As Foleygate has unfolded this past week, it's been hard to keep up with the many contradictory statements coming from the main players, leaving unanswered that all important question: What did the GOP leadership know about Foley's interest in young boys and when did they know it? And yesterday, when congressional aide Kirk Fordham said that:
...he notified House Speaker Dennis Hastert's office more than two years ago about possible inappropriate contact between former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., and underage congressional pages.
...the denial from Hastert's office was swift and unambiguous. So perhaps Mr. Hastert can explain what he meant during an interview with his hometown newspaper, The Beacon News, when he said:
"What we did is exactly what we had planned to do if there was this type of situation," Hastert said.
There was a plan in place? I'd certainly like to hear why, if Mr. Hastert only learned about Foley's predilections last Friday, did he have a plan in place for "this type of situation"?
Beyond that,
the article contains nothing new, but an explanation for that remark certainly seems to be in order. The article finished with:
I know what I did and I know what I knew. I know what our staff did and I know what we're going to do in the future to make this a better program and safer for kids.
Yes, because as recent events have shown us, it's all about the kids...