Qtec
10-05-2006, 07:34 PM
....here, but not really. /ccboard/images/graemlins/grin.gif
[ QUOTE ]
Hastert 'Taking Responsibility' in Page Scandal
But House Speaker Says He Won't Step Down, Expects GOP to Retain House
By JOHN COCHRAN
Oct. 5, 2006 — - House Speaker Dennis Hastert, speaking from his home district in Illinois, said "We're taking responsibility" for the page sex scandal on Capitol Hill.
"As someone has said in Washington before, the buck stops here," Hastert said, but he also said he will not step down as speaker, and if Republicans retain control of the House in the November elections, he will ask his party to keep him in his post. <font color="blue"> Oh boy! /ccboard/images/graemlins/grin.gif </font color>
You can read the rest of this peach of an article at the bottom of the page.[ no pun intended! /ccboard/images/graemlins/laugh.gif well, maybe it is! /ccboard/images/graemlins/laugh.gif]
/ccboard/images/graemlins/grin.gif
He said the current page program is not designed for the age of the Internet, when explicit messages can be transmitted to teenagers.
"We are now trying to correct the problem," he said.
Part of his solution is a toll-free number, 866-384-0481, which can be used by anyone with a tip about inappropriate behavior between House members or staff members and pages.
Hastert said he is looking "for a person of high caliber to advise us on the page program." Several sources have said that Hastert has suggested to both Republicans and Democrats that former FBI director Louis Freeh could be a good choice.
Hastert repeated earlier declarations that he only learned of former Rep. Mark Foley's "explicit instant messages" last Friday, and said that as for other Republican leaders and staffers, "I don't know who knew what, when."
Hastert again acknowledged that he had known previously about e-mails from Foley that were not overtly sexual. He said he gave the job of warning Foley to Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill. <font color="blue"> Overtly!? WTF does that mean? Overtly?....</font color>
"He confronted the member [Foley]. And the member said that he would stop doing that," Hastert said.
Foley assured Shimkus there were no other messages, he said.
But the speaker admitted that the situation may not have been handled as well as it could have been.
"Could we have done it better? Could the page board have handled it better? In retrospect, probably yes. But at that time, what we knew and what we acted on was what we had," Hastert said.
Hastert's account of events was challenged on Wednesday by Kirk Fordham, a former chief of staff to Foley. Fordham said that two years ago he warned the speaker's chief of staff, Scott Palmer, that Foley was acting inappropriately toward pages. Palmer said that meeting never happened.
Today, Hastert did not specifically deny Fordham's account.
"Well, my staff has been -- if somebody didn't let us know, then there's a problem," he said.
At the same time, he challenged Fordham's credibility.
"Kirk Fordham also said just about three or four days ago that he worked for this guy [Foley] for 10 years, and he never did anything wrong," Hastert said. "So there's a little bit of difference in the testimony or what he said." <font color="blue"> This is a Partisan issue? </font color>
Fordham's account is crucial both to an FBI investigation of the Foley affair and the House Ethics Committee's probe. In political terms, a big question is whether Hastert knew two years ago that Foley could be a danger to pages.
<hr /></blockquote>
Also
[ QUOTE ]
In 2001, pages were warned to be careful with Foley.
In 2005, one page complained to his congressman about "sick" e-mails from Foley, a complaint passed on to the Speaker's staff.
Then this past spring, the complaint was again raised with three Republican leaders, including Hastert himself.
Foley wrote his lurid messages at the same time he presented himself as a champion of young people and the pages.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/10/new_foley_insta.html <hr /></blockquote>
It appears that he had sex with at least one of these pages. Some will say that the boy was 18 at the time which probably is true but Foley began his 'romance' when the boy was under 18. he sollicited a minor. he should go to jail.
Q...JMO
[ QUOTE ]
Hastert 'Taking Responsibility' in Page Scandal
But House Speaker Says He Won't Step Down, Expects GOP to Retain House
By JOHN COCHRAN
Oct. 5, 2006 — - House Speaker Dennis Hastert, speaking from his home district in Illinois, said "We're taking responsibility" for the page sex scandal on Capitol Hill.
"As someone has said in Washington before, the buck stops here," Hastert said, but he also said he will not step down as speaker, and if Republicans retain control of the House in the November elections, he will ask his party to keep him in his post. <font color="blue"> Oh boy! /ccboard/images/graemlins/grin.gif </font color>
You can read the rest of this peach of an article at the bottom of the page.[ no pun intended! /ccboard/images/graemlins/laugh.gif well, maybe it is! /ccboard/images/graemlins/laugh.gif]
/ccboard/images/graemlins/grin.gif
He said the current page program is not designed for the age of the Internet, when explicit messages can be transmitted to teenagers.
"We are now trying to correct the problem," he said.
Part of his solution is a toll-free number, 866-384-0481, which can be used by anyone with a tip about inappropriate behavior between House members or staff members and pages.
Hastert said he is looking "for a person of high caliber to advise us on the page program." Several sources have said that Hastert has suggested to both Republicans and Democrats that former FBI director Louis Freeh could be a good choice.
Hastert repeated earlier declarations that he only learned of former Rep. Mark Foley's "explicit instant messages" last Friday, and said that as for other Republican leaders and staffers, "I don't know who knew what, when."
Hastert again acknowledged that he had known previously about e-mails from Foley that were not overtly sexual. He said he gave the job of warning Foley to Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill. <font color="blue"> Overtly!? WTF does that mean? Overtly?....</font color>
"He confronted the member [Foley]. And the member said that he would stop doing that," Hastert said.
Foley assured Shimkus there were no other messages, he said.
But the speaker admitted that the situation may not have been handled as well as it could have been.
"Could we have done it better? Could the page board have handled it better? In retrospect, probably yes. But at that time, what we knew and what we acted on was what we had," Hastert said.
Hastert's account of events was challenged on Wednesday by Kirk Fordham, a former chief of staff to Foley. Fordham said that two years ago he warned the speaker's chief of staff, Scott Palmer, that Foley was acting inappropriately toward pages. Palmer said that meeting never happened.
Today, Hastert did not specifically deny Fordham's account.
"Well, my staff has been -- if somebody didn't let us know, then there's a problem," he said.
At the same time, he challenged Fordham's credibility.
"Kirk Fordham also said just about three or four days ago that he worked for this guy [Foley] for 10 years, and he never did anything wrong," Hastert said. "So there's a little bit of difference in the testimony or what he said." <font color="blue"> This is a Partisan issue? </font color>
Fordham's account is crucial both to an FBI investigation of the Foley affair and the House Ethics Committee's probe. In political terms, a big question is whether Hastert knew two years ago that Foley could be a danger to pages.
<hr /></blockquote>
Also
[ QUOTE ]
In 2001, pages were warned to be careful with Foley.
In 2005, one page complained to his congressman about "sick" e-mails from Foley, a complaint passed on to the Speaker's staff.
Then this past spring, the complaint was again raised with three Republican leaders, including Hastert himself.
Foley wrote his lurid messages at the same time he presented himself as a champion of young people and the pages.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/10/new_foley_insta.html <hr /></blockquote>
It appears that he had sex with at least one of these pages. Some will say that the boy was 18 at the time which probably is true but Foley began his 'romance' when the boy was under 18. he sollicited a minor. he should go to jail.
Q...JMO