The networks have been announcing all day long that Hastert will not seek re-election in 2008. I say it's about damn time he left the House of Representatives.
I haven't forgotten that the House Ethics Committee Report on the Foley scandal gave us clear evidence that he knew that Mark Folely was engaged in unethical conduct with House Pages. In spite of this, he did nothing to stop Foley from continuing his inappropriate behavior.
Further, he was fully willing to allow his staff to blame the entire ordeal on Kirk Fordham and Jeff Trandahl, Foley's Former Chief of Staff and the Former House Clerk, respectively. We know from that same Ethics Report that Kirk and Jeff are the only Republicans that did anything to stop Foley's actions. In fact, they went to great lengths to stop it.
Below is a local news report in Illinois in the wake of the Foley scandal where Hastert does what Republicans do best, blame Democrats and the media for their troubles.
Yesterday, Karl Rove. Today, Dennis Hastert. This could be a good week.
Showing posts with label foley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foley. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Monday, January 22, 2007
FBI: We should have done more on Foley
Really? No kidding. But then again, hindsight is 20/20. And to be fair, they weren't the first folks to flub the whole thing.
Here's a link to the ABC News Blotter where they once again claim to have broken the story. But, we all know now that they didn't. In fact, they sat on the emails for months doing nothing about it. They probably would have sat on it indefinitely had they not seen Wonkette slamming the emails I posted on Stop Sex Predators.
At least the Inspector General of the FBI has acknowledged the mishandling of the emails that were submitted to them by CREW, but it's half-hearted.
What I really wonder is if the FBI agent backed off from looking further into the emails because they were from a Congressman. That is a question that should have been answered in the IG's report.
I know from my own experience that the main stream media held the bar higher because Foley was a member of Congress. They seemed to be looking for a "smoking gun." ABC News didn't cover the original emails on their nightly news, only their website. Once they got the explicit instant messages, they finally reported widely on the scandal. That is all a part of the 'Culture of Washington' that I have talked about so much. For the media, it's mostly the 'CYA' mode of operation.
It's a good thing the blogosphere is around to be the true "fourth estate" of modern media.
Here's a link to the ABC News Blotter where they once again claim to have broken the story. But, we all know now that they didn't. In fact, they sat on the emails for months doing nothing about it. They probably would have sat on it indefinitely had they not seen Wonkette slamming the emails I posted on Stop Sex Predators.
At least the Inspector General of the FBI has acknowledged the mishandling of the emails that were submitted to them by CREW, but it's half-hearted.
While finding no official misconduct on the part of FBI officials, the inspector general said "the e-mails provided enough troubling indications on their face" to have warranted follow-up steps.
Instead, the inspector general found, the supervisory agent decided there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing and "placed the e-mails in her in box and took no further action" even though she found the e-mails "odd."
What I really wonder is if the FBI agent backed off from looking further into the emails because they were from a Congressman. That is a question that should have been answered in the IG's report.
I know from my own experience that the main stream media held the bar higher because Foley was a member of Congress. They seemed to be looking for a "smoking gun." ABC News didn't cover the original emails on their nightly news, only their website. Once they got the explicit instant messages, they finally reported widely on the scandal. That is all a part of the 'Culture of Washington' that I have talked about so much. For the media, it's mostly the 'CYA' mode of operation.
It's a good thing the blogosphere is around to be the true "fourth estate" of modern media.
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
This is Pathetic!
Update:
It has been brought to my attention by The Raw Story that this may have been a fake email. Their efforts to identify the original source of the email, Dawn Grishim, has turned up nothing. Hastert's office has denied issuing any release implicating Jerry Weller or Phil English.
My apologies for not making more of an effort to authenticate this. The source from which I received it is very reliable, but has also been duped by some disingenuous trickster.
I thank The Raw Story for calling this to my attention.
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I will attempt to be rational here. But, I'm mad.
Speaker Hastert, in a final act as a constitutionally elected LEADER of the United States House of Representatives has established a "tip line" for House Pages. As I said in a much earlier post, the Ethics Committee under Republican Rule is (WAS) pathetic. Like I said earlier, the ethics committee report was largely a joke. Here is Hastert's statement.
How odd that they would wait to issue this information? The only reason I can imagine is that they want the Main Stream Media to cover this rather than the Democratic takeover of Congress.
PATHETIC!
It has been brought to my attention by The Raw Story that this may have been a fake email. Their efforts to identify the original source of the email, Dawn Grishim, has turned up nothing. Hastert's office has denied issuing any release implicating Jerry Weller or Phil English.
My apologies for not making more of an effort to authenticate this. The source from which I received it is very reliable, but has also been duped by some disingenuous trickster.
I thank The Raw Story for calling this to my attention.
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I will attempt to be rational here. But, I'm mad.
Speaker Hastert, in a final act as a constitutionally elected LEADER of the United States House of Representatives has established a "tip line" for House Pages. As I said in a much earlier post, the Ethics Committee under Republican Rule is (WAS) pathetic. Like I said earlier, the ethics committee report was largely a joke. Here is Hastert's statement.
