This is disgusting. These poor kids were warned about Foley five years ago? And nobody took further steps because they were afraid he might abuse his power and hurt them?

I hope there is a special place in hell for Mark Foley and his ilk.

Puts Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky in perspective. (She was age 22 when she began working at the White House.)

And the "he had power" - and so people were "hesitant to report" his behavior thing is just sickening.

We asked for big government, and now we've got it, complete with a governing class which lives by rules remarkably distant from those which apply to, say, the average American who earns a wage, lives in fear of being accused of sexual harassment, and, if the volunteer to work with young people at their church, are subjected to extraordinary scrutiny.

i thank as soon as that was discovered, foley should have been forced to resign, now all the people that knew about it and covered it up to keep the seat in flordia should be helt accountable they was protecting a pedaphile, thanks a lot

How did Rep. Foley get the pages email addresses? I am not condoning what he did, but question why anyone would give him their personal email info.

Some people have wondered if Foley was a swing vote on any bills passed by Congress this year, and it turns out that Foley was sitting on the fence on the CAFTA bill that passed 217-215, and then cast the deciding vote.

Does anyone else think that the GOP leadership saw the pedophilia tendencies of Rep. Foley as an opportunity rather than a problem? An opportunity to control him makes for a good reason to stay quiet.

How come we're only hearing about the Republicans who do this AND NOT THE DEMOCRATS WHO DO!?!?!?

GEEZE THE MEDIA IS BIASED!

This is ridiculous. I was a Republican Page sponsored by Congressman Foley in 2002 and there was never any warning about him. People knew he was gay but no one knew he was a potential child molester.

-Jason M. Gross

These revelations are utterly reprehensible! Foley is obviously a very sick man, but if Republican leaders charged with overseeing his behavior are found to have to have known about his attempts to engage these children in sexual activities and to have covered it up, this is this most hideous abuse of the public trust that I can remember. The pages had been proudly entrusted by their parents to serve the House of Representatives and our Nation. If my teenage child had been one of the pages targeted by Foley and then left unprotected by Hastert and other House Republicans, I would have demanded criminal charges be brought against the whole crowd long ago.
Susan Barta
Texas parent

"thick as thieves",, OH WAIT most of em in DC ARE THEIVES... We know of course it is ALL political, "the other party" kinda thing. That or the OLD stand by, "I don't remember", I bet none of em will use the "depends how do you define" pervert excuse

Can we just call it a conspiracy now? I mean if it walks like a duck...

Seriously, what else can you call it? The pages sponsored by Democrats were not warned about his predatious behavior. The only Democrat on the page committee was purposefully kept in the dark. The leadership covered up a crime, defined in legislation the offender wrote for at least a year and possibly five years. Just so they could hang onto a seat.

The crime took down one congressman. The cover-up looks poised to take down a lot more, and they are in leadership, so they have a lot more to lose. Their craven disregard for the children entrusted to them is staggering.

The party of "Family Values" is hoisted on it's own pettard after all the preening and posturing and holier-than-thou sanctimony. And boy do they have it coming.

Schadenfreude indeed.

I think we'll be hearing about this story for a long time.

It is time to search all the email traffic and instant message traffic of every government employee and prosecute those that are involved in such action.

I am totally appalled at the behavior of this member of the house. In this day and age a person, who has the status of Congressman Foley, can play this game of "WOLF IN A SHEEPS CLOTHING".He should be arrested, and anyone that knew about this should resign. I know they were all Republicans, they play games with the people of the United States.

Well, so much for Republicans whining about Clinton's consenual affair with an adult woman. I just read the full text of Foley's little IM session with this UNDER-AGE BOY and I just about puked. This is a sick man.

If Speaker Hastert knew about this beforehand, he and anyone else who covered it up should resign immediately.

I don't get outraged by much that politicians do anymore. Sex scandals, lies, etc. I mean, come on, they're politicians. But this is repugnant. So much for the GOP Holier-than-Thou routine.

