Mark Foley asks, "Do I make you a little horny?"

[SuperJerk 0]

Yeah, other than that whole soliciting a minor thing.

 

Hannity lied on air and said Lewinsky was 19 when the affair happened, so he could falsely claim she was still just a teenager when at the time.

[vivalaultra 0]

This just keeps gettin' better and fuckin' better...

 

Disgraced Politician Says He Was Abused

Lawyer Also Acknowledges Mark Foley's Homosexuality

By BRIAN SKOLOFF, AP

 

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 3) - Disgraced former Rep. Mark Foley said through his lawyer Tuesday that he was sexually abused by a clergyman as a teenager, but accepts full responsibility for sending salacious computer messages to teenage male pages.

 

Attorney David Roth said Foley was molested between ages 13 and 15 by a clergyman. He declined to identify the clergyman or the church, but Foley is Roman Catholic.

 

He also acknowledged for the first time that the former congressman is gay, saying the disclosure was part of his client's "recovery."

 

"Mark Foley wants you to know he is a gay man," Roth told reporters in Florida as Republicans struggled to avoid election-year fallout from the congressman's behavior and sudden resignation.

 

Foley represented parts of Palm Beach County for 12 years until he abruptly resigned Friday after being accused of sending lurid Internet messages to teenage boys who served as pages on Capitol Hill. The FBI and Florida law enforcement officials are investigating whether he violated any laws.

 

The lawyer said Foley, who is now in treatment for alcohol abuse, never had any inappropriate sexual contact with a minor. He said Foley was under the influence of alcohol when he sent the e-mails and instant messages.

 

Asked why he didn't disclose this information sooner, Roth said, "Shame, shame."

 

"As is so often the case with victims of abuse, Mark advises that he kept his shame to himself for almost 40 years," Roth said.

 

Foley announced in a statement Sunday that he had checked into a facility to be treated for "alcoholism and other behavioral problems."

 

Roth said Foley never had any sexual contact with minors.

 

"There was absolutely no inappropriate sexual contact with any minor ... and any suggestion that Mark Foley is a pedophile is false," he said, adding that Foley never even attempted to have sexual relations with the teens.

 

Asked whether Foley was suicidal, Roth said, "I am not concerned about that at all."

 

"I was advised by his doctor that despite obvious pressure and the trauma of what he has gone through as a result of the revelations that he has determined to be completely inappropriate and inexcusable that he is not in danger of hurting himself," Roth said.

 

 

10/3/2006 19:20 EDT

[Dobbs 3K 0]

They need to bounce Hastert out of Congress if he in fact had any idea this was happening.

[dubq 0]

Leave it up to FOX news to bring the bad journalism content:

 

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Well, I find it hard to believe that they would do that intentionally, but who really knows? They've definitely been playing the "Democrats are exploiting this issue right before the election" card a lot more than the other networks.

[KingPK 0]

They probably just got the guy that does ESPN Monday Night Football's graphics.

 

Mark Foley (AAAAGGGGGG)

[bobobrazil1984 0]

This just appeared on the AP:

 

A senior congressional aide said Wednesday that he alerted House Speaker Dennis Hastert's office two years ago about worrisome conduct by former Rep. Mark Foley with teenage pages.

 

Kirk Fordham told The Associated Press that when he was told about Foley's inappropriate behavior toward pages, he had "more than one conversation with senior staff at the highest level of the House of Representatives asking them to intervene."

 

The conversations took place long before the e-mail scandal broke, Fordham said, and at least a year earlier than members of the House GOP leadership have acknowledged.

[Guest Felonies!]

They probably just got the guy that does ESPN Monday Night Football's graphics.

 

Mark Foley (AAAAGGGGGG)

I demand aeriel coverage of this story.

[SamoaRowe 0]

Well, I find it hard to believe that they would do that intentionally, but who really knows? They've definitely been playing the "Democrats are exploiting this issue right before the election" card a lot more than the other networks.

 

I wouldn't put it past them to be doing this intentionally. If it happened once, maybe, but three times tells me that this is another fast one pulled by the same people who constantly whine that the media is "liberal."

