Charges Unlikely for Foley Over Messages *By BRIAN SKOLOFF*
, *AP*
posted: *1 HOUR 14 MINUTES AGO*
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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 19) - After an exhaustive two-year
investigation, former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley isn't expected to face charges
for sending salacious messages to underage pages, two federal law
enforcement officials have told The Associated Press.
Results of a state investigation were to be announced Friday. An FBI
investigation hasn't been closed, but the officials said neither state nor
federal charges were expected. They spoke on condition of anonymity because
they were not authorized to discuss the case.
[image: Former Rep. Mark Foley] AP
Mark Foley quit Congress in 2006 after it was revealed that he sent
suggestive messages to underage pages.
Foley resigned in 2006 after being confronted with the e-mails and instant
messages he sent to pages. He has been under investigation by the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI.
Foley's attorney, David Roth, has acknowledged that Foley sent the messages
to the teens, but says the Florida Republican never had inappropriate
contact with minors. Roth had no comment on the pending announcement.
In the wake of Foley's resignation, Roth announced Foley was gay and had
been molested by a priest as a teenage altar boy. Foley also checked himself
into an Arizona treatment facility for what his attorneys called "alcoholism
and other behavioral problems."
Foley represented parts of Palm Beach County for 12 years. He has kept a low
profile since emerging from rehabilitation late last year but occasionally
has been seen in the Palm Beach area, where he lives with his boyfriend.
Foley was seen as a shoo-in for re-election in 2006. His resignation
received national attention as Democrats were trying to regain power in the
House. Democrat Tim Mahoney won the election after Republicans had just
weeks to select a new candidate to replace Foley, whose name remained on the
ballot.
Then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and other Republican leaders were
criticized for their handling of the Foley matter. Hastert claimed he did
not learn of Foley's explicit messages until the scandal broke. However, a
House ethics committee concluded in December 2006 that Hastert actually had
heard about the messages months earlier, as had other Republicans, but the
panel did not find that anyone broke rules.
Florida authorities were hampered in their investigation because neither
Foley nor the House would let investigators examine his congressional
computers.
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Gerald Herbert, AP
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A federal judge sentenced disgraced lobbyist *Jack Abramoff* to four years
in prison on Sept. 4 after he admitted using luxury golf junkets, expensive
meals, skybox tickets and other gifts to win political action on behalf of
his clients. *Click through for other political scandals.*
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In a letter to the FDLE obtained by The Associated Press, House Deputy
General Counsel Kerry Kircher wrote that because the data "may contain
legislative information that is constitutionally privileged ... and because
Mr. Foley has not waived that privilege ... we cannot simply give you
access."
The state also later reached out to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
seeking help to examine the computers, but were rebuffed again.
The Florida agency had been working with the FBI and Foley's attorneys to
gain access to information on the computers. Foley's attorneys have declined
to comment throughout the investigation.
Foley himself was the only person who could release the computers for
review, but he had refused. It was not immediately clear what information
from the computers investigators had been able to review — if any — before
finishing their investigation.
House officials said they did not find any sexually explicit photos in a
review of some e-mails Foley sent and received through his congressional
account, but the e-mails did not include all of Foley's communications.
Some may have been deleted from the main congressional computer server but
would likely still have been accessible from an examination of the actual
computer hard drives.
*Associated Press Writer Lara Jakes Jordan contributed to this report from
Washington.*
--
"Usually when people are sad, they don't do anything. They just cry over
their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change."
- Malcolm X, Malcolm X Speaks, 1965
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