Sunday, October 08, 2006

Republicans Knew of Sexually Explicit Foley Messages in 2000

The plot thickens, as the Washington Post reports Republican congressman Jim Kolbe (AZ8) knew about sexually explicit e-mails sent by Mark Foley to a page as early as 2000. Kolbe, the only uncloseted gay Republican in Congress, confronted Foley directly about the e-mails, but it is unclear whether he notified other House members. His press secretary denied the e-mails contained explicit language and said "corrective action" was taken at the time.

The report appears to push the timeline for when House Republicans were first told of Foley's sexual communications with pages back by at least three years.

Rep. Kolbe, himself a former page, is resigning at the end of his current term. Like Foley, Kolbe was outed by gay publications after voting for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. Kolbe decided to openly declare his sexual preference, and won five more elections, while Foley decided to keep his a secret from constituents.

No comments: