP of its ills.

So let me get this straight. The Democrats are more interested in tracking instant messages of a gay man than those of a terrorist.

OK, abc does not censor but your post may take some time to load. Pedos or not I want every person in Congress who signed on to the war in Iraq along with the bushco crime syndicate to be sent to prison forever for egregious violation of Geneva Conventions. You may not invade your neighbor’s house but that is exactly what US Congress and bushco did. Their punishment by the world is coming.

ABC: WHERE ARE THE REST OF THE IM TRANSCRIPTS?
I don’t want a two line quote in the midst of your analysis, I want to read them, in context, myself.

Hey you Aussies and Canadians … what’s involved with immigrating to your country? My wife and I give up. We’re so ashamed of the U.S. that we’ve decided to leave. Foley and the GOP reaction are the last straw. We both have some solid technical and medical skills, so we’re not looking to be welfare leeches in your land. Do you welcome ex-USA-ers, or are we spat at in the street? Thanks GOP for making us hated in the world.

I’ve read most of the comments on this site. I even agree with the majority of what has been written. But one thing hasn’t been said that I’ve read….it doesn’t matter much if the offender is republican or democratic. It doesn’t matter much if the victims are male or female. What matters is that human or not these people are there to represent our country. It’s embarrassing to think that the people of other countries are seeing what’s going on in the most powerful country in the world. I’m a democrat;However, I’m not trying to play the blame game. I just think that both parties should have to go through strict screening as if they were applying for a job working directly with children. Possibly the way to stop something like this would be to not let it start to begin with.

Can you tell me why when McGreevy of NJ declared that he was in love with a male the bible-toting extreme right had a white hot indignation and wanted him to leave office immediately? Yet the family value right hid under the covers when Foley of Florida wrote to young page boys.
God Bless!

it’s a shame to note that a honorable representative sets a bad example to his populace. although im not against Foley being gay but what he did was ultimately wrong… instead of championing the protection and welfare of the youth but what he did? he abuses his power just for the sake of LUST!

I am just so sick and tired of the one sided reporting. If a republican does anything it is always a bigger deal and story than if it is a democrate. I think the Harry Reid’s story should have been reported on as stongly as the Foley story. Not so, can’t hurt a democrate. This why I watch very llttle from ABC and other stations with the same kind of one sided bias.

Check your spelling. Check your grammar. Check your mind. You sound more sophisticated if you proofread. Rethink your bias. Impartiality is the way to go.
So you love violence, so you love hate, so you love blood, we reporters drooling like hogs before their trough. Where are facts? Where is truth?
To hang is to kill the man, make him finite, but to make him live is the greatest punishment of them all.