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Title: GOP House page board chair may have helped cover-up Foley scandal
Source:
americablog.blogspot.com
URL Source: http://americablog.blogspot.com/200 ... page-board-chair-may-have.html
Published: Sep 30, 2006
Author: John in DC
Post Date: 2006-09-30 00:52:57 by Ferret Mike
Keywords: None
Views: 151
Comments: 5
1. Roll call reports that Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), who chairs the House page board, met with Foley in 2005 to investigate the creepy email exchange with the 16 year old page. 2. What was the extent of Shimkus' investigation of whether a member of Congress was soliciting sex with a minor, or at the very least bordering on sexually harassing a minor? Shimkus asked Foley if he was hitting on the kid, Foley said no, so Shimkus said "okay," and let it go. Obviously sex with children is a real big concern to the Republican house. Here's what Shimkus had to say tonight: In that email exchange, Congressman Foley asked about the former Page's well-being after Hurricane Katrina and requested a photograph. When asked about the email exchange, Congressman Foley said he expressed concern about the Page's well-being and wanted a photo to see that the former Page was alright. First off, nice that Shimkus, who according to the Associated Press wrote this statement with the help of GOP Speaker Denny Hastert's office, after avoiding reporters for hours, spins Foley's creepy emails to sound totally benign. In fact, Shimkus doesn't bother mentioning the most damning parts of the email exchange, Foley commenting on the underage kid's apparently underage friend's hot body, and also somewhat creepy, asking the kid for a picture and asking how old he is. I'm sure it was an oversight. Oh that's right, there is no oversight in the Republican house. You simply ask someone a question and believe whatever answer they give you, then the investigation is over. Interesting that the pages now say they were routinely warned about Foley by their page overseers. Did Shimkus bother talking to the page overseers, or any of the pages, to find out what was up with Foley? How is it that in just 24 hours ABC was able to get a copy of Foley's sex-talk instant message chat with an underage page, yet Shimkus found nothing? 3. Shimkus never told the Democratic member of Congress who serves on the page board. Why? Rep. Dale Kildee (D-Mich.), who serves on the page board, was never told of the interview with Foley. "I became aware of it this afternoon when [Shimkus] came by my office. I think we should have had a page meeting right away," Kildee said, referring to last year's discovery of Foley's e-mails. When asked if was upset about being excluded, Kildee said yes, adding, "I've been on the page board for 20 years." 5. We still don't know when the kid's congressman, Rodney Alexander (R-LA), was told about the incident, and what he did about it. He claims he found out from a reporter. But at the same time he says his staff found out when the kid contacted them and was creeped out. Which one was it? Did Alexander sit on the information until the press finally contacted him and he was forced to act? 6. What are the House procedures for dealing with an allegation of this kind? Simply to pass it to the Page Board, having Foley's own Republican peers investigate him? There are no House rules whatsoever about having someone independent look into whether a member of Congress sexually harassed a minor page? Here's what CREW has to say, per the AP story: "The House of Representatives has an obligation to protect the teenagers who come to Congress to learn about the legislative process," the group wrote, adding that the committee "must investigate any allegation that a page has been subjected to sexual advances by members of the House." Nice. Final update, perhaps. Nancy Pelosi introduced a resolution calling for an investigation. It passed, we hear, unanimously: And late Friday night, the House passed a resolution directing the ethics committee to begin an inquiry into Foley's behavior. The committee has 10 days to report back to the House. "I'll just simply say that the House has given us direction to look into this matter and we intend to do so," said Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), chairman of the ethics panel. Ranking member Howard Berman (D-Calif.) added that they will do it "quickly."
4. More from Roll Call, "According to a senior House GOP leadership aide, Speaker Dennis Hastert's (R-Ill.) office was informed of the interview shortly after it occurred, but Hastert himself was not told." Right. A male Republican member of Congress is being investigated for possibly sexually harassing an underage male page and Denny Hastert's office is notified and nobody tells Hastert? Right. And the matter is considered so important that the Clerk of House gets involved and joins in the interview with Foley. Yet still no one tells Hastert. Uh huh.
7. So the Republicans are telling us that they never heard anything else about Foley in all the time he was in Congress. Very interesting. Because I certainly heard some rumors about Foley over the years, and when I got a copy of these emails several months ago, the rumors were not inconsistent. But to House Republicans, family value Republicans, this story wasn't important enough to even go beyond asking the perpetrator if he was really guilty.
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#1. To: Ferret Mike (#0)
You gotta read the wikipedia entry for Shimkus - what a hoot - slimeball par excellence, and he was put in charge of the kiddie page board..eeekkkkk. I loved to read that he broke his promise not to retire after serving 12 years and also he is connected to the Tom DeLay sink hole, I mean slush fund, errr...whatever...
All you lieberals don't unnerstan. Ah mean, don't y'all talk with teenagers about how often the masturbate and sigh over their cute little butts pumping up and down? In today's Republican Party, that's how we mentor young men. And we promise them a reacharound when we're through. But we're not gay. We just like to screw little boys. They's a diffrunce, yknow. Dimeocraps who want to git married, now they're right homos. But not us. We're all family values. And our nephews just need a little guidance, ifn you know what I mean. Gotta get up and go knock on doors for Tammy Duckworth, war hero and democrat, tomorrow. She's running for the seat vacated by the guy who wanted to impeach Clinton for adultery, but only had a "youthful indiscretion" with another guy's wife back when he was a little whippersnapper of 47. That's Henry Hyde, btw. Guess which party he belongs to.
Cheney....who is ...not gay....nor has many family members quite gay.....or has his wife avoiding doing a reprint on a lesbian novel out of fear of contriversy.....is looking rather funny at Senator Edwards here. Good thing he's God fearin' GOPer and not gay. I'd swear Edwards was giving him a woody otherwise.
Sick. If the intern doesn't have enough sense to pack up and leave, one must wonder about the whole of the DC internship world. Internship: Whorehouse by another name?? What a shock. Especially after the Chandra Levy murder. Boys and girls, going there, should know better by now. Which reminds me of this... Horror Movies. Who, in America, hasn't seen, even by accident a horror movie. You watch the new ones, and say.. My God.. don't go in there, haven't you ever seen a movie?? I guess people are as dumb as the movies portray... Stay away from creepy people, and dark creepy houses..
~~
Cheney 9-1-1
#2. To: Ferret Mike (#0)
#3. To: Mekons4 (#2)
"All you lieberals don't unnerstan. Ah mean, don't y'all talk with teenagers about how often the masturbate and sigh over their cute little butts pumping up and down? In today's Republican Party, that's how we mentor young men. And we promise them a reacharound when we're through. But we're not gay."
#4. To: Mekons4 (#2)
#5. To: jessejane (#4)
"Stay away from creepy people, and dark creepy houses.."
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