Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla. speaks at a news conference in Tallahassee, Fla. in this March 16, 2004 file photo. Foley submitted a letter of resignation from Congress on Friday in the wake of questions about e-mails he wrote a former male page, according to a congressional official. (AP Photo/Phil Coale, File)This is what happens when you fool around with minors. This is from The New York Times:
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., resigned from Congress on Friday, effective immediately, in the wake of questions about e-mails he wrote a former male page.
''I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida I have had the privilege to represent,'' he said in a statement issued by his office.
The two-sentence statement did not refer to the e-mails and gave no reason for Foley's decision to abruptly abandon a flourishing career in Congress.
Foley, 52, had been a shoo-in for a new term until the e-mail correspondence surfaced in recent days.
His resignation comes less than six weeks before the elections. It was not clear how Republicans would fill his spot on the November ballot.
Campaign aides had previously acknowledged that the Republican congressman e-mailed the former Capitol page five times, but had said there was nothing inappropriate about the exchange. The page was 16 at the time of the e-mail correspondence.
It was not clear what prompted Foley to abruptly decide to give up a successful career in the House.
Foley, who represents an area around Palm Beach County, e-mailed the page in August 2005. The page had worked for Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La., and Foley asked him how he was doing after Hurricane Katrina and what he wanted for his birthday. The congressman also asked the boy to send a photo of himself, according to excerpts of the e-mails that were originally released by ABC News.
Foley's aides initially blamed Democratic rival Tim Mahoney and Democrats with attempting to smear the congressman before the election.
The e-mails were posted Friday on Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington's Web site after ABC News reported their existence. The group asked the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to investigate the exchange Foley had with the boy, who served as a page for Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La.
It appears that Foley was exchanging some creepy emails with a former 16-year-old page--I mean, Foley asked the boy to send a photo of him. What was Foley going to do with that photo?
Of course, this is a real big problem for the Republican Party. Foley was a shoo-in for re-election. Now with the midterm elections just six weeks away, it will be almost impossible for the Republicans to replace Foley's name on the ballot. If the Republican Party is unable to replace Foley with another Republican Party candidate, then the seat is practically a given for Democratic rival Tim Mahoney.
Finally, here is one more little surprise off ABC News--Foley was the chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children. And he was emailing a 16-year old minor.
Talk about irony here.
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