The AP report on Foley says that Republicans knew about his behavior for almost a year.
Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La., who sponsored the page from his district, told reporters that he learned of the e-mails from a reporter some months ago and passed on the information to Rep. Thomas Reynolds, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Republican campaign organization. Alexander said he did not pursue the matter further because "his parents said they didn't want me to do anything."
Alexander said the boy notified a staffer in his office about the e-mails. The congressman said he learned of it from a reporter 10 or 11 months ago and promptly called the boy's parents.
This is huge and incredibly sad. We're talking about a scandal perpetrated by the man who wrote this legislation. What's even almost as bad is this response from the Missingkids.com
“Congressman Mark Foley’s resignation is a great loss to Florida and the nation. He has been a hard-working, dedicated and effective Congressman. He will be missed."
Let's see who actually investigates this, but Hastert is in the middle of this for sure.
Jennifer Nix: Foley: “We Track Library Books Better Than We Do Sexual Predators.”
Kos: Jesus. They knew for nearly a year, and covered it up. The "corruption" frame just got a hell of a lot more serious. Today, Dennis Hastert said an investigation would be forthcoming. I'll bet he's right, and I'll bet he's going to be one of the ones investigated -- because he knew of it ten months ago.
Marshall: If I'm understanding this correctly, that means that the leaders of the House Republican caucus have known for almost a year that a member of their caucus was having cybersex with an underage congressional page. And apparently they did nothing about it. I think this story is about to get a lot bigger.
Tbogg on the Doughy Pantload's reaction.
John: The story about just what the House GOP leadership knew about Mark Foley's online sexual exploits, and when they knew it, is getting more and more contradictory by the minute
Pandagon: this boggles the mind. How is God’s Own Party going to explain away leaving a “potential problem” with access to pages?