[SuperJerk 0]

Republicans are playing this Foley thing as "At least we resign when we get caught," as if doing things that are wrong enough to force you out of office is some sort of badge of honor.

 

Report: Aide said he warned Hastert's office about Foley

 

Story Highlights•NEW: Aide said he warned speaker's office about Foley 3 years ago

•Former Foley aide resignsafter trying to negotiating with news media

•Key conservatives back Hastert, as does White House

•Republicanwhip questions how Hastert handled Foley matter

 

 

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Speaker Dennis Hastert's office was notified of concerns about then-Rep. Mark Foley over three years ago -- two years before previous accounts have suggested top GOP leaders learned of Foley's inappropriate behavior, a former aide to Foley told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

 

Kirk Fordham told AP about his warning after resigning Wednesday amid allegations that he tried to protect Foley from congressional inquiries into his inappropriate contact with congressional pages.

 

Fordham elaborated in an interview with ABC News and said he told Hastert's chief of staff, Scott Palmer, that Foley was too friendly with the pages, and Palmer talked to Foley.

 

Hastert's spokesman Ron Bonjean told ABC News, "That [warning] never happened."

 

In a statement to CNN, Bonjean said only that "this matter has been referred to the Standards Committee and we fully expect that the bipartisan panel will do what it needs to do to investigate this matter and protect the integrity of the House." (Full story)

 

A GOP leadership aide, however, questioned why Fordham told AP on Wednesday morning that he "had no inkling that this kind of blatantly reckless -- just obscene -- behavior was going on behind our backs," but later said he had warned Hastert about it.

 

"It's contradictory from what he said just this morning. He's changed his story," the aide said.

 

Fordham was the top aide to Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-New York, and once held the same job for Foley. In his resignation statement, Fordham vigorously denied taking any inappropriate action on Foley's behalf.

 

"When I sought to help Congressman Foley and his family when his shocking secrets were being revealed, I did so as a friend of my former boss, not as Congressman Reynolds' chief of staff," Fordham said. "I reached out to the Foley family, as any good friend would, because I was worried about their emotional well-being. At the same time, I want it to be perfectly clear that I never attempted to prevent any inquiries or investigation of Foley's conduct by House officials or any other authorities."

 

Reynolds is the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is working to keep the GOP in control of the House in November's elections. The scandal has not only rocked the Republican leadership but it has become an issue in Reynolds' upstate New York district just weeks before the vote.

 

"It is clear the Democrats are intent on making me a political issue in my boss's race, and I will not let them do so," Fordham wrote in his resignation letter.

 

Reynolds would not say Wednesday whether he asked Fordham to quit. However, Reynolds said he thought it was "inappropriate" for his chief of staff to negotiate with a news outlet over its coverage. And he said Fordham believed he was becoming a "distraction."

 

Foley, a six-term Florida Republican, resigned Friday after his e-mails to a teenage boy who had served as a congressional page became public -- and as ABC News was about to air more explicit records of instant messages the congressman exchanged with other pages.

 

ABC reported that Fordham offered the network an exclusive on Foley's resignation if it agreed not to air transcripts of the most explicit messages. Wednesday, citing unnamed GOP sources, it said Fordham had interceded with Republican leaders to keep concerns raised by the family of a Louisiana teen from the full three-member board that oversees the page program.

 

The network also reported that Fordham's associates consider him a scapegoat for Hastert, R-Illinois, who has been sharply criticized for his handling of the issue. But Ron Bonjean, a spokesman for the speaker, said Hastert had no advance knowledge of Fordham's resignation, nor did he demand it.

 

Conservatives rally behind Hastert

The resignation comes as key conservative House members voiced support for Hastert but questioned how he handled the Foley matter.

 

The call for Hastert's resignation came Tuesday in an editorial on The Washington Times Web site. The editorial charged that "either [Foley] was grossly negligent ... or he deliberately looked the other way." (Full story)

 

A spokesman for Hastert said the speaker would not step down.

 

And in a statement released Wednesday, Rep. Mike Pence, R-Indiana, and Joe Pitts, R-Pennsylvania, said "regardless of our reservations about how this matter was handled administratively, we believe Speaker Hastert is a man of integrity who has led our conference honorably and effectively throughout the past eight years. Speaker Dennis Hastert should not resign. "

 

Pence is chairman of the influential Republican Study Committee, and Pitts is chairman of the conservative Values Action Team.

