In various conversations, I’ve had folks tell me that the Foley emails were sexual in nature. When I’ve stated they were not, I was accused of lying, of covering up, or of “parsing words.” But that simply is not the case. Let me reproduce for you the text of the emails that the GOP leadership, the press, and the FBI were aware of prior to last week.

HereÂ’s the second (the first is just confirming that the email address is correct).

glad your home safe and soundÂ… we donÂ’t go back into session until Sept 5Â…. si itÂ’s a nice long breakÂ…. I am back in Florida nowÂ… its nice hereÂ… been raining todayÂ… it sounds like you will have some fun over the next few weeksÂ…how old are you now?

In other words, just a chatty email. Except for that last question, I don’t see a thing that raises an eyebrow – and given the preexisting relationship between the two, it is not an outrageous question to ask in a breezy conversation.

The next email reads as follows.

I am in North CarolinaÂ…and it was 100 in New OrleansÂ…wow thatÂ’s really hotÂ… well do you miss DCÂ… Its raning here but 68 degrees so who can argueÂ… did you have fun at your conferenceÂ… what do you want for your birthday coming upÂ… what stuff do you like to do

Again, fairly innocuous stuff in a fairly breezy style – though since I don’t know the relevant dates I am unsure if the birthday is close to the time of the email. That might be a natural part of the conversation.

That was followed by this.

I just emailed willÂ…heÂ’s such a nice guyÂ…acts much older than his ageÂ…and hes really in great shapeÂ….i am just finished riding my bike on a 25 mile journey now, heading to the gymÂ….whats school like for you this year?

Talk about mutual acquaintances is hardly outrageous – and since Foley was known to be something of a fitness buff, the comments about biking and working out shouldn’t surprise anyone. And more importantly, I see nothing sexual in this.

And then there is this email – the one that caused the young man to drop all communication.

how are you weathering the hurricaneÂ…are you safeÂ…send me an email pic of you as wellÂ….

An expression of concern following a natural disaster, and a request for a photo. I guess I donÂ’t see the sexual content here.

Overly friendly? Definitely. Unprofessional? I’d agree. Indicative of Foley’s immaturity? Yep. But a sign of sexual predation? I don’t think so – unless you have some OTHER information to add, information that the House leadership did not have.

On the other hand, someone did have this information – possibly Democrat officials or political operatives. What did they know and when did they know it? I hope that the investigations that have begun examine those questions as well.

This development is troubling – and I think the firing of this staffer is the minimum action needed.

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.

Those sources said Fordham, a former chief of staff for Congressman Mark Foley, had urged Republican leaders last spring not to raise questionable Foley e-mails with the full Congressional Page Board, made up of two Republicans and a Democrat.

"He begged them not to tell the page board," said one of the Republican sources.

ABC, however, wants to paint this as a case of scapegoating.

FordhamÂ’s resignation was demanded by Speaker Hastert.

Fordham was also instrumental in orchestrating Foley's abrupt resignation last week hours after ABC News confronted the congressman with sexually explicit instant messages allegedly sent to pages.

Fordham offered ABC News a deal if it would not publish the content of the instant messages.

"He said we could have the exclusive on the resignation if we did not run direct quotes from the instant messages," said Maddy Sauer, the ABC News producer who dealt with Fordham.

ABC News refused to make any such deal.

It is clear that FordhamÂ’s actions were not in the best interest of the House of Representatives or the page program, but were rather a case of covering for a friend. I suspect that when all is said and done we will find that Fordham knew much more than he claims at this time. IÂ’ll withhold judgment on his boss, Rep Tom Reynolds, until the situation become clearer.

Posted by: Greg at 11:11 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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