Blockbuster story out from Roll Call (sub.req.)

Chairman of the House Page Board, Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) interviewed Foley last year about some of the contacts with the page. The House clerk, who is also a member of the Board, was also present. Speaker Hastert’s office was informed of the interview, but according to GOP leadership sources who spoke to Roll Call, Hastert himself was not informed.

Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI), the only Democrat on the Board, was not informed of the interview, according to Roll Call.

Rep. Shimkus released the following statement …

“As chairman of the bipartisan House Page Board in late 2005, I was notified by the then Clerk of the House, who manages the Page Program, that he had been told by Congressman Rodney Alexander about an email exchange between Congressman Foley and a former House Page. I took immediate action to investigate the matter.

“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.

“Congressman Foley told the Clerk and me that he was simply acting as a mentor to this former House Page and that nothing inappropriate had occurred. Nevertheless, we ordered Congressman Foley to cease all contact with this former House Page to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. We also advised him to be especially mindful of his conduct with respect to current and former House Pages, and he assured us he would do so. I received no subsequent complaints about his behavior nor was I ever made aware of any additional emails.

“It has become clear to me today, based on information I only now have learned, that Congressman Foley was not honest about his conduct.

“As Chairman of the House Page Board, I am working with the Clerk to fully review this incident and determine what actions need to be taken.

“The House Page Program has been an integral part of the House of Representatives for many decades. Preserving the integrity of the House Page Program is of utmost importance to me and to the House of Representatives, and we intend to uphold and protect its values and traditions.”

The whole matter has been turned over to the House ethics committee.

35 pages of Foley emails, according to fellow Florida GOP Rep. Jeff Miller.

Majority Leader Boehner hangs Hastert out to dry …

House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) told The Washington Post last night that he had learned this spring of some “contact” between Foley and a 16-year-old page. Boehner said he told House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), and that Hastert assured him “we’re taking care of it.”

It was not immediately clear what actions Hastert took. His spokesman had said earlier that the speaker did not know of the sexually charged e-mails between Foley and the boy.

That’s from the Post. See the rest here.

(ed.note: Thanks to TPM Reader TT for the tip.)

Foley Update: With the news evolving so quickly about what members of the House GOP leadership knew about the Foley scandal, another point hadn’t become clear to me. Though I haven’t seen the point made explicitly, it’s clear from the late ABC News reports that there are multiple pages in question.

In this story at the ABC site, reporters write that “according to several former congressional pages, the congressman used the Internet to engage in sexually explicit exchanges.”

There’s another point too though. This all started to come out yesterday when ABC reported on a series of suggestive but not explicit emails between Foley and a House page. That appears to be the then-16 year old page who had been sponsored by Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-LA). Reportedly, that page became concerned about the suggestiveness of the emails, cut off communication and reported the emails to a member of Alexander’s staff.

The graphic IM exchanges, which blew the story open this afternoon, are clearly from a minor who actively engaged with the congressman. So it seems clear it’s a different page. The clincher is that that the published IM exchange is from 2003, two years earlier. So it’s clear there are at least two different pages in question.

(ed.note: When I write that the other page “actively engaged” with the congressman, this is not meant to imply that minors are legally capable of consent. I make the distinction not to diminish the congressman’s guilt or suggest the minor’s complicity but only to note the apparently different nature of the exchanges.)

If you want to check out Rep. Foley’s House website, you’re going to need to go to the WayBack machine. It’s already been taken down.

Someone’s got a problem.

From WaPo …

House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) told The Washington Post last night that he had learned this spring of some “contact” between Foley and a 16-year-old page. Boehner said he told House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), and that Hastert assured him “we’re taking care of it.”

From Roll Call (sub.req.) …

Boehner strongly denied media reports late Friday night that he had informed Hastert of the allegations, saying “That is not true.”

Speaks for itself.

Rep. Shimkus on why he didn’t inform the Page Board’s lone Democrat aboout the Foley matter: “I’m the chairman of the page board. The Clerk and I addressed this issue.”

Happier Days …

From the Post: “Foley chaired the House caucus on missing and exploited children and was credited with writing the sexual-predator provisions of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, which Bush signed in July. A photo on the White House Web site shows Foley among those attending the signing ceremony.”

Mr. Speaker, I’d like unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks.

Boehner calls the Post back to change his story …

Boehner later contacted The Post and said he could not remember whether he talked to Hastert.

See earlier version here.

Hard to say what it means, if anything, but Rep. Shimkus says he interviewed Rep. Foley about the page matter with the House Clerk about 10 or 11 months ago. Presumably, that would have been former Clerk Jeff Trandahl. A few quick Nexis searches shows the first public announcements of Trandahl’s departure were in the second week of November 2005.