Report: No sex charges for disgraced lawmaker
Foley abruptly resigned his seat last Fall.
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former Rep. Mark Foley, the Florida Republican who resigned his seat last fall after it was revealed he sent sexually explicit e-mails to underage House pages, is unlikely to face criminal charges for his behavior, Scripps Howard News Service reports.
The news agency reports federal investigators have been unable to gather enough evidence to prove Foley, 52, intended to "seduce, solicit, lure, entice, or attempt to seduce a child," with his inappropriate contacts.
While there is still a chance new evidence could come to light before the investigation officially wraps up "in the next several days," according to the report. Once the investigation is complete it will bet turned over to Pensacola prosecutors - the location from where Foley sent his inappropriate e-mails.
Foley abruptly resigned from Congress only weeks before the 2006 midterm elections after ABC News reported on a series of inappropriate e-mails and instant messages to teenage House pages.
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One less Pardon King Georges W will have to do at the end of his reign. Cheney still got a chance to avoid jail as well!!LOL
slick willy....please don't vote anymore. It's people with your limited grasp of reality that has really hurt my country. Spend election day cleaning out your naval, it would be time more productively spent for us all.
Folks, my understanding is that there is no evidence of Foley attempting to lure his victims to a meeting. That would be the difference between Foley and the poor sods caught via MSNBC.
another high-ranking, republican closet case gets away with criminal behavior.
is ANYone in this country really surprised?
americans have ZERO accountability (when they have money).
Given the content of the e-mails that were made public,I suggest that the federal investigators invest in a dictionary so they can review the definitions of seduce, solicit, lure, entice or attempt to seduce.I seem to recall one that invited the person who received the e-mail to undress and describe the process to Mr. Foley while on-line- not so shocking if between two consenting adults- disgusting between a man in his fifties and someone not yet twenty-one. It seems that along with their Congressional parking pass members of Congress are issued a 'get out of jail, no matter what heinous act you commit' card. Mr. Hastert is not seeking re-election. He should be tried as well as all the other colleagues of Mr. Foley who knew what was happening and blithely stoood by and did nothing. It's yet another aspect of those who are elected to be the people's servants acting like demi-gods.
Of course he won't be charged. He's a Republican. And even if he was charged, and somehow managed to get convicted, he would just get pardoned. But if he was a Democrat they would nail him hard. Count on it.
Agree with most of the comments, Rich/powerful politicians / celebs are getting away with murder, animal cruelty, and inappropriate behavior that the normal Joe Schmoe on the street would be thrown in jail for. That's life in the Kingdom of Bush !
Double standards and "Do as I say, not as I do" type mentality. Republicans & the (im)moral majority have no accountability, no decency and no morals. They're on a power grab. And all you stupid red-staters elected them. "You get what you pay for !"
And Isn't if funny how a so called "christian" who was a leading promoter of anti-child porn and other laws to protect "children" could probably be a pedopohile. You know the saying "The pot calling the kettle black".
Yeah, it seems the religious nutjobs who yell the loudest anti-gay, bigoted, racist comments are the ones who are in sever denial.
And for the record, the so called "child" in the case, a teenage page, is hardly a little baby. He was 16. I'm not condoning Foley's messages & attempts to contact him, but I'm sure that the Page is as most kids today are, hardly naive, weak & ill informed in the ways of the world. Maybe some kids in some back water in Nebraska are. But I know he and other congressional pages are highly educated in what goes on in the world, in congress and are not that stupid. This kid and his friends knew what they were doing when they were exposing Foley. They could have been trying to be mean and cruel, like a lot of kids today are. They may have been in a gay chat room. Who knows, that never came out. We know no details of the actual context of the contact.
My point is that there is a huge difference in a 4 year child and a 16 year old young ADULT, who is only a couple years from being "legal" and able to pretty much take care of themselves. Don't be fooled that just becuase someone is under 18 means that they are stupid, helpless and goody goody.
Mr. Foley disgraced his office, family and self and should be labeled a sex offender.
Republican hypocrisy
Where are the neo conservatives in this thread? Are you all waiting for another Barack or Hillary article to bash? None of you have an opinion on one of your own? Hypocrites...
It sounds to me that our government and it's laws are higher than our government and the laws.
I don't believe for a minute they don't have enough evidence to convict him.
Just a quick question...Do these guys lose their retirement benefits when they get busted for something ? if not.... WHY ?
I agree with a previous poster....Foley gave the Democrats control of Congress in 2006.
Simply despicable. Demonstrates the decline in this country when someone like this gets away with this terrible, disgusting behaviour.
This is sad news to me. In my opinion it is just another reason our country is going down the tubes. The average man or woman would of been sent to jail . Here is one man that is put in office to help lead , and to be an example for others to follow. So i guess if he did go to jail our President would of set him free anyway. I personaly can't wait for this administration to leave and hope that the new one will clean up this place. If you do the crime then do the time like the rest .
Shows you that Republicans affiliated
with GWB and Company can do no wrong.
