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Sixteen-Year-Old Who Worked as Capitol Hill Page Concerned About E-mail Exchange with Congressman
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ShareSeptember 28, 2006 3:06 PM
A 16-year-old male former congressional page concerned about the appropriateness of an e-mail exchange with a congressman alerted Capitol Hill staffers to the communication.
Congressman Mark Foley's office says the e-mails were entirely appropriate and that their release is part of a smear campaign by his opponent.
In the series of e-mails, obtained by ABC News, from Rep. Foley (R-FL) to the former page, Foley asks the young man how old he is, what he wants for his birthday and requests a photo of him.
THE BLOTTER RECOMMENDS
The concerned young man alerted congressional staffers to the e-mails. In one e-mail, the former page writes to a staffer, "Maybe it is just me being paranoid, but seriously. This freaked me out."
Foley's office acknowledges that Foley wrote the e-mails to the young man but says they were completely innocent and that Foley is at most guilty of being "too friendly and too engaging" with young people.
The e-mails were sent from Foley's personal AOL account, and the exchange began within weeks after the page finished his program on Capitol Hill. In one, Foley writes, "did you have fun at your conference…what do you want for your birthday coming up…what stuff do you like to do."
In another Foley writes, "how are you weathering the hurricane…are you safe…send me an email pic of you as well…"
The young man forwarded that e-mail to a congressional staffer saying it was "sick sick sick sick sick."
Foley's office says it is their policy to keep pictures of former interns and anyone who may ask for a recommendation on file so they can remember them.
The Congressional page program was started in the 1800s. In its current form, juniors from high school work on Capitol Hill after school or over the summer. The young man in question did not work or intern for Foley's office.
Elizabeth Nicolson, Foley's Chief of Staff, said they believe the e-mail exchange began when the page asked Foley for a recommendation and that the subsequent exchange was totally innocent. She said Foley's office believes the e-mails were released by the opposition as part of an "ugly smear campaign."
September 28, 2006 in Mark Foley Internet Scandal | Permalink | User Comments (535)
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Brian Ross, the King of sensationalistic crap. Way to go, Brian. Do they pay you commission on this gossip?
The Democrats can count on you for parrotting their attacks on Republicans, can't they?
Posted by: One_American | Sep 28, 2006 3:34:30 PM
What is the relevance of reporting the gender of the page?
Posted by: Will | Sep 28, 2006 3:34:49 PM
Witch hunt? Give me a break...... Must be a slow news day. Oh, that's right - it's 41 days from mid-term elections and time for the left-wing media to slap the Republicans yet again, right?
Posted by: Kathy | Sep 28, 2006 3:45:26 PM
The rationale provided by the Congressman's office seems plausible - but it begs the question....if these exchanges were simply so the Congressman could build an archive file for his office there are two questions I have 1) why was this not being done by his staff and 2) why was it done using his personal email? It is my experience that politicians don't share their personal and private means of communication with every intern/page/volunteer that graces their office.
Posted by: Brent | Sep 28, 2006 3:51:22 PM
In this day and age, who knows?
Posted by: Lee | Sep 28, 2006 3:52:05 PM
How warped is this kid? It is a very sad day when we must worry about being friendly to others. Without more, the words shown in this story are very innocent. It is the sick mind of the reader that reads dark messages into them. We should be aware of sexual predators, but me must not make a boogie man out of anyone being friendly.
Posted by: Stephen | Sep 28, 2006 3:59:57 PM
This is NOT news! Quit wasting my time with this worthless questionable garbage.
Posted by: tmblweed | Sep 28, 2006 4:09:40 PM
I think this is being blown out of proportion.
Posted by: Deb | Sep 28, 2006 4:11:03 PM
Overly stupid ,not overly friendly.
Posted by: Owen Klein | Sep 28, 2006 4:24:18 PM
Good grief......are all of these 'witch hunts' really necessary?? Had one of my teenage sons received an e-mail in that context, I would not have thought it at all 'untoward.'
Posted by: Judy | Sep 28, 2006 4:24:39 PM
This seems completely innocent to me - and I'm a confirmed Bush-hater. Why do we see something like this as a crime?
Posted by: Jim | Sep 28, 2006 4:28:24 PM
Sounds like this might be someone trying to get attention. This seems like the kind of dialogue that might take place at an internship type scenario between a boss and a fellow. Age? Interests? A picture for records? Only someone looking to make a big deal of this sort of thing would notice something like this.
Posted by: adam | Sep 28, 2006 4:33:02 PM
Yeah, because those e-mails sounded soooo "policy related."
Posted by: Burke Hamblin | Sep 28, 2006 4:43:19 PM
Doesn't seem so bad so me. On this alone I don't see the issue.
IF this is all the info then what is the problem?
Posted by: Todd | Sep 28, 2006 4:46:05 PM
That a Congressman would use his
personal AOL account and then use
casual slang "what stuff do you like to do" does not sound as if it was a "professional" conversation. As a mother I find myself concerned. As a voter in his district I am even more disturbed.
Posted by: Mary | Sep 28, 2006 4:54:15 PM
MAYBE I'M NAIVE AND I'M USUALLY TRYING TO SNIFF OUT ANYONE THAT IS INAPPROPROIATE IN ANY WAY TOWARD YOUNG PEOPLE - HOWEVER - IN THIS CASE, JUDGING FROM THE NARROW AMOUNT OF CONVERSATION RELEASED, I DO NOT SEE ANYTHING OUT OF LINE. PERHAPS THIS YOUNG MAN OVERREACTED TO AN INNOCENT SITUATION. I'D HAVE TO HAVE SOMETHING A BIT MORE CONCRETE THAN THAT TO THINK HE WAS BAITING THE BOY.
Posted by: Cheryl J. | Sep 28, 2006 5:12:07 PM
I think the congressman was only being friendly. You are trying to grab a headline by dragging the poor man into the dirt. With over-reactions like this, you are encouraging our elected officials to become cold and standoffish. By the way, I'm a Democrat.
Posted by: Barbara | Sep 28, 2006 5:12:54 PM
Where's the story? Is there a story here?
Is ABC just participating in a non story to smear a politician?
What's the deal?
Posted by: Marc | Sep 28, 2006 5:26:35 PM
This is a bizarre story....but the emails cited here seem like there is more innocence here than "sick,sick,sick". Were these unsolicited emails? Where are the pages responses? This does smack of a smear and I am not a republican.
Posted by: jonwash | Sep 28, 2006 5:36:02 PM
There is nothing to this story. I bet if Foley was from the other party it would not have even been mentioned. Do your due diligence and then report if it is worth anything.
Posted by: Stuart Gray | Sep 28, 2006 5:43:29 PM
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