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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bentway who wrote (206516)	10/19/2006 12:46:39 PM
From: epicure	Respond to of 281500

Tense elections bring out the worst in people on both sides. How lovely we get to see so much of it on SI. Lucky us.

To: bentway who wrote (206516)	10/19/2006 1:56:41 PM
From: geode00	Respond to of 281500

Ex-House Clerk Set to Testify on Foley Former House clerk set to testify in investigation of Foley's e-mails, messages WASHINGTON, Oct. 19, 2006 By LARRY MARGASAK Associated Press Writer (AP) (AP) A former House clerk said to have confronted then-Rep. Mark Foley about his come-ons to male congressional pages sat down Thursday for questioning by the ethics committee. Former House Clerk Jeff Trandahl did not answer reporters' questions when he entered the panel's offices in Capitol basement around 9 a.m. EDT. He seemed certain, however, to be asked what he knew about how the Hastert handled the problem. Trandahl's lawyer said his client might issue a statement later in the day. At issue in the ethics committee investigation is how Hastert's office dealt with the knowledge that the Florida Republican was sending inappropriate e-mails to teenage congressional pages. The answers could affect not just Hastert but the prospects for control of the House when voters cast ballots in the Nov. 7 midterm elections. In an internal report released by Hastert, his aides contend that they first learned about Foley's conduct in the fall of 2005, when they became aware of overly friendly e-mails to a former Louisiana page. However, Foley's former top aide said he told Hastert's chief of staff about the Florida Republican's conduct in 2002 or 2003. Trandahl, who usually greeted acquaintances in the Capitol with a smile and a friendly conversation, has made no public statements since the scandal broke and, for a time, wouldn't even reveal the name of his lawyer, Cono Namorato. With polls showing the Foley scandal could hurt Republicans in the Nov. 7 midterm elections, Trandahl's testimony could be damaging if he contradicts Hastert's account and says Republican leaders lacked the urgency required to protect the teenage pages. Hastert has fended off calls for his resignation and said he believes he and his staff acted properly. Trandahl was the official who likely would have known about any problems involving the page program, including improper conduct by pages or improper approaches from lawmakers or House employees. He supervised the program and was on its controlling group, the House Page Board, which consists of three lawmakers, the House clerk and the sergeant at arms. Trandahl, who works for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, was known to be protective of pages. They are high school students who run errands and learn how Congress works. They live in a dormitory and attend a congressional school. Foley resigned his seat Sept. 29 after he was confronted with sexually explicit instant messages he sent former male pages, messages far more damaging than those sent the Louisiana page. In that case, Foley asked what the 16-year-old wanted for his birthday and requested a picture. Rep. Deborah Pryce, who chairs the House Republican Caucus, asked the House clerk to investigate what she described as rumors that Foley, while intoxicated, had once tried to enter the page residence hall but was stopped by Capitol police. Trandahl is known to have confronted Foley at least once. The chairman of the Page Board, Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., has publicly said he and Trandahl spoke with Foley in the fall of 2005 after learning _ from Hastert's aides _ about the e-mails to the former Louisiana page. The boy's parents wanted the contact ended and Foley promised to comply, Shimkus said. Hastert has said he didn't learn about Foley in 2005 and didn't know about the problems until the scandal broke late last month. However, two other Republican leaders said that they told Hastert, R-Ill., months earlier. One of the officials, Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, was set to testify Thursday. He told a Cincinnati radio station earlier this month that when he approached Hastert about Foley last spring, the speaker told him "it had been taken care of." Rep. Tom Reynolds of New York, the House GOP campaign chairman, has not yet testified. The speaker's information conflicts with statements by Kirk Fordham, Foley's former chief of staff, who said he told Hastert chief of staff Scott Palmer about Foley in 2002 or 2003. Palmer disputed Fordham's version of events. Hastert has told reporters if he learns that anyone on his staff covered up information, they will be fired. Trandahl also knew about a Foley incident with a page as early as 2001, according to Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz. Kolbe said a former page he had sponsored contacted his office to complain of e-mails from Foley and that he "passed along" the complaint to the offices of both Foley and Trandahl. Hastert and his aides, including Palmer, have not yet given their accounts to the ethics committee.