Rep. Mark Foley (R) Questioned On "Inappropriate" Emails To Teenaged Page

This seat just went from a likely hold to an almost certain loss.

First I called bullshit on this story. After all, isn't Mark Foley one of the Congressmen liberals are always claiming is gay?

Republican House member from Florida who was expected to cruise to reelection faced questions Thursday about the propriety of e-mails he sent to a teenage page on Capitol Hill, potentially adding to the GOP's political struggles as it attempts to maintain its congressional majority.

Six-term Rep. Mark Foley, a member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee and chairman of the House Entertainment Industry Task Force, is being made to explain a series of e-mails he sent in 2005 in which he asked the page how old he was and requested a photo.

Ah.

The e-mails, copies of which were obtained by The Times, indicate that the boy, 16, then complained to another congressional staff member, noting: "Maybe it is just me being paranoid, but seriously. This freaked me out."

In another e-mail sent to the page, Foley, 52, said of a second teenager working on Capitol Hill, "He's in such great shape."

A Foley spokesman acknowledged that the congressman had sent the e-mails to the page. But the spokesman said they reflected nothing more than an innocent interest in helping young people take their pants off.

Okay, I added "take their pants off." But the "helping young people" thing? We've heard that before, haven't we?

For what it's worth, Mark Foley claims the tumult is just "character assassination."

George Michael immediately offered his support, further dimming Foley's political star.

posted by Ace at 02:26 PM

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