If this guy were a democrat, people would be saying the same thing.. that they were afraid to speak up because of the power these politicians "hold". It doesn't matter if a pedophile is a Republican, Democrat, Independent, or "soccer dad"... the bottom line is they're demented.. mentally ill... and in need of serious help (if not incarceration). Sick that no one in his party insisted that he be ousted? Yes... but can they force someone to resign? Probably not.. it took a moment of public revelation, and this man's stupidity, to get that job done.

People in trusted public positions are just as fallable and "human" as the rest of society. Until we stop putting them on pedastals, they'll continue to pull the wool over our eyes. We are all to blame.

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It should come as no big suprise that the GOP knew about Foley's scandal back in 2005, yet keep it under wraps.

Do you think that, just maybe, if the Dems at least controlled the House that they might have been able to investigate the early rumors on this Foley scandal?

Nah. No way. Banish the thought from your minds. All hail the GOP, Party of God and all that is right and just in America.

To "Media Bias" Robert:

Why are we only hearing about the republicans who do this?

Because there's only evidence that Republicans are doing this!

Get serious, man.

if there is anything going on with the Democrats, rest assured the Rebublicans will find it. 'The media is biased...' riii..iii..ght. that's why we never heard about any scandals during the Clinton administration. That's why there were no questions about Kerry's medals.

Please.

I'm appalled at the lack of leadership in today's Republican party.

I was a Republican up until after the 2004 election when Bush and his cronies completely hijacked the Reagan Revolution and created a big government party.

The fact that Hastert and co. would cover this up for well over a year is truly PERVERSE! Of course I would expect the Democrats to do the same damn thing because both parties are insanely greedy and petty.

If Republicans were truly as Machevellian as they seem wouldn't it have been wiser to impeach Foley and demand he be replaced by a "true traditional values conservative" in a special election that a Republican could truly win!

This is shameful. As a conservative Christian Republican, I say get rid of the whole bunch if they knew about it. I would rather lose the House than support people who were aware of this but did nothing.

Everyone who covered this up needs to resign -- everyone, no matter which party.

Bill Clinton's admittedly disgusting relationship with Monica Lewinsky happened when she was an adult. Seriously, is there one Republican anywhere in this country who can just admit to doing something wrong without trying to justify it by claiming that Bill Clinton did it first? Or to pretend that people of the other party are doing exactly the same thing that Republicans are doing but no one is looking? It seems to me that if there's one thing Republicans CAN do, since they can't seem to manage a war, a natural disaster, or a country effectively, is Oppo research. If they haven't dug dirt of this magnitude up yet, then honey, there just ain't any. I can't wait to see how Republicans are going to try to avoid responsibility for this one!

While I hope Foley roasts, I wish the Democrats showed the same outrage with Gerry Studds. There was an abuse of power there as well, but the Democrats were willing to merely reprimand Studds. Newt Gingrich (in a rare case of being right) asked for censure. Studds turned his back during the reading of censure-and stayed in the house>

Double Standard, anyone?

How much longer will the American people out up with the Republican Party and its leadership, as more and more secretive dirt seeps out about them every day? Wake up America!

Representative Foley was very critical of President Clinton during the Starr witch hunt, but hypocrisy is the name of the game with the Republican wingnuts. Watch Hannity and Limbaugh try to divert attention from Foley by jumping all over Clinton for his sex scandals. Hannity is the worst of the lot when it comes to justifying Republican bad behavior by bringing up Democrat indiscretions. His hypocrisy is boundless. If you don't believe me, listen to both of them on the radio Monday.

tonight, Bay Buchanan said on cnn that every mother in the U.S.will be up in arms[paraphrased]to learn the GOP leadership knew about Foley,and if after the FBI investigation determins former Rep Foley broke the law,he should be tried in a court of law and if found guilty, be sent to prison,and if those that covered it up,to the jeopardy of the children,will have to resign be cause they have broken the publc trust,which is down to 20% now. jimdon

The powerful protect the powerful. Anything like this comes out, everything these guys have done in the past will be investigated. That is why they turn their eyes.

