Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La) knew about this:
The congressional sponsor of the page, Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La., said he was asked by the youth's parents not to pursue the matter, so he dropped it.
Rep. Thomas Reynolds (R-N.Y.) knew about this:
Alexander said that before deciding to end his involvement, he passed on what he knew to the chairman of the House Republican campaign organization, Rep. Thomas Reynolds, R-N.Y. Reynolds' spokesman, Carl Forti, said the campaign chairman also took no action in deference to the parents' wishes.
Rep. John Shimkus knew about this:
Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., chairman of the Page Board that oversees the congressional work-study program for high schoolers, said he did investigate but Foley falsely assured him he was only mentoring the boy. Pages are high school students who attend classes under congressional supervision and work as messengers.
Rep. John Boehner knew about this:
House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) told The Washington Post last night that he had learned this spring of inappropriate "contact" between Foley and a 16-year-old page.
Denny Hastert knew about this.
Boehner said he then told House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.).
Who got told about this? Rep. Reynolds, head of the NRCC! As Josh Marshall says:
Why would Alexander go to the head of the NRCC? Did anyone tell House leadership? Clearly, no one reported the exchanges to the Department of Justice -- as Foley's own laws would have required, if circumstances had been slightly different. Did anyone take internal disciplinary action? And, the biggest question of all: if others knew and did nothing -- how can they assure parents of current and future pages that nothing like this is going on now?
Josh adds here:
Finally, one detail here isn't getting enough attention. Rep. Alexander (R-LA), the first member of Congress to be alerted to the problem, says he contacted the NRCC. That's the House Republicans' election committee, a political organization entirely separate from the House bureaucracy and the Congress. (The head of the NRCC this cycle is Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-NY).) That is, to put it mildly, not in the disciplinary and administrative chain of command of the House of Representatives.
Who didn't know? Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI), the only Democrat on the House Page Board.
Who else didn't know, until now? The House Ethics Committee.
Finally we have clear evidence of the Family Values and Ethics of the modern Republican Party.
Bastards.
UPDATE: From emailer IMinty: Hastert's web site:
Congressman J. Dennis Hastert brought national experts together with community leaders and parents on Tuesday for a 14th District Community Meeting to share information and insights on protecting children from Online predators.
Held at St. Charles North High School, "Keeping Kids Safe in Cyberspace," included representatives of local police agencies and a panel of national Internet and law enforcement experts highlighting efforts to make the Internet safer for children. A private question-and-answer session followed, where parents addressed specific concerns and situations with police and web providers.
Bastard!
Steve regularly blogs at SteveAudio.blogspot.com.