 

A key Hastert ally, Republican Ray LaHood of Illinois, said the call for Hastert to step down was "absolute nonsense." (Watch the GOP defend Speaker Hastert -- 2:54)

 

"The speaker brought us through 9/11. He's helped the president with major legislative initiatives," LaHood said Wednesday.

 

"He's been a good, strong speaker and has been able to deal with ethical conduct of members of Congress," LaHood said. "This idea he should resign is absolute nonsense, and it's just a lot of political fodder for people who want to make hay 35 days before the election."

 

Shadegg shows support

Arizona Republican Rep. John Shadegg also rallied to Hastert's side, circulating a letter that says the calls for Hastert to resign "are unwarranted and fundamentally unfair."

 

The letter, dated Tuesday, said at least two newspapers, including the Miami Herald, knew of an e-mail exchange between Foley and a page "for months" (Read letter) and didn't view the contacts as significant.

 

"And, after conducting their own inquiries, they decided not to publish the story or pursue the matter further," the letter continued.

 

"To demand (Hastert's) resignation based on the current facts and before the investigation that he has called for is completed, is unwarranted and wrong," the letter said.

 

But another member of the House leadership, Majority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri, said Tuesday said he would have handled the Foley situation differently, the AP reported.

 

"I think I could have given some good advice here, which is you have to be curious. You have to ask all the questions you can think of," Blunt said, according to the AP. "You absolutely can't decide not to look into activities because one individual's parents don't want you to."

 

 

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/10/04/has...oley/index.html

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

n/t

[Gary Floyd 0]

More Fox News Fun

It amazes me that they are trying so fucking hard to pin this on the Democrats. I mean, it doesn't suprise me, but it still amazes me, especially when even many conservatives will probably tell you that this has nothing to do with the Democrats. No wonder Fox News is starting to lose ratings.

[snuffbox 0]

They're trying to secure their base.

[Special K 0]

Ouch, that chest on the one in the middle is blinding.

 

Listened to a little right-wing radio today, to get their take. Limbaugh's take is it was the kids' fault and they were 'goading' Foley. This from the guy who played the ENTIRETY of "Where have all the cowboys gone" for the guy who beat up his daughters teacher because she said he made advances on her. (later found false)

 

Foley SAID he sent those messages. He's in rehab. He said he was molested by a priest. He's not even trying to deny it! And yet it's not only the Aides' fault, it's now the entire Democratic party.

 

Oh also, now the "Democrats have linked homosexuality with pedophilia." Which is so forehead-slappingly wrong.

 

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=84784

 

Thank goodness for Dan Savage.

[CheesalaIsGood 0]

Good stuff from Dan Savage. Bad stuff from Rush per usual.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

The Republicans are basically completely corrupt, or at least this story is making them out to be that way. It's time to wipe the scum off the streets, I say.

[snuffbox 0]

Don't hang the GOP for the actions of one D-FL.

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

Watching The Daily Show, I thought it was hilarious how the Republicans tried to bring Bill Clinton into this and some other 23 year old news story to spin it off as "The Democrats are the REAL issue here!"

[vivalaultra 0]

I was listening to the Phil Valentine show on talk radio today and he was talking about how the GOP is saying that the Demmycrats are just doing digging to try and ensure they get the seat. Yeah...that's pretty stupid. I mean, Mark Foley hasn't denied doing any of this. In fact, he's admitted it. Even if the Democrats were just trying to dig up dirt, I personally think it's a good thing that people like this in positions of power are exposed. Also, back during the Clinton scandal, the Democrats were saying the whole thing was being dug up by Republicans, so it all balances out. That's why I vote independent!

[NoCalMike 0]

I don't blame pundits like Rush or Hannity. They are republican hacks who are supplied with Republican talking points before they go on the air. They are basically being paid to spin anything and everything, it's their job, and they will continually do it no matter how silly and/or stupid it makes them look, lets not forget they are NOT JOURNALISTS.