I hope there is a special place in hell for Mark Foley and his ilk.

If not, I'm sure Halliburton will dig the hole if the terms are right.

I can't belive all this! Bill Clinton's at fault!!! I know he is. I just know he is. I can feel it.

As we recall, Americans were subjected to 24/7/365 coverage of the Lewinski affair for four continuous YEARS, and then impeachment was brought, purportedly not because of the affair per se but because of attempts to cover it up. This repugnant media bias swayed the electorate just enough to allow Bush to then steal the office of President via highly questionable and unamerican Diebold blackboxes and an ensuing Supreme Court debacle, leading directly to truly disasterous consequences not only for our country, but for our world itself and future generations. Therefore, the very least the media by its own standards must do is cover the Foley story 24/7/365 for the next four YEARS. If it does not, we will demand to know why not.

So why, exactly, were they already warning pages in 2001. All the e-mails and IMs that have come to light so far date only as far back as 2003, don't they?

Dear Maggie,

Please reread your comment.
Please reread your comment.
Please reread your comment.

Get it yet?

This is just horrible. If it turns out that the Republican Leadership stifled this to keep the seat, then they get what they deserve. And I am a Republican. There needs to be a full investigation and severe repercussions...if we lose both houses over this, it would be justified...

This is looking more and more (to those who bother to pay attention) like a smear on Foley. What's sad is how the public is jumping to conclusions calling him a "pedophile" for messages.

Isn't it funny that if he had had sex with the kid, it would have been legal, but to send these e-mails isn't?

To Alan Stamp: Do you have knowledge of any Democrats propositioning pages? If so, do your duty and report it. I'm sure the media will air the story. Otherwise, you might remember that the media doesn't report what doesn't happen.

I just read the chat Foley had with that kid. I don't believe it until I hear Foley admit it.

Does Foley know how to spell "your"? (you're)

If he actually wrote that crap and believed he could get away with it, that is unflipping-believable.

But, I also know how dirty and crooked Florida Politicians are, on BOTH sides of the aisle.

Hey, it is hard to believe!

Anyone that knew about this activity and didn't report it to LE for prosecution should be thrown to the wolves along with Foley.

I am so sick and tired of these slimey crooks!

the page program is the best thing that has happened to young leaders of this country. it teaches us responsibility and the importance of government. the leadership has done everything to support these goals, nothing to harm pages. it is a shame that the program is now jeopardized.

But WHAT WILL WE TELL THE CHILDREN?

Remember that rallying cry from Republicans during the Clinton/Lewinsky fiasco? She was a consenting adult.

How about the typical Republican mantra, "but..but...but... Democrats have no plan?"

Reply, "Democrats have no plan to molest your children!"

It's Clinton's fault.

Would all the liberals just get a grip already!? Foley is scum. Anyone who knew but didn't report it should be prosecuted and excoriated. But now ALL Republicans from leadership on down are guilty? "Holier than thou?" Oh brother! Suck up that saliva, calm down and wait for the facts.

How dare anyone put this garbage in the same league as Clinton/Lewinsky. She was an adult!!!! These are teenage boys. Hello people....read the lawbooks. It's plain disgusting, fine if he is gay..so am I. Find someone your own age or at least over 18.

Studds was censured, as was his Republican counterpart, Dan Crane, who admitted to having sex with a 17-year-old female page. Neither man resigned (contrary to another conservative talking point I've seen making the rounds.) Crane apologized, but was defeated when he ran for relection in 1984, Studds was unrepentent, but won -- and was reelected four more times after that.

Make of it what you will. The voters in Studds' district were certainly more forgiving than I am. Speaking as a father, I'd burn them all at the stake, age of consent or no age of consent. But they were treated exactly the same by the then Democratic House leadership.

What's more, I'm not aware of any evidence, not even a hint, that the leadership knew about the affair before the story broke, or attempted to keep it quiet, or tried to protect Studds.

