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Saying he was "deeply sorry," Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) resigned from Congress today, hours after ABC News questioned him about sexually explicit internet messages with current and former congressional pages under the age of 18.

A spokesman for Foley, the chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, said the congressman submitted his resignation in a letter late this afternoon to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.

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http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/09/foley_resigns_o.html

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7/21/2006
FOLEY CHILD SAFETY LEGISLATION PASSES SENATE
WASHINGTON - Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL), Co-chairman of the Missing and Exploited Children Caucus, applauded Senate passage of legislation he authored and introduced overhauling our nation's sex offender registration and notification laws.

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http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/09/foley_to_drop_out.html#comments

[ 29 September 2006: Message edited by: josh ]

[ 29 September 2006: Message edited by: josh ]

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Hours earlier, ABC News had read excerpts of instant messages provided by former male pages who said the congressman, under the AOL Instant Messenger screen name Maf54, made repeated references to sexual organs and acts.

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I think he is 54 years old, so 16 year old pages in his employ should be off limits.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/impeachment/vote/house_vote.html

[ 29 September 2006: Message edited by: jeff house ]

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"It's vile," said Rep. Mark Foley, R-West Palm Beach. "It's more sad than anything else, to see someone with such potential throw it all down the drain because of a sexual addiction."

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Shimkus issued a statement saying he had learned about the e-mails in late 2005, after they were forwarded to the Clerk of the House by Rep. Rodney Alexander, a Louisiana Republican, in whose office the page had worked.

Shimkus said when he questioned Foley about the e-mails, the congressman assured him that he was "simply acting as a mentor" to the former page and that "nothing inappropriate had occurred."

He said Foley explained that he was trying to find out if the teen was OK after a hurricane last year and "wanted a photo to see that the former page was all right."

Foley was advised to have no further contact with the former page and "to be especially mindful of his conduct" with pages in the future, Shimkus said.

"It has become clear to me today, based on information I only have now learned, that Congressman Foley was not honest about his conduct," Shimkus said.

An aide to Rep. Tom Reynolds, a New York Republican who heads the National Republican Campaign Committee, said Reynolds also knew a year ago about the matter. The committee coordinates the election effort for House Republicans.

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New Foley Instant Messages; Had Internet Sex While Awaiting House Vote
October 03, 2006 1:22 PM

Brian Ross and Maddy Sauer Report:

Former Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) interrupted a vote on the floor of the House in 2003 to engage in Internet sex with a high school student who had served as a congressional page, according to new Internet instant messages provided to ABC News by former pages.

....................

Maf54: I miss you
Teen: ya me too
Maf54: we are still voting
Maf54: you miss me too

The exchange continues in which Foley and the teen both appear to describe having sexual orgasms.

Maf54: ok..i better go vote..did you know you would have this effect on me
Teen: lol I guessed
Teen: ya go vote…I don't want to keep you from doing our job
Maf54: can I have a good kiss goodnight
Teen: :-*
Teen:

The House voted that evening on HR 1559, Emergency War Time supplemental appropriations.

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There is also a transcript that has Foley planning an evening of drinking with an underage page.

I don't know if announcing you are an alcoholic and then that you were abused by priests will earn this guy much sympathy. Worth a try I suppose.

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Is there anything worse, in the minds of most Americans than being a sexual predator to underage kids? Why it's right up there with rape and murder. Finding out who in Congress knew about Foley, when did they know it, and why didn't they do anything about it is as important to the nation as finding out who was behind 9/11.

Are our children worth less?

There's only one way to get this information. Send Foley, Hastert, Boehner, and the rest of them to Guantanamo and torture the information out of them.

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"Hunter Thompson friend confirms journalist was on to White House callboy story"

Which awkwardly relates to

this recent news item.

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MOSCOW Oct 7, 2006 (AP)— A journalist who chronicled Russian military abuses against civilians in Chechnya, garnering awards and accolades from around the world, was found shot to death Saturday in her apartment building. Prosecutors believe her killing could be connected to her investigative reporting

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What does Mark Foley's vote on CAFTA have to do with his no longer secret sex life? In late July of 2005, Congressman Foley suddenly reversed his position and cast the key swing vote which led to the passage of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

On the night of the vote, President Bush had called Foley to pressure him to change his anti-CAFTA position. The South Florida Congressman was not only under pressure from the White House, but also from the House Republican Leadership to support the bill. But Foley received huge campaign contributions from the Florida sugar lobby, which bitterly opposed CAFTA and Foley had loyally followed his benefactor's wishes in previous votes. That he would flip his position under pressure raises some serious questions.

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