 

To the contrary,what really dissapoints me is that they actually have regular ordinary everyday joe's calling into their shows AGREEING with their political BULLSHIT on this issue. I mean this instance is about as clear cut as it gets, yet there are still people buying into "It is actually the Democrats we have to blame" horseshit.

[CheesalaIsGood 0]

At this point if you are a Republican you have to be shittin kittens because of how much of a landslide (they think) the elections are going to be. When it all goes down and their guys are out of office there won't be any way to spin it. No other way to look at the situation other than the guys THEY trusted and voted for fucked it all up. But lets face it. For every accusation they make about today’s culture and it's lack of "taking responsibility" for their own actions they find themselves completely incapable of looking in the mirror. The amount of their own crap they project coupled with their holier than thou attitude towards anyone that doesn't agree with them is finally going to bite them in the ass. For over 20 years whenever Republicans (and most politicians for the matter regardless of party) get asked the hard questions it's ALWAYS the same: "It wasn't me" "I don't recall", "The media!", "LIBERALS"!!! It is just not going to work this time. It is about damn time.

 

They are buried up to their necks now and they KNOW it. They have only themselves to blame for selling out their own beliefs.

[SuperJerk 0]

Watching The Daily Show, I thought it was hilarious how the Republicans tried to bring Bill Clinton into this and some other 23 year old news story to spin it off as "The Democrats are the REAL issue here!"

 

I've heard Gerry Studds mentioned more in the last 24 hours than I have in the last 24 years.

[SuperJerk 0]

Also, back during the Clinton scandal, the Democrats were saying the whole thing was being dug up by Republicans, so it all balances out.

 

You need to note the following differences, though:

-the lawsuit that started the mess was brought about only after a right-wing magazine published a report that said Jones had an affair with Bill Clinton.

-Republicans were giving free legal counsel to Paula Jones, and one of her lawyers was Ann Coulter.

-Monica Lewinsky never claimed Clinton sexually harrassed her, so having the Paula Jones legal team questioning either her or him about their affair served no purpose except to potentially entrap him in a perjury charge.

-Clinton was impeached in a mostly partisan vote during a lame duck Congress following an election where the Republicans had lost a substantial number of seats.

-Lewinsky was of legal age.

[Guest Princess Leena]

That's a strange chat...

 

From what I gather, the kid knew it was Foley on the other end. And apparently was straight. Yet, went along with the uber-creepy shit Foley was saying...

[vivalaultra 0]

Also, back during the Clinton scandal, the Democrats were saying the whole thing was being dug up by Republicans, so it all balances out.

 

You need to note the following differences, though:

-the lawsuit that started the mess was brought about only after a right-wing magazine published a report that said Jones had an affair with Bill Clinton.

-Republicans were giving free legal counsel to Paula Jones, and one of her lawyers was Ann Coulter.

-Monica Lewinsky never claimed Clinton sexually harrassed her, so having the Paula Jones legal team questioning either her or him about their affair served no purpose except to potentially entrap him in a perjury charge.

-Clinton was impeached in a mostly partisan vote during a lame duck Congress following an election where the Republicans had lost a substantial number of seats.

-Lewinsky was of legal age.

 

Oh yeah, I knew about all that. I wasn't saying it was right for the Demmys to dig up dirt on the Republicans or vice versa. I was just making a blanket statement about how, in alot of political scandals, the actual scandal takes a backseat to the people who claim that the Democrats/Republicans are only digging stuff up out of self-serving needs. And I'm biased towards Clinton. He should totally be elected King of the World Forever and Ever. He kept shit real.

[CheesalaIsGood 0]

^

I like stuff that makes me laugh. This made me laugh.

[vivalaultra 0]

What? Clinton kept shit real. He played the saxaphone and got blowjobs in the Oval Office. That's the guy I want running my country right there.

[Guest Felonies!]

I know, man, right? High five.

[Guest Hotbutter Spoontoaster]

you mean you dont like saxaphones and blowjobs? no high five.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

The Republican investigation and subsequent impeachment proceedings against President Clinton were a blatantly partisan agenda driven by the GOP. This is not...this current issue concerns protecting children from deviants who are abusing their positions of power.