ABC reports that Fordham, chief of staff for Congressman Tom Reynolds, was fired today.
Among the reasons...
Fordham, a former chief of staff for Congressman Mark Foley, reportedly urged Republican leaders not to raise questionable Foley e-mails with the full Congressional Page Board, made up of two Republicans and a Democrat.
"He begged them not to tell the page board," said one of the Republican sources
This obviously did not occur over the past few days. This is what happened when the original emails first came to light.
People familiar with Fordham's side of the story, however, said Fordham was being used as a scapegoat by Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.
They said Fordham had repeatedly warned Hastert's staff about Foley's "problem" with pages, but little was done.
Hastert is now firmly stuck under the bus.
At Fordham's urging, according to the sources, the matter was not given to the full board, and instead Congressman Foley was privately approached and told to stop all contact with the page he had been e-mailing.
the original cover-up.
Fordham offered ABC News a deal if it would not publish the content of the instant messages.
the second cover-up
Capitol Hill sources say Fordham's firing is being demanded by Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, whose job is on the line because of his handling of the page scandal.
Circular Firing Squad
This would be so much more fun if the heart of this story wasn't the kids.
UPDATE
Thanks to dscowboy we have Fordham's response.
I feel the urge to break this down paragraph by paragraph, or lie by lie, but I don't think you need my help in disecting these ridiculous explanations.
"I have resigned today from Congressman Tom Reynolds' office. It is clear the Democrats are intent on making me a political issue in my boss's race, and I will not let them do so.
I want to clarify a few things: When I sought to help Congressman Foley and his family when his shocking secrets were being revealed, I did so as a friend of my former boss, not as Congressman Reynolds' Chief of Staff. I reached out to the Foley family, as any good friend would, because I was worried about their emotional well-being.
At the same time, I want it to be perfectly clear that I never attempted to prevent any inquiries or investigation of Foley's conduct by House officials or any other authorities.
Like so many, I feel betrayed by Mark Foley's indefensible behavior. Again, I will not allow the Democrats to make me a political issue in my boss's race, and I will fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation."
I can't find anything true in this statement.
It contradicts everything ABC had reported minutes earlier.
You know ABC, that liberal media outlet which aired "The Path to 9/11" and employ John Stossel.