Fallout From the Foley Affair

Oct. 2, 2006 — -- As Republicans try to calculate the political damage the party could suffer from the sexual scandal involving former Rep. Mark Foley and congressional pages, the White House has said, in effect, everyone should chill out and make sure of the facts.

Speaking on ABC's "Good Morning America," White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said a lot of people -- presumably he was referring to Democrats -- were "trying to figure out, 'OK, can I get political advantage out of this?'"

Snow said, "Let's take it one step at a time. There will always be time for people to call for investigations and so on. Frankly, I think we just need to get to the facts."

The president's spokesman acknowledged that "it's a terrible story, and I think people deserve to figure out what went on."

Republicans are among those calling for a sweeping look into how their leaders handled the Foley affair after they learned that he had sent what they call "over-friendly" e-mails to a 16-year-old boy from Louisiana.

New York Rep. Thomas Reynolds, who is leading his party's re-election effort in the House, said he told House Speaker Denis Hastert months ago about the e-mails.

Hastert said that he did not regard those e-mails as "sexual in nature," and that he did not realize there were others, "which were sexually explicit."

He has asked the Justice Department to investigate "Mr. Foley's conduct with current and former House pages."

Hastert said he and other GOP leaders had asked the House Page Board to undertake a full review of the incident and propose additional safeguard measures.

The Republican leadership is also creating a toll-free telephone number for House pages, parents, grandparents and staff to confidentially report incidents of concern.

At an afternoon news conference today, Hastert said he was "disgusted" with Foley, and called the allegations vile and repulsive.

He also added that top Republican officials had not been aware of the allegations against Foley.

"No GOP leader knew about it till last Friday" when the allegations surfaced, he said.

Had they known, Hastert said they would have pressed for "expulsion."

Republicans hope their efforts at damage limitation will succeed at least to the point that they can retain control of the House.

However, Thomas Mann, senior fellow at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution, has doubts: "This looks like the final nail in the coffin. I would not be surprised to see Hastert resign after the election."

Foley, who resigned after ABC News questioned him regarding the e-mails, has checked into an alcohol rehabilitation facility.

In a statement, he said, "I strongly believe that I am an alcoholic and have accepted the need for immediate treatment for alcoholism and other behavioral problems."

Foley was a co-chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children.

He was a key participant in passing a law that President Bush signed in July that will result in tougher sentences for sex offenders.

Foley has long spoken about the dangers of online child exploitation.

Speaking on the House floor on July 22, 2004, Foley said the Internet "provides a new medium for pedophiles to reach out to our most vulnerable citizens -- America's children."

He urged parents to know "the people who come into contact with their children in their neighborhoods, schools and online."

Two years earlier, Foley had difficulty keeping his emotions in check as he said goodbye to a departing group of House pages: "I warn all of you not to cry in front of me, please, so I can get through this very important day with you without shedding tears as well."

Both the FBI and authorities in Foley's home state of Florida are investigating to determine whether his e-mail communications violated federal or state laws.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said the state's probe was "a precursor to a possible criminal investigation."

Investigators say they will be asking past and present pages to come forward and provide any evidence they may have.

Meanwhile, the election campaign goes on, and Florida Republicans have chosen their nominee to replace Foley.

He is state Rep. Joe Negron; he ran earlier this year in the GOP primary for state attorney general.

Foley's seat had been considered a relatively safe one for his party. Now it will be an uphill fight for the GOP.