Rep. Mark Foley, a Republican from Florida and the co-chairman of the Missing and Exploited Children Caucus, resigned his seat in Congress after emails to a 16-year-old former male page surfaced that contained correspondence many saw as troubling and inappropriate.
In one of the emails Foley asked the page to supply him with a picture. In another, he commented that the page's friend was in “really great shape.” The emails were characterized by the page who revealed them as “sick, sick, sick…”
Foley's office said the emails had surfaced as part of a smear campaign by the congressman's political opponent, Democrat Tim Mahoney. Mahoney's office denies they were part of any campaign. Said their spokesman: “The seriousness of these allegations goes far beyond the tit for tat of a political campaign. This is a matter for the appropriate authorities to investigate. I believe Mr. Foley deserves the benefit of the doubt until these allegations are proven true or false.”
Wow. There must be a lot more out there for Foley to quit so hastily.
FLASHBACK: In September 2005, as the House approved the Children's Safety Act, which tightened sex offender monitoring, Foley responded to the poor system in place at the time, saying, “We track library books better than we do sexual predators.”
More…
ABC: “…the congressman, under the AOL Instant Messenger screen name Maf54, made repeated references to sexual organs and acts.” The chats… Foley statement: “I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida I have had the privilege to represent.”
AFTER THE JUMP, (via ABC) an excerpt from the explicit chats between Mark Foley and a congressional page…
Previously
Male Page and Rep Mark Foley in Troubling Email Exchange [tr]
