by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Oct. 5, 2006
All Rights Reserved.

ive-weeks before midyear elections, Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fl.) supplied some unexpected fireworks, resigning abruptly Sept. 1 after ABC News reported on “inappropriate” e-mails with a Louisiana teenager, working as a congressional page in 2005. As the story would have it, it's not Foley's lascivious acts that give the GOP another black eye but revelations about a Catholic Church-like cover-up in the upper echelon of the House of Representatives. House Speaker Dennis Hastert has drawn fire for failing to heed apparent complaints about Foley's shenanigans, dating back as far as 1997. Foley's ex-chief-of-staff 39-year-old Kirk Fordham, who left his office in Jan. '04, blew the whistle while serving in the same capacity for Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House Republican Campaign Committee, responsible for preserving the GOP majority in November.

      Following his resignation, Foley's attorney David Roth announced at a press conference Oct. 3 his client checked himself into an alcoholic recovery program, revealing the six-term congressman wished for the public to know he's gay and was molested as a child. Roth's damage control strategy risks giving out harmful evidence about Foley's culpability. While there's nothing wrong with breeding sympathy, Roth supplied the background data profiling a sexual predator, giving shocking allegations more weight. Oct. 4 Fordham announced his resignation Reynold's chief-of-staff, citing conflicts-of-interest. Fordham admitted to warning House leadership about Foley's behavior before Jan. '04, a devastating blow to Hastert's chances of retaining his position. Washington Times, a conservative newspaper, already called for Hastert's resignation Oct. 3.

      Under mounting pressure, Hastert called a brief press conference Oct. 5, announcing all the steps he's taken to get to the bottom of the crisis. “I'm deeply sorry this has happened and the bottom line is we're taking responsibility,” said Hastert, sidestepping questions about his resignation. While he says he's “taking responsibility,” he's not admitting when Foley's reckless behavior was first brought to his attention. Calling U.S. Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales and asking for an investigation doesn't acknowledge whether his office dropped the ball when informed a sexual predator prowled the halls of congress. Whether Foley actually had illegal sexual contact with under-aged pages remains unknown. His e-mails and instant messaging is the subject of an ongoing FBI investigation. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia) said Democrats' sex abuse scandals were far worse.

      Partisan mudslinging doesn't absolve Hastert of demonstrating he took appropriate action to deal with Foley once he knew Foley sexually harassed under-age congressional pages. In 2005, Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.) contacted Hastert's office about Foley's inappropriate e-mails. At that time, Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill), who chairs the House board that supervises the page program, met with Foley, ordering him to cease all contact with the unnamed page. Questions arise as to what motivated Hastert's office to not take action. After House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-Texa) resigned in disgrace Sept. 28, 2005 for money laundering, lobbyist Jack Abramoff convicted of racketeering Jan. 04 and Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) convicted Sept. 25 of conspiracy and making false statements, the GOP couldn't take another scandal before Nov. 7 midyear elections.

      Hastert's reticence to take action against Foley was likely connected to concerns about preserving the House's GOP majority. Too many scandals weigh on voters' minds to not upset the balance of power. Whatever Hastert's reasons, it's even more curious why House Congressional Campaign Committed chairman Tom Reynolds didn't return Foley's $100,000 donation, which can only be seen now as hush money. In Spring '06, Alexander, the representative from the page's Louisana district, apprised House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) about Foley's behavior. Both Alexander and Boehner claim they met with Hastert to discuss the incident. Hastert indicated he had no recall of the meeting, signaling either he's (a) got a serious memory impairment or (b) covered something up. While Hastert claims he's taking responsibility, there's no consequence for keeping a predator on the loose.

      Opening a full investigation into the Foley e-mail scandal, the House Ethics Committee hopes to get to the bottom of who knew what and when. Overwhelming evidence already points to either gross negligence in Hastert's office or a deliberate attempt to shield the GOP from embarrassment before November elections. Foley's already taken the heat but House leadership must do more that offer ambiguous apologies. It's not clear why Hastert apologized. Either way you cut, it's going to be difficult retaining Hastert in his current position. Democrats have been gleefully mum on the scandal, letting the media feeding frenzy soften Republican chances in November. If Hastert did nothing wrong, he's got no business apologizing. Taking responsibility involves more than holding press conferences. The more he hangs on, the worse it gets for the GOP.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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