The most fascinating (and revealing) aspect of the scandal over Rep. Mark Foley’s inappropriate emails to underage teen pages is the fact that it underscores a split in Republican ranks — one that has become evident on other matters as well.
More traditional conservatives are outraged about the entire mess and are demanding answers and accountability in a display of why values are values. Then you have the Bush-oriented faction that’s playing seemingly tireless political defense lawyer, throwing out various scenarios about what might have happened or state unconfirmed theories as fact.
It’s clear what’s going on: there’s an effort to keep the base — usually available at the mere push of a hotbutton — in line.
The latest controversy within a sex scandal controversy is another one of those original Drudge Report reports — this time saying that the instant messages that led to Foley’s resignation were part of a “prank” on the part of interns to goad Foley and they fell into the hands of “enemy political operatives.” Link is here.
But ABC’s The Blotter (which so far has a record for accuracy on its original reporting a bit better than The Drudge Report)answers with an emphatic NO WAY:
An online story on the Drudge Report Thursday claimed one set of the sexually explicit instant messages obtained by ABC News was part of a “prank” on the part of the former page, who reportedly says he goaded the congressman into writing the messages.
“This was no prank,” said one of the three former pages who talked to ABC News today about his experience with the congressman.
And, yes, ABC came up with THREE more pages:
Three more former congressional pages have come forward to reveal what they call “sexual approaches” over the Internet from former Congressman Mark Foley.
The pages served in the classes of 1998, 2000 and 2002. They independently approached ABC News after the Foley resignation through the Brian Ross & the Investigative Team’s tip line on ABCNews.com. None wanted their names used because of the sensitive nature of the communications.
“I was seventeen years old and just returned to [my home state] when Foley began to e-mail me, asking if I had ever seen my page roommates naked and how big their penises were,” said the page in the 2002 class.
The former page also said Foley told him that if he happened to be in Washington, D.C., he could stay at Foley’s home if he “would engage in oral sex” with Foley.
The page told ABC News he was interviewed this week by FBI agents who had a six-page list of questions about Foley and the exchanges.
The second page who talked with ABC News, a graduate of the 2000 page class, says Foley actually visited the old page dorm and offered rides to events in his BMW.
“His e-mails developed into sexually explicit conversations, and he asked me for photographs of my erect penis,” the former page said.
The page said Foley maintained e-mail contact with him even after he started college and arranged a sexual liaison after the page had turned 18.
The third page interviewed by ABC News, a graduate of the 1998 page class, said Foley’s instant messages began while he was a senior in high school.
So these were “pranks” too?
A word on The Drudge Report. Drudge’s radio show on Sundays is a compelling, fast-moving radio show. His pioneereing site has great links to stories put up at lightning speed. (A good alternative to it is here.)
But TMV took that site off our blogroll because we were burned on a few of the “original reports” it featured over the past few years. At least several of these, when proven not to be true, simply vanished from the site with no retraction or clarification. So we generally do a quick check of the site to see headlines but except for this story (because it ties in with the Foley story) don’t link to its original reports UNTIL they are picked up by the mainstream news media.
And this latest report? Nothing is outside the realm of possibility — but until it is fleshed out, it remains one more Drudge Report exclusive. If it’s confirmed and picked up by the mainstream media then it can be considered solid reportage that advances the story. It isn’t there yet. The Washington Post, New York Times and ABC would report on this new twist if it was something that was (a) confirmable from sources or (b)came from sources that were not political operatives. If this isn’t confirmed, will we see a follow up in the Drudge Report?
What is emerging now is the accentuation of a split within the Republican party between more traditional Republican conservatives and always-there Bush supporters, who control the most important parts of the party and executive/legislative branch machinery.
Those who are trying to defend Hastert’s (non)action on this issue are throwing out all kinds of theories. They have blamed the growing controversy on the Democrats planting the story (ABC says the info came from a Republican), those wild and crazy teens, Bill Clinton (as always), George Soros, the liberal news media, etc.
Foley’s lawyer said he wasn’t making any excuses for Foley — but, by the way, he added, Foley is an alcoholic (now in a rehab) and was himself molested (just thought everyone would want to know).
It’s seems like a constant grasping of straws to cover a growing political wind.
How has Hastert handled this crisis? READ THIS.
QUESTION: Even if the emails were a case of goading Foley how would that mitigate the salacious nature and inappropriateness of what he messaged the teen?
Or, according to the new report on The Blotter the TEENS….
UPDATE from TPM Muckraker:
Now, the lawyer for the former page in question, 21-year-old Jordan Edmund, says the Drudge Report article is false. Calling the story “a piece of fiction,” Stephen Jones told the Daily Oklahoman that “there is not any aspect of this matter that is a practical joke nor should anyone treat it that way.”
Linked to Beltway Traffic Jam.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.