This is sicker than Clintons adult
affair because this nut was grooming minors for his own sexual gratification.
Nice to be rich as you are protected
when you can say a crime you committed is an illness,Blah,Blah,Blah
FOLEY, "PACMAN" JONES, LINDSEY LOHAN,R-KELLY, & NICOLE RICHIE! PEOPLE WHO ARE RICH AND POWERFUL ENOUGH TO BUY ANY AND EVERYTHING THEY NEED/WANT. HOW CAN IT BE SAID THAT THERE ISN'T ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO PROSECUTE THIS GUY? THE EMAILS/TEXT MESSAGES ARE IN THE HANDS OF THE SO-CALLED "AUTHORITIES"! ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME?! MANY PEOPLE HAVE COMMENTED ON THE SHOW "TO CATCH A PREDATOR" AND THE TACTICS THAT THE POLICE USE TO CATCH THESE CRIMINALS THAT HAVE YET (FORTUNATELY) TO DO ANYTHING WITH CHILDREN THEY DON'T KNOW, BUT FOLEY KNEW THESE YOUNG BOYS! HE WORKED WITH AND NEXT TO THEM ON A DAILY BASIS!!! HOW IS THIS GUY ALLOWED TO WALK FREE? I GUESS IT'S TRUE THAT MONEY DOES BUY HAPPINESS, BECAUSE I'M SURE HE'S HAPPY THAT HE'S NOT GOING TO JAIL, SINCE HE CAN BUY HIS FREEDOM!
a congressman or rich person not being found guilty much less prosecuted....
"Ain't that America" as the song goes.
Hooray!
This just shows our Justice system is alive and
well in these great United States. If the glove doesn't fit,
you must acquit
*NOTE.
I am being sarcastic. I have no faith in the Justice System.
Foley is simply the latest example of what is wrong with this country. People should be ashamed of where our country is heading. We use to be a beacon of light because we had a "relatively" level legal system. Now its simply a matter of how much money and power you have. The rich and powerful are true proloteriat now and they don't even try to hide it any longer. Look at Lohan for another example of our unjust system. I guarantee I would not get off a DUI charge that easily... The rest of us thrown to the wolves.
Just a quick question…Do these guys lose their retirement benefits when they get busted for something ? if not…. WHY ?
Posted By R Sloan North Coast : August 25, 2007 8:50 am
foley should go to jail no doubt but why should a lawmakers lose retirement benefits if they get busted? They've worked for those benefits and as far as I know, ordinary folks dont lose their retirement benefits if convicted of wrong-doing.
This has nothing to do with being Republican or Democrat. For all of you Democrats that think it does, just recall that there was one Democrat and one Republican Representative who actually did have sex with underage pages in the 70s and 80s and pleaded guilty. Neither did jail time. One difference between the two parties is in each case Republicans demanded expulsion of the offenders. In fact, Rep. Studds was applauded by his Democrat colleagues for persevering in the face of criticism and censure. They are all wrong – politics should have nothing to do with it. Here is the entry from Wikipedia on the incidents:
"In 1983, Representatives Dan Crane (R-Ill.) and Gerry Studds (D-Mass.) were charged with having engaged in sexual relationships with 17-year-old congressional pages. In Crane's case, it was a 1980 relationship with a female page and in Studds's case, it was a 1973 relationship with a male page. Both representatives immediately pleaded guilty. On July 14, 1983, the House Ethics Committee reprimanded both. However, Representative Newt Gingrich demanded the expulsion of both Congressmen. On July 20, the House voted for censure, the first time that censure had been imposed for sexual misconduct. Crane, who tearfully apologized for his transgression, lost his bid for reelection in 1984. Studds, however, refused to apologize (even calling a press conference with the former page, in which both stated that he and the page were consenting adults at the time of the relationship and that it was therefore not the business of others to censure them for their private relationship), and he continued to be reelected until his retirement in 1997."
At least Mark Foley resigned as most Republicans do when faced with inappropriate behavior. Ted Kennedy let a young woman half his age drown, while he met with his advisers about how to fix it. He was never charged with anything and is still a powerful senator in Congress. Years ago, Barney Frank was caught making inappropriate contact with young pages; he's still in Congress. That's just two examples among many. If you really want to question charges not being filed against someone, think about Sandy Burger – what he did could be considered treason. What did bill clinton want to hide so badly that Burger would risk his freedom and reputation to steal from the National Archives?
Hey Evan, see my above posting.
Sorry I am not a neo-conservative (not even sure what that is, but if that is your narrow view of all Republicans, feel free).
The NEXT time a Democrat bleeps up, I want you to be first to post or I also will stupidly post "hypocrites".
What this douchebag did is indefensible and he should be drawn and quartered, can I be any more on point?
Evan Esteves ~ Fla
Where are the neo conservatives in this thread? Are you all waiting for another Barack or Hillary article to bash? None of you have an opinion on one of your own? Hypocrites
– – – – –
37 comments comdemning this guy. Where again are the supportive comments you want to cite hypocrisy?