Q&A With George Stephanopoulos on Foley Fallout

Oct. 4, 2006 — -- ABCNEWS.com: The Foley story is putting enormous pressure on House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Do you think he will ultimately resign?

STEPHANOPOULOS: Not before the election. He is really circling the wagons right now. He has firmed up his support across the caucus. There were dangerous signs over the last 48 hours, but he really reached out to his members and most of them now think: One, it would be unfair to make the speaker resign knowing what they know now and, two, that it wouldn't help. They think it would actually hurt their prospects for the November elections. So they won't force him out right now.

One big caveat: That is all based on what we know now. If other members seem to be involved, or if it turns out the speaker did know more, or it's blindingly obvious he should have known more, then all bets off.

I would also add that from what I'm hearing, I think the chances Speaker Hastert will be speaker come January are almost zero. Even if Republicans survive this and hold on to the majority, enough members are disgruntled enough that I believe they will not return him as speaker. And remember there are still other investigations out there, the Ethics, the FBI, that could cause more trouble.

ABCNEWS.com: What about other Republicans? Who is being hurt by the Foley story?

STEPHANOPOULOS: All Republicans are on the defensive now. This has become the No. 1 issue in every race in the country. It hits those in most vulnerable races especially hard.