Top GOP Staffer Forced Out for Role in Page Scandal

October 4, 2006 -- FOLEY SCANDAL

Top GOP Staffer Forced Out for Role in Page Scandal

The chief of staff for Republican Congressman Tom Reynolds, Kirk Fordham, resigned after questions were raised about his role in the handling of the congressional page scandal, according to Republican sources on Capitol Hill. (ABC News)

Foley Scandal Puts Pressure on Hastert

The House page scandal engulfing former Rep. Mark Foley and House Republican leaders enters its sixth day with Speaker Dennis Hastert working to hold onto his job and the GOP rank and file worried that the pre-election drip, drip of damaging political news isn't over yet. (ABC News)

Instant Messages Obtained by ABC News Cast Doubt on Claims from Foley's Lawyer

Mark Foley was sexually molested by a clergyman when Foley was between the ages of 13 and 15 and "wants you to know he is a gay man," his lawyer, David Roth, said late Tuesday. Mr. Roth said the disclosure was part of his client's "recovery." (ABC News)

Analysis: When the House Could Clean Itself

By Joseph A. Califano Jr.

The most troubling aspect of the Mark Foley scandal is not his conduct, disgusting as it was, but what the response of the leadership reveals about the rancid state of partisanship and the consequent decline of the House of Representatives. (Washington Post)

IRAQ NEWS

Violence in Iraq Leaves at Least 52 Dead

A suicide bomber unleashed a blast in a Baghdad fish market Tuesday and two Shiite families were found slain north of the capital as violence across Iraq claimed at least 52 lives. (AP)

Iraqi Education System on Brink of Collapse

Iraq's school and university system is in danger of collapse in large areas of the country as pupils and teachers take flight in the face of threats of violence. (The Guardian)

AFGHANISTAN

90,000 Afghans Displaced By War

Fighting between NATO-led forces and insurgents across southern Afghanistan has displaced an estimated 80,000 to 90,000 people over the past few months, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Wednesday. (Reuters)

TURKEY

Hijacker of Turkish Plane Wanted to Contact Pope, Officials Say

A Turkish Airlines jet was hijacked Tuesday by at least one unarmed Turkish man, apparently a convert to Christianity who wanted to communicate with Pope Benedict XVI, Turkish and Italian officials said. (NY Times)

NORTH KOREA

Asian Allies Warn On Nuclear Test by N. Korea

Seoul South Korea and China warned North Korea on Wednesday that if it tested a nuclear weapon it would face a chill in relations with Seoul and Tokyo, its two key aid sources. (International Herald Tribune)

IRAN

Iran Opens Nuke Plant to Foreign Tourists

Iran's hard-line president has ordered nuclear facilities opened to foreign tourists to prove that the nation's disputed atomic program is peaceful, state-run television reported on Wednesday. (AP)

ON THE WEB

'Al Qaeda in Palestine' Posts Video On the Internet

A five minute video including a statement by an alleged "field commanders" of "Qaedat al Jihad Organization – Palestine State" was posted on jihadi websites today. In the video, a masked man identified as Abu Hafs criticized and threatened Palestinian officials for their alleged corruption. The video included pictures of a senior Palestinian intelligence official who was killed in Gaza last month and financial statements that purport to prove his corruption. A claim of responsibility had been issued in the name of the same group following the assassination. It's unclear if the group is truly affiliated with al Qaeda or if it's only using the name to attract more attention. (ABC News)

INDIA

Dengue Fever Overwhelms New Delhi Hospitals

The Indian government called an emergency meeting of health officials today Tuesday to try to control an outbreak of dengue fever that has infected about 500 people in northern India, overwhelming Delhi's hospitals and exposing serious flaws in the public health system. (NY Times)

India To Share Bombings Evidence

Indian PM Manmohan Singh has said India will share evidence with Pakistan about what he describes as its involvement in the July bombings in Mumbai (Bombay). (BBC)

GUANTANAMO

Ex-Guantanamo Inmate Says German Soldiers Abused Him

A Turk with German residency who spent years in the Guantanamo Bay prison camp said in a magazine interview that German soldiers abused him in Afghanistan shortly after Pakistan handed him to U.S. authorities in 2001. (Reuters)

CHINA

Experts Press Chinese Leader to Halt Attacks on Dissenters

A group of foreign academics, lawyers and human rights activists sent a open letter to President Hu Jintao on Tuesday urging him to "reverse a worsening crackdown on voices of dissent" in China. (NY Times)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

Woulda. Coulda. Shoulda?

The more the House Republican leaders try to defend themselves on the Congressional page scandal, the worse it looks. They still do not seem to appreciate how serious this is, especially for a party that poses as the arbiter of morality. And they appear to be trying harder to deflect blame from themselves than to get to the bottom of what actually happened. The F.B.I. has begun investigating, but that will be a prolonged process, and the voters have to render a verdict in five weeks. There is evidence emerging that they should consider. (NY Times)

Dumping Denny Won't Do It

By Harold Meyerson

It is a mark of the sheer panic sweeping the ranks of Republican congressmen that one of their most levelheaded members, Ray LaHood of Illinois, has suggested that Congress abolish its page program altogether in the wake of the Mark Foley scandal. (Washington Post)

Reach Out To the Red Zone

By David Ignatius

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in the Middle East this week, trying to bolster America's allies to confront an enemies list that includes Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas and the all-party anarchy in Iraq. My worry is that Rice is becoming a traveling version of Baghdad's Green Zone, talking about hopeful strategies that are disconnected from events on the ground. (Washington Post)

Twenty-one Reasons Iraq Is Not Working

By Tom Engelhardt

Recently, in one of many speeches melding his "global war on terror" and his war in Iraq, US President George W Bush said: "Victory in Iraq will be difficult and it will require more sacrifice." The fighting there can be as fierce as it was at Omaha Beach or Guadalcanal. And victory is as important as it was in those earlier battles. (Asia Times)

The Insider Daily Investigative Report (DIR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to investigative news, including international terrorism and developments in Iraq. The DIR is edited daily from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman and Elizabeth Sprague of the ABC News Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.