Jump to content

Mark Foley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Piotr Blass (talk | contribs) at 02:16, 30 September 2006 (jeff fisher,charlie crist,sembler). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Mark Foley, with John Ashcroft in the background.

Mark Adam Foley (born September 8 1954) is an American politician, and is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 until 2006, representing the 16th District of Florida. A former chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, he resigned on September 29, 2006 after it became public that he had sent sexually explicit emails and instant messages to minors who were serving as Congressional pages, including male pages. [1]

Early years and initial career

Foley was born in Newton, Massachusetts. When he was three years old, his family moved to Lake Worth, Florida. Foley is a 1973 graduate of Lake Worth High School. Foley continued his education at Palm Beach Junior College, and was a business owner in downtown Lake Worth.

At the age of 23, Foley was appointed to the Lake Worth City Council. He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1990 and to the Florida Senate in 1992. He has served as chairman of Gulfstream Goodwill Industries and Palm Beach Regional Hospital. Foley also is a past president of the Central County Council of Realtors and the Lake Worth Chamber of Commerce.

Congressional career

Early House career

Foley was elected to the U.S. House in 1994 with 58 percent of the vote, defeating Democrat John Comerford. He was re-elected in 1996 with 64 percent of the vote against Democrat Jim Stuber, and again in 1998 this time without opposition. He was re-elected in 2000 with 60 percent of the vote against Democrat Jean Elliott and Reform Party candidate John McGuire. Constitution Party candidate Jack McLain was his only opponent in 2002. He was re-elected in 2002 with 79 percent of the vote and in 2004 with 68 percent of the vote.

Foley was a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. He is a Republican, a member of Christine Todd Whitman's It's My Party Too and The Republican Main Street Partnership.

In late 2000, Foley played a large role in aiding George W. Bush during the Presidential election recount controversy in Florida.

Senate campaigns

In 2003, Foley was widely considered the Republican frontrunner for Bob Graham's Senate seat, especially after Graham had announced his retirement. However, longstanding rumors surfaced that Foley was either gay or bisexual and was in a longterm relationship with another man. The story was initially published only in the gay press;[2] [3] then the New Times broke the story in the mainstream press. Other papers, including the New York Press,[4] then addressed the topic. Foley held a press conference to denounce the "revolting" rumors and stated that his sexual orientation was unimportant. A few weeks later, he withdrew his candidacy, saying his father's battle with cancer had caused him to reassess his perspective on life (the seat was later won by Republican Mel Martinez). Foley had raised $3 million in campaign contributions before withdrawing.[5]

In 2006, as Republican division over the candidacy of Katherine Harris grew, Foley's name was mentioned as a contender for the race against Democratic Senator Bill Nelson, but he did not file by the May deadline.

Actions in Congress

Pornography and sexual offenses

Foley was one of the foremost critics in the House of child pornography, and ironically, he resigned on September 29, 2006 when it was revealed that he sent sexually-themed messages to underaged Congressional pages. Foley was chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children. He introduced a bill in 2002 to outlaw websites featuring sexually suggestive images of preteen children, saying that "these websites are nothing more than a fix for pedophiles."[6] In June 2003 he wrote letters to the governor and attorney general of Florida, asking them to review the legality of a program for teenagers of a Lake Como nudist resort in Land O'Lakes, Florida.[7]

Foley's legislation to change federal sex offender laws was supported by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, America's Most Wanted host John Walsh, and a number of victims' rights groups. President George W. Bush signed it into law as part of the Adam Walsh Child Safety and Protection Act of 2006.

Foley also succeeded in getting a law passed that allows volunteer youth-serving organizations like the Boy Scouts of America and Boys and Girls Clubs to have access to FBI fingerprint background checks to help protect children.

Social issues

Foley's stances on many social issues, such as abortion, differ from his party's leadership. Although a Roman Catholic, Foley is pro-choice (a member of The Republican Majority For Choice) but has advocated alternatives such as adoption and abstinence.

Trade and environment

In 2001, he was one of only 23 Republicans who voted against giving President Bush a stronger hand in negotiating international trade agreements. He did offer last-minute support to the Central American Free Trade Agreement, saying that the measure, which passed the House 217-215, would not harm U.S. sugar interests in the long run.

Other

Foley helped secure the first-ever financial commitment from Congress for the preservation of Florida's Everglades.[citation needed]

Foley helped pass legislation that expedites the deportation of non-violent criminal aliens serving their sentences in federal prisons[citation needed]; and helped eliminate federal prohibitions on notifying a campus community when a student commits a violent crime.[citation needed]

Foley worked to pass legislation to help surviving heirs of Holocaust victims who have been unable to collect on life insurance policies owed to them.[3][4]

Congressional page controversy and resignation

On September 28, 2006, ABC News reported that Foley had sent email messages, from his personal AOL account, to a then-16-year-old former Congressional page, asking the page to send a photo of himself to Foley, among other things.[8] Foley's office confirmed Foley sent the messages but responds that it has a practice of asking for photos of individuals who may ask for recommendations and that the page had requested a recommendation.

Foley's emails stated, in part

"did you have fun at your conference...what do you want for your birthday coming up....what stuff do you like to do"[9] and "how are you weathering the hurricane....are you safe…send me an email pic of you as well...."

