Family values

["Robert L Bass" <robertbass1@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ex-Rep. Foley checks into alcohol rehab
By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer Mon Oct 2, 10:14 AM ET

WASHINGTON - Former Rep. Mark Foley (news, bio, voting record), under

FBI investigation for e-mail exchanges with teenage congressional pages, has checked himself into rehabilitation facility for
alcoholism treatment and accepts responsibility for his actions, his attorney acknowledged Monday.

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The attorney, David Roth, would not identify the facility, but told the Associated Press in West Palm Beach, Fla., that Foley had
checked in over the weekend.

"I strongly believe that I am an alcoholic and have accepted the need for immediate treatment for alcoholism and other behavioral
problems," Foley said in a statement, Roth told the AP.

Foley, a Republican, abruptly quit Congress on Friday after reports surfaced that he'd sent sexually charged electronic messages to
boys working as pages. In the statement, Foley said the "events that led to my resignation have crystalized recognition of my
long-standing and significant alcoholism and emotional difficulties."

"I deeply regret and accept full responsibility for the harm I have caused," Foley said. He also expressed "gratitude for the
prayers and words of encouragement that have been conveyed to me."

The FBI, meanwhile, "is conducting an assessment to see if there's been a violation of federal law," according to FBI spokesman
Richard Kolko.

The developments sent House Republicans into damage control mode amid charges by Democrats that some House leaders may have known
for months about Foley's inappropriate overtures toward the young pages.

Democrats have questioned whether the GOP leadership, including House Speaker

Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., tried to protect a House seat in an election year at the expense of the well-being of teenage pages.

Hastert issued his strongest statement yet on Monday, saying he was "outraged and disgusted with Congressman Mark Foley's actions."

The speaker was in Washington meeting with his staff, the House clerk and Rep. John Shimkus (news, bio, voting record), R-Ill., the
congressman who oversees the page program, to review the procedures on protecting the teenage pages while they are working at the
Capitol and after they finish their assignments, said Ron Bonjean, Hastert's spokesman.

White House press secretary Tony Snow, asked about that Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America," urged greater efforts to "figure out
what happened here." He called it "a terrible story" and said he considered it unfortunate that "people are thinking, 'OK, can I get
political advantage out of this'."

Hastert in a letter sent Sunday to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, asked the Justice Department to "conduct an investigation of
Mr. Foley's conduct with current and former House pages."

Democrats demanded that investigators determine whether Republican leaders tried to cover up Foley's actions for political reasons.

"The attorney general should open a full-scale investigation immediately," Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada said in a
statement, including whether GOP leaders "knew there was a problem and ignored it to preserve a congressional seat this election
year."

Foley's West Palm Beach district is largely Republican, but now may be won by a Democrat. Republicans are struggling to maintain
their House majority in the upcoming election. Florida Republican leaders were meeting Monday to try to choose a candidate to
replace Foley in the November election.

FBI cyber sleuths are looking into the text of some of the Foley messages, checking to see how many e-mails and instant electronic
messages were sent and how many computers were used, according to a law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity
because of the ongoing investigation.

The FBI also was trying to determine if any of the teenagers who received messages are willing to cooperate with the investigation,
the official said.

Ironically, Foley, who is 52 and single, could be found to have violated a law that he helped to write as co-chairman of the
Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus.

Rep. Thomas Reynolds (news, bio, voting record) of New York, head of the House Republican election effort, said he told Hastert
months ago about the allegations involving a 16-year-old boy from Louisiana.

Hastert acknowledged that his staff had been made aware of concerns about what they termed "over-friendly" e-mails Foley had sent to
the teenager - including one requesting his picture - in the fall of 2005, and that they referred the matter to the House clerk.

But Hastert said those e-mails were not viewed as "sexual in nature" and that he was not aware of "a different set of communications
which were sexually explicit ... which Mr. Foley reportedly sent another former page or pages."

Hastert asked the Justice Department to investigate "anyone who had specific knowledge of the content of any sexually explicit
communications between Mr. Foley and any former or current House pages and what actions such individuals took, if any, to provide
them to law enforcement."

Congressional pages, a staple of Washington politics since the 1820s, are high school students who serve as gofers in the House and
Senate.

___

AP reporter Brian Skoloff contributed to this story from West Palm Beach, Fla.; AP reporter John Heilprin contributed from
Washington


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