Can anyone say the same about the current House leadership? I mean, with a straight face?

Having been a victim of molestation as a teenager, the reactions of the pages are completely in line to me. The molester is an expert on getting the trust of the child, and moving the bar for what is acceptible higher and higher. I'm just stunned that it took this long for the media to get ahold of it. I would say that there were probably some blind eyes turned there as well.

Foley is a sick man and his actions were repugnant. However, the actions of the GOP leadership is far more reprehensible. they knew that this man is a child predator and they continued to support him. They placed politics over the welfare of our children. What can you say of such men?? words cannot describe... their cold blooded calculations. This is not about democrats or republicans it is about right and wrong and nothing more. To those spin doctors on the right, understand that these actions cannot and should not be defended. For gods sake, in this case be an American, not a republican. And if you cannot then be a mother, father,brother, sister or friend. but do not allow such action to be swept under the rug.

I hope the voters teach a lesson to bunch of people whose sole purpose is to hang onto power with bottomline interest for few instead of common good.This political circus is turnign out to wrose than some of the third world countires we ridicule. Time we set our house in order.

"Isn't it funny that if he had had sex with the kid, it would have been legal, but to send these e-mails isn't?"

When you consider that Foley co-sponsored the legislation that made sexual contact with an under-18 via the internet illegal, it goes from funny to hilarious. In a really warped kind of way.

Republicans are such hippocrates! Americans in November will vote all these Republican liars out of office! IMPEACH BUSH!!!

I say lets have term limits.

Foley just gave us the house. WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

This is a gut wrenching story. It never ceases to amaze me how often the most condeming voice is the one actually commiting the acts he/she so vehemently condems. I hope Mark Foley is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. And for all those folks on Capitol Hill who were aware of Foley's repugnant behavior, let's hope they are proscecuted as well. Each one of them had/has a "duty to act" and chose not to do so. They are as quilty as Foley.

Why aren't people calling this what it is: The Biggest SEXUAL HARRASSMENT CASE IN CONGRESSIONAL HISTORY. Skip his "inappropriate email". These CHILDREN where - SEXUALLY HARRASSED - period.
Now he claims he has a problem with alcohol - and is going to Rehab. The REAL scandal - besides him sitting on the committee that writes the laws for ordinary folks to go by, is ALL THE PEOPLE WHO KNEW ABOUT IT, and REFUSED to SPEAK OUT.
I also have an issue whith the PARENTS - who knew this stuff was happening to their children, and wanted to keep it quiet.
IF YOUR CHILD WAS BEING SEXUALLY HARRASSED AT WORK....WOULD YOU KEEP IT QUIET???

I am wondering if anyone has seen Dateline's "To Catch a Predator?"

I think it extremely likely that the emails that Foley sent the 16 year old boy from LA were feelers to see whether or not this boy was willing to "play ball" so to speak. I wouldn't think that a man of Foley's stature would just jump right into "Are you horny?" with a congressional page. I would assume that a someone with the even the smallest amount of self-preservation would want to make sure that their target was receptive to such talk.

I wouldn't be the least surprised if the intial interaction between Foley and the pages of the dirty IM's didn't start out much the same as the more innocent emails in question. There is actually a term that law enforcement uses for this behavior, it's called "grooming."

Just what do you all think the leadership should have done to Foley? Burned him at the stake? Foley was elected, by his voters, not by the other congressmen. They can't remove him from office.

What crime was committed? What crime should he have been charged with? Talking sexy to 16 year old young men? Is that a crime? Just wondering.

This Republican Congress is

sick sick sick sick sick sick sick sick sick sick sick sick sick

From its leadership on down.

Vote them out.

I don't care what party you are affiliated with...this was a crime..and if it is true that it was known about by others on the hill, they should all go down with Foley...

Its not just the Repubs. There is something seriously wrong with "our" representatives. It is as if they think they have their own little stable of sex toys and they all protect each other from one another's indiscretions.

Good lets get rid of him.

