Foley Confrontation Reported
Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) confronted then-Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) about his Internet communications with teenagers as early as 2000, according to a newspaper report.
The Washington Post reported on its website Sunday night that a former page showed Kolbe some Internet messages from Foley that had made the page uncomfortable. Kolbe’s press secretary, Korenna Cline, told the Post that a Kolbe staff member advised the page last week to discuss the matter with the clerk of the House.
Cline denied the messages were sexually explicit, telling the Post only that they had made the former page uncomfortable. She said “corrective action” was taken, although she did not know whether that went beyond Kolbe’s confrontation with Foley.
The disclosure pushes back the date when a member of Congress has acknowledged learning of Foley’s behavior. A timeline issued by House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) suggested that the first lawmakers to know, Rep. John M. Shimkus (R-Ill.), chairman of the House Page Board, and Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.), became aware of “overly friendly” e-mails last fall.
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