Another Mark Foley Cover Up Bombshell

Let's put an end to the nonsense that no one knew about Mark Foley's interest in male teen pages.

A spokeswoman for Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) confirmed yesterday that a former page showed the congressman Internet messages that had made the youth feel uncomfortable with the direction Foley (R-Fla.) was taking their e-mail relationship. Last week, when the Foley matter erupted, a Kolbe staff member suggested to the former page that he take the matter to the clerk of the House, Karen Haas, said Kolbe's press secretary, Korenna Cline.

The revelation pushes back by at least five years the date when a member of Congress has acknowledged learning of Foley's behavior with former pages. A timeline issued by House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) suggested that the first lawmakers to know, Rep. John M. Shimkus (R-Ill.), the chairman of the House Page Board, and Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.), became aware of "over-friendly" e-mails only last fall. It also expands the universe of players in the drama beyond members, either in leadership or on the page board.

According to the Post, the email shown to Jim Kolbe was sexually explicit. The question is did Kolbe report on Foley.

I imagine that the more extreme conservative bloggers will jump on Kolbe because he's openly gay. There is no evidence that Kolbe did anything wrong in his personal contacts with pages. What needs to be addressed is what actions he took after he found out about the 2000 email.