Like some said earlier go through every senators and congress amns e-mails to see who is doing what.

I understand some these were not e-mails but instant messages. I think you have to go the ISP's to get copies of these. Get a court order do it right. I say hangem all and start over. vote em all out and put new blood in the hallways of congress

I think some people should put this in perspective. As disgusting as his behavior may be, the most ABC has been able to accuse Foley of so far is possibly engaging in dirty Internet text messaging with a willing teenage boy. I didn't know it was a crime to be "overly friendly" -- whatever that means.

It's just a liberal plot. Probably a set up.

Foley has now gone into rehab. Thank God he has an illness and isn't just a lawbreaking child molester. This is what we get from the Republicrats and the Demonicrans. Time for a new party, one made up of sober normal people who are subject to the laws of the normal people, paid a more reasonable wage, denied the priviliges of power, and represent the people. There is no difference between the new "liberals" and the new "conservatives". They are ALL self-centered, over-privileged, power-driven enemies of the people. I am not surprised in the least that they all have drinking problems... after all, nobody sober would seek office!

I think I just became a Democrat. How disgusting. What an embarassment to the Republican Party

Let me get this straight.

In 2001, pages were warned about Foley but nothing was done about Foley.
In 2001, only Republican pages were warned, not Democratic
pages.
And the party involved is devoted to "family values".

I think there is a difference between a child molester and someone who preys on 16 year olds. I think if he were straight the tone here would not be so vicious. A 16 year old is much different than a 10 year old. That being said, what he did was wrong in that he abused his power and he should definitely resign and he should have been stopped along time ago.

And to think we keep voting these people back into office year after year. All of them need to go Democrat and Republican!

We should just go in and CLEAN HOUSE, all of these house and senate members are scum, they are putting their own political careers above the well being of the country, TERM LIMITS will make these problems go away, it will help eliminate money as being the common denominator of who gets in and who does not.

I just heard on CNN that the Republicans have have appointed "independent" officials like Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FL Gov. Jeb Bush to investigate whether any laws were broken, etc.

Give me a break! "Independent", what a joke...

This is what we can look forward to more of with BIG government, the TWO PARTY only system, and NO TERM LIMITS. TOO MUCH POWER, FOR TOO LONG, IN THE HANDS OF TOO FEW MEN RESULTS IN ABUSE OF POWER! WAKE UP FOLKS, KEEP CALLING YOURSELF DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS AND EVIL MEN WILL RULE YOUR LIFE!

Yes, what this repugnant, dispicable, and criminally-insane AND CONGRESSPERSON did is absolutely unforgivable, BUT THE IS SOO SIMPLE AND ELEMENTARY: "we give these "career-criminals" ONLY ONE-TERM CONSECUTIVELY"!!!! That is to say, that they CANNOT succeed themselves in "public-office" again, and again, and again whereby they BECOME "CAREER-CRIMINALS" because power and fame corrupts and destroys humanity!

remember...these aren't young children....they're 16. the age of consent is 16 in a lot of european nations so even though what he did may be illegal here in the U.S., these guys appear to be active participants. he wasn't threatening them or bribing them. yea they were attracted to him because of his power, but that happens in a lot of relationships. i'm not saying what he did was right, but think about what really is emotionally between being 16 and 18. A relationship between in 18 and 54 year still has issues even though its not criminal.

Oh Yeag a re-hab for drunks is really going to address his hunger for young Congressional Page's. He is a PERVERT and is just another example of our present degraded soceity. The FBI will screw up the investigation anyway and another one 'SICK PERVERT' will slip through the cracks!

Why wasn't the real reason for Gingrich resignation revealed. He resigned right after the Hyde revelation. Now he speaks on Fox News. Fair and impartial. Ha !!Why is it Fox News only takes people like Ollie North who lied to congress. Then congress allows him to receive his retirement from the military. It's all a joke. Child molesters and liars and the sad part is the die hard republicans would still vote for them. I think they would vote for a trained monkey if it was a republican.

