Editorial: Reprehensible conduct

Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006 | 7:46 a.m.

N ow that Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., has resigned his House seat and checked into an alcohol rehabilitation center after reports that he sent sexually explicit messages to congressional pages, questions remain as to who else knew of these communications and for how long.

The FBI is investigating whether Foley broke any federal laws in the sexually suggestive e-mail exchanges he had with teenage pages dating back to 2003. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who has asked for a criminal investigation, described instant messages Foley sent to a page in 2003 as "vile and repulsive."

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada demanded a full investigation by the U.S. attorney general that includes finding out whether Republican leaders "knew there was a problem and ignored it to preserve a congressional seat this election year." We agree that the investigation needs to cast a wider net to find out how much was known, by whom and when.

GOP leaders insist there was no attempt to cover up the incidents, even though Hastert's office had investigated an incident from 2005. The family of a boy, who was 16 in 2005 when he worked as a page for Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La., told Alexander that the boy had received inappropriate messages from Foley after returning home. Hastert said those who investigated the e-mails at his request characterized them as "overly friendly," and he did not pursue it further.

Former pages told The New York Times that rumors of Foley's illicit messages had been making the rounds. One former page said he "was disgusted but not surprised when these revelations started circulating." And such a sentiment is among the saddest outcomes of Foley's disgusting - and possibly criminal - behavior.

Congressional page internships have long been coveted by young adults seeking careers in politics. They offer a rare view that should serve as an opportunity for these youngsters to see American democracy at its best. Unfortunately, Foley has offered these aspiring politicians a view of corruption at its worst.