Hastert Contradicts Ally’s StoryIn a statement today tailored to deflect criticism of how GOP leadership handled the Foley scandal, House Speaker Dennis Hastert appeared to contradict a version of events explained by his close ally just the day before.
Hastert said that when the head of the House Page Board spoke with disgraced former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) in 2005 about the emails, he specifically asked the now-disgraced congressman if there were any others. According to Hastert, Foley told the board chair, Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), there were none.
“[Shimkus] asked him if there was any other messages,” Hastert told reporters this afternoon. “[Foley] said no.”
“That’s what we did, and the parents were happy,” Hastert said, referring to the parents of the former page who’d received Foley’s emails.
That version of events is squarely at odds with what Shimkus told the Chicago Tribune yesterday:
Shimkus acknowledged he did not ask Foley whether there were any other electronic exchanges with pages, such as the sexually suggestive instant messages from 2003 that surfaced on Friday and led to Foley’s swift resignation.
