Kolbe says he warned of Foley years ago

[Beetwasher]

WASHINGTON - Arizona Rep. Jim Kolbe (news, bio, voting record) said Tuesday he told the House official in charge of the page program as early as 2001 about Rep. Mark Foley (news, bio, voting record)'s "creepy" e-mail to a former page.

Kolbe, the only openly gay Republican in Congress, said a former page he had sponsored contacted his office to complain of e-mails from Foley and that he "passed along" the complaint to Foley, R-Fla., and then-House Clerk Jeff Trandahl. Kolbe said he did not take the matter to other lawmakers.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., again said his staff aides acted appropriately last fall in handling information on Foley's conduct.

"I didn't think anybody at any time in my office did anything wrong," Hastert said. But he also issued a stern warning: "If they did cover something up, then they should not continue to have their jobs."

--snip--

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061010/ap_on_go_co/congress_pages;_ylt=AjKdKEX5KbAsXXlbQLZCb72yFz4D;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--

[greeneyedboy]

1. more hairsplitting - they knew and didn't follow up. coverup. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

2. I didn't know this guy is retiring. Creepy way to exit! Guardian story:

Retiring Kolbe in Spotlight

Wednesday October 11, 2006 2:01 AM


By JENNIFER TALHELM

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - If Arizona Rep. Jim Kolbe was trying to retire quietly, it isn't working out that way.

Kolbe confirmed Tuesday that he referred concerns about then-Rep. Mark Foley to the House clerk's office in 2001 or 2002 after a former page told him Foley had sent him e-mails that made him feel uncomfortable.

The revelation is key to the question of when top House Republicans knew about Foley's behavior and whether they should have acted sooner to intervene.

It has thrust Kolbe, 64, the only openly gay Republican in Congress, into the spotlight just as he is preparing to leave Washington after 22 years in the House.
(snip/...)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6138957,00.html

[Ignacio Upton]

3. I'm wondering what Sue Kelly (R, NY-19) knew about this?

She was Chairwoman of the page board at the time.

[daleo]

4. The page complained to Kolbe about Foley

So, Kolbe passed that information back to Foley? Just exactly what good was that supposed to do?

[rodeodance]

5. just another "incumbents who are in trouble."----kinda day on the Hill.

.........The developments unfolded as a prominent conservative quoted Hastert as casting doubt on claims by two members of the leadership in connection with the page scandal.

Hastert "assured me that the statement by Congressman John A. Boehner ... that months ago he had told Hastert about the page problem with Congressman Foley, was incorrect," Paul Weyrich wrote in an e-mail commentary on the issue. Boehner, R-Ohio, is the majority leader.

"As to Congressman Thomas M. Reynolds, the speaker said, 'If he had mentioned this problem to me, I surely would have taken notice,'" Weyrich added in an account of a phone conversation with Hastert. Reynolds, R-N.Y., heads the House Republican campaign organization.

Weyrich quoted Hastert as saying Reynolds often came to him with numerous requests to help "incumbents who are in trouble. The speaker said he signs off on the majority of requests and only listens with one ear because the requests are repetitive."