First of all his party affiliation has nothing to do with this. Republican, Democrat, Green Party; non of this matters he is a sick pervert that needs to be kept away from children. To all of you that keep saying the pages are not children, they are young adults. The only reason he is not corresponding (as far as we know) with younger children is because the pages cannot be any younger. His politics are not the issue; his corrupt usage of his position and potential abuse of these kids is all that matters. Anyone that covered up for him for any reason should also be removed.

What can one expect - since our past President got away with all he got away with? Why shouldn't Congress people think that they can too.
I think EVERY Congress person should be investigated!

I'm curious... Is Foley claiming that the booze made hime do it? And if booze turns you into a pedophile why isn't the GOP trying to push for prohibition?

So everyone that claims they are a Republican, but now they are going to be a Democrat is going to change back when a Democrat has a sex scandal? Cause, it will happen. If the time table holds it will be in about 2 years.

No, this doesn't "put Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky into perspective." Clinton wasn't impeached because of the affair, he was impeached because of perjury, trying to get others to commit perjury, etc.

Yes, Foley is disgusting, and it's a damn shame no one took action on this long ago. Pathetic.

Well, well, another wolf caught masquerading as a sheep. Too bad no one noticed the ears were not those of a sheep.

why are these elected officials not drug tested? we test garbage collectors but not the people with the power in government?

If anyone (such as a Republican leader) had outed him, he would have been villified as a homophobic. Until they have the proof, their hands are tied. If he were a straight pedophile the Republicans could have garroted him straight away, and replaced him before the next election. It is unfortunate that all pedophiles are not taken care of. Whether he is 16, 17, 17 and a half, 18 and a day or 20, Foley is a pedophile.

John

READ THE ENTIRE TRANSCRIPT of the text messages he was sending to one youngman. --THIS IS NOT BEING "OVERLY FRIENDLY", THIS IS CYBERSEX. THROW THE BOOK AT THIS S.O.B.!!

Republican, Schmepublican! Democrat, Schmomocrat! I can't believe people are actually arguing over which side harbors more pedophiliacs?! I am now convinced that politics has made Americans plum crazy. Bottom line, he's a pedophile and a criminal and should face charges and jail time like any of the other criminals we see surfing the internet for underage encounters. Take the blinders off, people and think about the children.

Goes into rehab all of a sudden, where, for the next 30 days or so, he cannot be reached for comment or make any statements that can be "misinterpreted" during the crucial last weeks before the November elections. How transparant is that? Wonder if the alleged cover-up was in any way "inspired" by those who brought us the infamous Roman Catholic Church Hierarchy and their unspeakable hijinks. Tell me, just where are the Leaders that CAN be trusted? Not in the U.S. Government. Not in the upper echelons of organized religion. Not in Corporate America.

When Clinton was found to be a philanderer, the Democrats circled their wagons and protected him. I think the Democrats lost credibility with the American people for not holding Clinton accountable. Now that Foley has proven to be a pervert, the Republicans should throw him under the wagon. The American people need to know that Republicans won’t tolerate this behavior in there party. Unlike Clinton, Foley should never be allowed to exercise power or influence in politics.

I am amazed at all the comments offering up excuses for Foley's behavior. Those of you saying that "16 is the age of consent" over and over again...remember that for the future. Remember that when your child is drawn into a relationship with an older individual. You wouldn't be hypocritical...I'm sure. You seem so confident in your opinion now...just don't forget it.

In Congress, they call them young boys.

In Iraq, they call them soldiers, and they are getting killed.

It does't just affect Republicans. Look at Mel Reynolds, former Democratic Congressman from IL. Now convicted child rapist, and on the Sexual Offender Registry in IL. Just look it up. Lets get of these Wackos, Democrats, Republicans, et al, who prey on children and put them in the big house.

I can not wait to hear how Rush spins this...I can not wait! It will be Clinton's fault. If not Clinton, it will be Carter's fault or President James Buchanan's fault. Rush will surely not blame anyone or anything in the First Rebublican Church of the GOP!