Foley Follies

As the Foley Follies continues I would like to clear up some misinformation reported in the mainstream media.

• The E-mail that Foley sent to the page were not sexually explicit, but a little weird that a 50+ yo man would be interested in a 16 yo boy. Click here to view copies of the emails.
• E-mails have digital signatures that can be traced back to the sender. AIM chat transcripts are text files that can be altered. The only way that you could validate these IM chat transcripts is to check the timestamp when the file has been created. This is not a 100% accurate, if the file has been saved to another directory, renamed or moved another computer this time stamp will change.
• Hassert heard about the Emails in late 2005 but did not see the Chat Transmissions until last Friday. There is a clear distinction between the content of the emails and the Chat Logs that ABC news is publishing.
• ABC News refuses to release how they are verifying the newly obtained chat transcripts. I called Brian Ross' office and spoke to a woman who would only identify herself as his producer; she said that they verified that the chat transmissions were sent to ABC News by people who could be confirmed as a Congressional Page. She refused to comment if any other steps were taken to confirm that these AIM chat transcripts were authentic.
• I called AOL to see if they had logs of chat activities. I was told by an AOL representative that they do not. I am sure that AOL has logs that will show when a user account was logged in. Some of these chat transcripts have signed out timestamps. I am sure AOL would never release this information to a news agency, it would have to be a court ordered thing.

It's hard for me to find fault with Speaker Hassert for his lack of action. Hassert explains his side of the story:

Hastert told FOX News on Monday that he wish he had done more with the limited information he had, but he would not resign. Hastert said Foley had been confronted in the fall of 2005 about his communications with one male page, and was told to "immediately cease any communication" with him and any other pages.

Hastert said his aides and Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La., heeded the wishes of the parents of the former House page, who wanted such questionable e-mails to stop but didn't want the matter pursued. The e-mail had not been shown to Hastert's staff or Shimkus, the speaker said.

Speaking to Sean Hannity on his radio show late Tuesday, Hastert said that no one knew how graphic the IM exchanges were with the boy, and would not have put up with it if it were known.

"If I would have known ... Foley would have been out of Congress" and an investigation would have begun immediately, Hastert said. But Hastert said the e-mails which he had read did not suggest anything more than his being overly friendly.

Anybody who held onto the information "even for one day put kids in peril," Hastert added, a veiled reference to members of the media who may have had the IM exchanges, but didn't report them sooner.

In my opinion the only thing that proved that Foley did anything inappropriate is that he resigned and checked himself into a rehab clinic. Most times when you act like you are hiding something you usually are.