CongressionalBadBoys.com | home | Foley Mark Foley Republican, Florida (1995-2006) The Honorable Mark Foley abruptly resigned from the House of Representatives in September 2006.  He seemed to be a shoo-in for re-election, but stunned the Capitol with this announcement:  "I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida I have had the privilege to represent." So what was going on?   Reportedly, Foley had been sending sexually explicit e-mails to at least one underage male, a former House of Representatives page.  He used text messaging, under the AOL tag of Maf54. The messages were just innocent contact, said Foley.  The boy involved called them "sick, sick, sick, sick, sick."  Check out the e-mails on the website of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics.  The House Ethics Committee was getting ready to call for an investigation, but Foley resigned on Friday afternoon, Sept. 29. Foley had chaired the House caucus on missing and exploited children, and was credited with writing the sexual-predator provisions of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. When he was preparing to run against Sen. Bob Graham in 2003, Foley, who is single, faced rumors about his sexual orientation, but said he would not comment on whether or not he was gay.  He later decided not to run for the Senate seat.   Update:  Oct. 2, 2006:  Speaker Dennis Hastert said he learned about Foley's problem just last week, but then 'fessed up when his aides admitted that they knew about the troubling e-mails over a year ago.  Now we know that "three or four" pages were sent suggestive e-mails by Foley.  In a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Hastert acknowledged that some of Foley's raunchier e-mails to House pages were sent over two years ago.  Foley was also warned in 2005 to leave pages alone.  On October 1, the FBI announced it was investigating Foley's actions, which will be handled by the FBI's Cyber Division. Democratic leaders shouted "cover-up," Republican leaders tried to figure out how to deal with the mess.  Hastert called for a Justice Department investigation, hence the letter to Gonzales. Update, Dec. 8, 2006:  House Ethics Committee released its final report on Foley, and concluded that Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and his top staff probably knew for months, if not years, about Foley's behavior.  The top GOP leaders, "failed to exercise appropriate diligence" and "tried to remain willfully ignorant of the potential consequences of Foley's conduct."  Check out the final report:  http://www.house.gov/ethics/Page_Report.pdf But the report went no further:  no one was punished, no one was scolded.  Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, cried foul:  "I'm surprised they aren't doing anything, but it's not shocking, given the lack of real accountability we've seen in Congress in general." Foley joins Daniel Crane and Gerry Studds, who also got into trouble over their conduct with House pages.  Foley is now the newest member of the Congress and Teenagers Caucus and the latest member of Congressional Roadkill. While you're at it, check on the possible problems of Jim Kolbe. Source:  Charles Babington and Jonathan Weisman, "Rep. Foley Quits in Page Scandal," Washington Post, September 30, 2006, A1.  Jonathan Weisman, "Committee Says GOP Left Foley Unchecked," Washington Post, Dec. 9, 2006, A1.