Foley’s chief of staff pressured ABC not to print salacious messages sent by his boss to teenage boys, according to the Washington Post. But Ross said no deal:
“I said we’re not making any deals,” Ross recalls. He says the Internet made the story possible, because on Thursday he posted a story on his ABC Web page, the Blotter, after obtaining one milder e-mail that Foley had sent a 16-year-old page, asking for a picture. Within two hours, former pages had e-mailed Ross and provided the salacious messages. The only question then, says Ross, was “whether this could be authenticated.”
Now, House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) has called on “the ethics committee, the Justice Department, the news media – or anyone who can [help]” to track down the source of those IM transcripts. Does this mean Hastert wants to go after the kids, for failing to report crimes against them?
