Reports Undercut Hastert on Foley Timeline

[swag]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2539965

Oct. 7, 2006 — Republicans had hoped House Speaker Dennis Hastert's "the buck stops here" speech last Thursday would ease some of the pressure on him, but the daily drip of the Mark Foley scandal continues to keep the focus on what Hastert and his staff knew and when did they know it.

Today, the Washington Post quoted an unnamed Congressional staffer who said Hastert Chief of Staff Scott Palmer, one of the most powerful men on Capitol Hill, personally met with then-Rep. Foley, R-Fla., about his inappropriate contact with male pages. That meeting, the same source tells the Post, took place long before Hastert says his office was first alerted to "overly-friendly" e-mails Foley had sent to a Louisiana boy.

The New York Times also cites an anonymous Hill source who alleges Palmer was warned about Foley's troubling behavior well before Hastert has said his aides were first alerted in 2005.

Those two reports seem to back up former Foley Chief of Staff Kirk Fordham's account — first told to ABC News — that he warned Hastert's top aide about Foley's problems as far back as 2003.

Hastert's office is now declining to talk about specifics of the scandal, citing an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation, which was launched after Palmer denied Fordham's account.

A new Newsweek poll conducted since the Foley scandal broke seems to suggest the scandal is bad news for the GOP's prospects in next month's elections. The poll shows that 53 percent of Americans want the Democrats to win control of Congress, including 10 percent of Republicans.

. . . more

[jpak]

1. But...but...but...what did the Democrats know and when did they know it???

ABC apparently didn't get their talking points from Rove in time.

I also sincerely hope that the Jeff Gannon thingy reappears in a timely fashion...(like the Abramoff/Ralston/Rove thingy).

What did Bush know about gay prostitutes in the WH and when did he know it????

[luckyleftyme2]

12. It doesn't matter

The fact is the pages saftey fall under the speakers resposibility!
AND HE PROBABLY FOLLOWED ORDERS AND DID NOTHING!
NOW THEY'RE HANGING HIM OUT TO DRY!

[habitual]

2. Here we go with this bullshit again:

Hastert's office is now declining to talk about specifics of the scandal, citing an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation, which was launched after Palmer denied Fordham's account.


Thus another reason to launch the bogus investigation... so everyone can claim that they can no longer comment on anything.

[luckyleftyme2]

13. They muzzled him

He's already said he discussed it with others long before last friday.
Now it's damage control for the morally wrong!

[Monkeyman]

3. Just fired off a letter to the papers

Calling Hastert a Coward he owe's this Country the truth. I know he won't reply he is a cut an ran Replug when it was his time to serve.

[jefferson_dem]

4. Second Source Tells ABC of Earlier Role by Hastert's Office

Second Source Tells ABC of Earlier Role by Hastert's Office
October 07, 2006 3:54 PM

ABC's John Yang reports: A current House staffer has told ABC News that Scott Palmer, House Speaker Dennis Hastert's (R-IL) chief of staff, met with disgraced former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) to discuss the time and attention he was giving House pages many months before the Speaker's office has said it became aware of the issue.

The staffer, who asked not be identified because of the ongoing FBI and House Ethics Committees invesgitations, told ABC News that the meeting between Palmer and Foley came to light in November 2005, around the time when Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), head of the House Page Board, and then-House Clerk Jeff Trandahl, who was administrator of the page program, met with Foley about an e-mail exchange Foley had with a former page, sponsored by Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-LA).

"At that time, I became aware that there was a previous meeting" between Foley and Palmer, the staffer told ABC News.

This corroborates the account of Kirk Fordham, Foley's former chief of staff, who said he had gone to Palmer to seek the intervention of the Speaker's office to try to change Foley's behavior. Earlier, Palmer said that "what Kirk Fordham said happened didn't happen."

<SNIP>

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2006/10/second_source_t.html

[skipos]

5. I am pretty sure that Clinton is still to blame for this. nt

[LiberalArkie]

6. Clinton just had set the wrong example. You know before Clinton

became president, Washington was a clean town, a very moral city.

That is why everything came down so hard on him. Clinton brought sexual sin to the city.

Graft and corruption was unknown until all those people from that rich state of Arkansas moved up there and brought their evil ways..

[Redbear]

7. Nice.

Republicans are never at fault for anything.

[LiberalArkie]

8. That is why they are the party of personal responsibility

[tanyev]

10. Yes, I'm pretty sure that somewhere in the deep recesses

of his library there are notebooks dating back to the 80's where he outlined every one of these diabolical plans that he intended to enact to destroy the Republican party.