This is evidence that the Republicans sat on information that would have been further detrimental to them in the 2006 Election. There were rumors in October that Weller and English were involved in inappropriate relationships with Pages. This is the FIRST acknowledgement of their possible involvement in the larger Page scandal.Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Speaker Hastert Announces Page Program Tip Line Number
(Washington, D.C.) House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert today announced the official Page tip line number. Following is his statement:
“As the Speaker I take full responsibility for everything in the building. The buck stops here. The safety and security of the students in the Page program is imperative.
“That is why I directed the Clerk of the House to establish a hotline for reporting any information concerning Pages or the Page program. As of this morning, the Clerk of the House has activated the tip-line. It is for anyone with information regarding the Foley, English and Weller matters. This number can also be used to report any other concerns regarding the Page program.
“The Page program tip line is 866-348-0481.”
How odd that they would wait to issue this information? The only reason I can imagine is that they want the Main Stream Media to cover this rather than the Democratic takeover of Congress.
PATHETIC!
Friday, December 8, 2006
EXHIBIT 10
I'm still pouring through the 92 pages of the Ethics Committee report, but, thanks to Wonkette, I jumped ahead to the Exhibit list. My old blog, Stop Sex Predators is listed as Exhibit 10.
Alex Pareene, over at Wonkette loves the fact that ABC News is Exhibit 12, AFTER Wonkette being Exhibit 11. Somewhere in that post he mentions that they were first.
Ummmmm, at least one of your readers knew who was REALLY first. ;)
Alex Pareene, over at Wonkette loves the fact that ABC News is Exhibit 12, AFTER Wonkette being Exhibit 11. Somewhere in that post he mentions that they were first.
Ummmmm, at least one of your readers knew who was REALLY first. ;)
ETHICS COMMITTEE REACTION
The House Ethics Committee has indeed come to the conclusion that no rules were broken throughout the multi-year mismanagement of Mark Foley's immoral, unethical, and inappropriate behavior. They have instead opted to find the GOP Leadership "negligent" in protecting teens.
For years, the reputation of the House Ethics Committee has declined to the point that some people have begun calling the Committee irrelevant. Their findings in this investigation is just as negligent as the actions of the Republican Leaders.
The rules of the House clearly state that the House of Representatives, its Members, Officers, and staff, act "in loco parentis" for House Pages. At the moment that Congressman Rodney Alexander allowed the Louisiana page's parents to quash any action against Foley, he broke House Rules. When House officers and Leadership allowed this to stand, they all joined in failing to provide a safe environment for House Pages.
Could someone explain to me how you can find the Leadership "negligent" and then say they broke no rules? I realize that this report will have little impact on the political landscape. But, the Republicans missed an opportunity to show that they are willing to accept responsibility for a total breakdown in the system. Further, they have sent a very loud message to parents that they do not put a high priority on the safety of their children.
The only good thing about this report is that it finally ends this long, shameful saga.
For years, the reputation of the House Ethics Committee has declined to the point that some people have begun calling the Committee irrelevant. Their findings in this investigation is just as negligent as the actions of the Republican Leaders.
The rules of the House clearly state that the House of Representatives, its Members, Officers, and staff, act "in loco parentis" for House Pages. At the moment that Congressman Rodney Alexander allowed the Louisiana page's parents to quash any action against Foley, he broke House Rules. When House officers and Leadership allowed this to stand, they all joined in failing to provide a safe environment for House Pages.
Could someone explain to me how you can find the Leadership "negligent" and then say they broke no rules? I realize that this report will have little impact on the political landscape. But, the Republicans missed an opportunity to show that they are willing to accept responsibility for a total breakdown in the system. Further, they have sent a very loud message to parents that they do not put a high priority on the safety of their children.
The only good thing about this report is that it finally ends this long, shameful saga.
FOLEY REPORT AT 2PM
The AP is reporting that the Ethics Committee has found the GOP Leadership negligent in their handling of the House Page scandal, but say that they didn't break any House Rules. I'm waiting until the press conference to comment.
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
NFTL in NJ's Hotline
Below is an article in today's Hotline, which is published by National Journal. The very first post on NFTL has seemed to cause quite a stir in Sen. Dole's office. I stand by my original source that she will not be running for re-election. Please see my post from yesterday which outlines a host of reasons why her statement is suspect at best.
NORTH CAROLINA: I'd Appreciate It If You'd Stop Nudging Me
Blogger Lane Hudson, who was first to publish ex-Rep. Mark Foley's (R-FL) page e-mail exchanges, cites a "confidential source on Capitol Hill" that outgoing NRSC chair Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) has become so "completely demoralized" that she is no longer interested in standing for re-election. Dole's office responded via e-mail that "Senator Dole is running for re-election in 2008" (RawStory.com, 12/5).
NORTH CAROLINA: I'd Appreciate It If You'd Stop Nudging Me
Blogger Lane Hudson, who was first to publish ex-Rep. Mark Foley's (R-FL) page e-mail exchanges, cites a "confidential source on Capitol Hill" that outgoing NRSC chair Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) has become so "completely demoralized" that she is no longer interested in standing for re-election. Dole's office responded via e-mail that "Senator Dole is running for re-election in 2008" (RawStory.com, 12/5).
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