The page forwarded the messages to other Congressional staffers with the commentaries: "Maybe it is just me being paranoid, but seriously. This freaked me out," and "sick sick sick sick sick."[8] On September 29, 2006, ABC News reported that it had seen excerpts of sexually explicit instant messages Foley had sent to Congressional pages.[10] The instant messages made repeated references to sexual organs and acts. In one, Foley wrote to a page, "Do I make you a little horny?" [11]

Foley submitted a letter of resignation from Congress on September 29, 2006 in the wake of news reports about the communications.[12] Foley issued a statement, saying "I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida I have had the privilege to represent."

On September 29, 2006, ABC News reported that it had seen excerpts of sexually explicit instant messages Foley had sent to Congressional pages.[13] The instant messages made repeated references to sexual organs and acts.

According to several former congressional pages, the congressman used the Internet to engage in sexually explicit exchanges.

They say he used the screen name Maf54 on these messages provided to ABC News.

This exchange included:

Maf54: do you really do it face down
Teen: ya
Maf54: kneeling
Teen: well i dont use my hand...i use the bed itself
Maf54: where do you unload it
Teen: towel
Maf54: really
Maf54: completely naked?
Teen: well ya
Maf54: very nice
Teen: lol
Maf54: cute butt bouncing in the air

Federal authorities say such messages could result in Foley's prosecution, under some of the same laws he helped to enact.[14]

Foley submitted a letter of resignation from Congress on September 29, 2006 in the wake of news reports about the communications. [15] Foley said in a statement, "I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida I have had the privilege to represent." [16]

November 2006 election

Florida Republicans plan to meet as soon as October 2 to name a replacement to run as a Republican for Foley's district.[17] The replacement will face Democrat Tim Mahoney in the November general election, though according to Florida election law, Foley's name cannot be substituted by the as-yet-unnamed candidate. [18] Any votes cast for Foley in the November election will be counted towards the party's replacement candidate. [19]

It is to be determined how many Florida voters will see Foley's name on the ballot and have to make a decision between not voting on the Republician line while actually voting for someone who had to resign due to an issue such as this.

Democrat Mahoney has called for a full investigation of Foley's actions.[20]

Jeff Fisher anticipated this scandal in his 2004 campaign against Mark Foley for US Congress. Jeff Fisher won the support of more than 100 000 voters in the district in 2004 and has since largely disappeared from the political scene in South Florida Unfortunately Clay Shaw supported Mark Foley through thick and thin.Both are closely allied with the Bush brothers and Charlie Crist.The Sembler money and influence in this circle has been amply documented by Wes Fager in his writings in Straight Inc.Numerous voices in Florida ask for a full disclosure of issues of sexual orientation as well as the Sembler links. Unfortunately the main stream media seem quite slow in reporting on these issues in Florida.

References

  1. ^ "Florida Republican Foley Resigns From U.S. House Seat". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2006-09-29.
  2. ^ "Being gay in the GOP: Congressman Mark Foley: A model of political hypocrisy and personal cowardice", Boston Phoenix, May 30, 2003
  3. ^ Mark Meenan, "Is He Gay Or Not? U.S. Rep. Mark Foley calls press to say he won’t talk about his sexual orientation", Gay City News, May 30, 2003
  4. ^ Michelangelo Signorile, Liberace Candidate: Mark Foley’s glass closet", New York Press, May 28, 2003
  5. ^ 2004 "Outed Hill staffer condemns campaign: Mikulski and Foley become newest congressional targets as FMA vote nears", Washington Blade (District of Columbia), July 9, 2004
  6. ^ Declan McCullagh, "Too Broad a Ban on Child Models?", Wired News, May 9, 2002
  7. ^ James Thorner, "Nude summer youth camps alarm lawmaker", St. Petersbug Times (Florida), June 19, 2003
  8. ^ a b "Sixteen-Year-Old Who Worked as Capitol Hill Page Concerned About E-mail Exchange with Congressman". ABC News. September 28, 2006. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |retrieved= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ http://abcnews.go.com/images/US/Foley_email3.pdf
  10. ^ Brian Ross and Maddy Sauer, Foley To Resign Over Sexually Explicit Messages to Minors, ABC News The Blotter, September 29, 2006[1]
  11. ^ http://www.forbes.com/infoimaging/feeds/ap/2006/09/29/ap3056245.html
  12. ^ Ferrechio, Susan (September 29, 2006). "Republican Rep. Foley Resigns, Drops Re-election Bid in Fla. 16". St Petersburg Times. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |retrieved= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Brian Ross and Maddy Sauer, Foley To Resign Over Sexually Explicit Messages to Minors, ABC News The Blotter, September 29, 2006[2]
  14. ^ http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/09/exclusive_the_s.html
  15. ^ " Congressman resigns after e-mails questioned"
  16. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-09-29-congressman-resigns_x.htm
  17. ^ David Espo and Jim Kuhnhenn, "Foley Resigns From Congress Over E-Mails", ABC News, September 29, 2006
  18. ^ Florida election code Section 100.111(4)(a)
  19. ^ " Florida Republican Foley resigns from U.S. House Seat", Bloomberg, September 29, 2006
  20. ^ Smith, Adam (September 28, 2006). "Candidate wants investigation in e-mail exchange". St Petersburg Times. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |retrieved= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mark_Foley&oldid=78618324"