[DrDan]

11. of course it was WJC's fault

there was no such thing as oral sex until WJC came along

I heard that from Neal the-boob boorz

[Rowdyboy]

18. Actually, I blame Clinton's penis....the infamous "Clenis"....its the

source or all evil, apparently.

[SpiralHawk]

9. Hasty is just a big slobby republicon lying pedophile protector

Can a human being go any lower?

[deathdog]

14. Oh good! I love watching Denny sweat

:popcorn:

[Fridays Child]

15. Will Palmer pull a Ralston? If I were a betting person...

...I'd say yes.

[PurityOfEssence]

22. This type of proto-male never admits a mistake

These guys are veritable troglodytes: never ask directions, never admit a mistake and never back down. If you think Cheney or Rumsfeld are going to cop to any misjudgments or missteps, you just don't know that kind of critter. Hastert's a lightweight in comparison, both intellectually and tactically, but he comes from the same general approach.

[Oak2004]

16. This is deja vu for me

Once upon a time ago, in my youth, I remember a time when I could not wait to read the morning papers, see the broadcast news, or tune in for live Congressional proceedings. The technologies have changed a bit since then, but again I can't get enough breaking news.

Every day, it seemed long ago, something else would leak out about Richard Nixon. Every day, either someone was singing to a reporter, or the committee, or some document was released, or someone resigned/was indicted/something was subpoenad. And oh, did every drop of the drip drip drip thrill me till the day that crook was gone.

Unfortunately the GOP didn't purge itself of the Nixon wing of the party (au contraire -- it purged itself of the moderates and liberals) and so we are back to the same watch in 2006. I don't know how things will end this time around. But I can certainly hope for an ending at least as happy as that of August 8th, 1974.

[Straight Shooter]

17. Get that? 90% of Repubs are A-okay with corruption and sexual predators.

"The poll shows that 53 percent of Americans want the Democrats to win control of Congress, including 10 percent of Republicans."

How many Democrats are okay with this current state of pathetic behavior by the Repubs in Congress?
x(

[swag]

19. Torture and sexual predation are just fraternity pranks to Rush and Co.

[Beetwasher]

20. You Hang In There Denny! Don't Let the Basstards Get Ya Down!

You Go boy!

[swag]

21. Denny will show 'em!

Hang tough, good buddy!

[CatWoman]

23. Reports Undercut Hastert on Foley Timeline

Oct. 7, 2006 — Republicans had hoped House Speaker Dennis Hastert's "the buck stops here" speech last Thursday would ease some of the pressure on him, but the daily drip of the Mark Foley scandal continues to keep the focus on what Hastert and his staff knew and when did they know it.

Today, the Washington Post quoted an unnamed Congressional staffer who said Hastert Chief of Staff Scott Palmer, one of the most powerful men on Capitol Hill, personally met with then-Rep. Foley, R-Fla., about his inappropriate contact with male pages. That meeting, the same source tells the Post, took place long before Hastert says his office was first alerted to "overly-friendly" e-mails Foley had sent to a Louisiana boy.

The New York Times also cites an anonymous Hill source who alleges Palmer was warned about Foley's troubling behavior well before Hastert has said his aides were first alerted in 2005.

Those two reports seem to back up former Foley Chief of Staff Kirk Fordham's account — first told to ABC News — that he warned Hastert's top aide about Foley's problems as far back as 2003.

Hastert's office is now declining to talk about specifics of the scandal, citing an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation, which was launched after Palmer denied Fordham's account.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2539965

[eleny]

24. So they're going to hide behind an "ongoing investigation"

It's not going to work. People keep coming forward and their information lands in the papers and talk shows. A national sensation. The Republicans lost control of this affair almost immediately and still they try to rely on the old reactions that don't work. Heh...heh...heh.

[rodeodance]

26. I had a felling they would clamp down after the news conference!!

.....Hastert's office is now declining to talk about specifics of the scandal, citing an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation, which was launched after Palmer denied Fordham's account.

[IndianaGreen]

27. How many versions of the timeline has Hastert given so far?

He is caught in a web of his own making!

[napi21]

25. OH MAN, ya know we can't talk about them ongoing investigations!

OurPrez & the AG tells us THAT all the time! Ain't ya lerned it yet?????

[eleny]

28. Maybe they "can't" - but we sure can!!!