Fordham's Full Statement to the AP-Intends To Fully Cooperate &Name Names

[kpete]

October 04, 2006
Fordham's full statement to the AP ...

I've learned within the last few hours that unnamed sources have purported that I intervened on behalf of Florida Congressman Mark] Foley to prevent a page board investigation. This is categorically false. At no point ever did I ask anyone to block any inquiries into Foley's actions or behavior. These sources know this allegation is false.

Having stepped down as Mr. Reynolds' chief of staff, I have no reason to state anything other than the facts. I have no congressman and no office to protect. I intend to fully cooperate with any and every investigation of Mr. Foley's conduct. At the same time, I will fully disclose to the FBI and the House Ethics Committee any and all meetings and phone calls I had with senior staffers in the House leadership about any of Foley's inappropriate activities.

The fact is, even prior to the existence of the Foley e-mail exchanges, I had more than one conversation with senior staff at the highest level of the House of Representatives asking them to intervene when I was informed of Mr. Foley's inappropriate behavior. One of these staffers is still employed by a senior House Republican leader. Rather than trying to shift the blame on me, those who are employed by these House leaders should acknowledge what they know about their action or inaction in response to the information they knew about Mr. Foley prior to 2005.

I guess he's decided he won't take the fall for this.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/010186.php

[habitual]

1. this sounds like a serious THREAT to me:

"One of these staffers is still employed by a senior House Republican leader. Rather than trying to shift the blame on me, those who are employed by these House leaders should acknowledge what they know about their action or inaction in response to the information they knew about Mr. Foley prior to 2005."

uh oh, this is gonna get more messy.... he is sending a very clear message, you fucked with me, and i'm not gonna stay quiet.

Here comes the repub attack machine. now he will see what it's like to be on the other side of their wrath....

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. A bunch of wolverines in a gunny sack.

They're tearing into each other.

:rofl:

Isn't schadenfreude fun?

[Imagevision]

3. Reynold's or Hastert will be next? gotta go with Hastert!

[Cha]

9. I'd like 'em both to go

simultaneously.. pickles just had a little campaign smoozer with reynolds.

Show how much she knows.

I couldn't find a link for that but I found this..

Snip~

"According to latest poll, 26th District race is a "dead heat."
Channel 2 News (WGRZ) has conducted a poll that shows a virtual tie between incumbent Rep. Tom Reynolds (R) and his opponent Jack Davis (D)."



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=169x6760

[Blackhatjack]

4. Every Time The GOP Tries To Name A Scapegoat They Won't Cooperate

... this is a comedy of errors in trying to coverup the wrongdoing.

Too many moving parts, too many people who feel they are on their own as far as reelection is concerned, and too many people who know too much.

How many versions of the truth do you think they will come up with?
If ever there was a need to put them all under oath to get to the truth, it is now.

[Tatiana]

5. MAN, is it hitting the fan. I'm inclined to believe this guy.

He seems credible and willing to come forth with the truth. I'd like to hear those names.

[malaise]

26. He will soon be

'suicided'.

[jazzjunkysue]

30. Keep him off small planes, and boats. Take the bus.

[BattyDem]

6. Rut-Roh

:evilgrin:

[jazzjunkysue]

31. Geez, is that photo 20, or 30 years old? Lol! Time to move on....

[BattyDem]

37. The Gore photo?

Move on from what? :shrug:

[Cha]

7. Kick ass and take names!

Wrong move hastert..you lyin' coverup jerk.

[Blackhatjack]

8. Hope This Guy Paid His Insur Premium, He is in for a midnight visit....

.... he is playing hardball with some folks that can make him disappear. THey will surely pay him a visit and explain the error of his ways to him. Expect a retraction tomorrow about who knew what when. If not.... this could go zero to 60 in a Washington heartbeat!

[Blackhatjack]

10. Hastert and these Guys are No Tom Delay and it shows....

.... they just do not have the whole House over a barrel by knowing all of their dirty secrets and having demonstrated in the past that they would ruin them without a second thought if they crossed them.

THis is what you get when you try to lie without synchronizing your story with other actors in advance.

[notadmblnd]

19. yeah, but somebody was sittingon it and I would like to know

who. As far as synchronizing their stories goes, they've told so many lies now that they can no longer keep them straight.

[Spazito]

11. Wow, showing their usual incompetence, the repub leadership

chose the wrong person to attempt to scapegoat. There are, no doubt, more than a few sphincter muscles contracting upon hearing this but I suggest the repubs purchase a bulk load of depends cause they are gonna be crapping their drawers on a regular basis.

[katty]

12. Sounds like a Promise - don't put me on the cross...here's the names

[tanyev]

13. Bam!

My Karl's-going-to-be-indicted bottle of champagne in the fridge may soon see the light of day.

[jazzjunkysue]

32. I'd say you're already there. Enjoy!

[usregimechange]

14. kick

[jackstraw45]

15. The BFEE will ensure this guy's memory suddenly fails...

Threats to him, his family & friends and other "methods" are sure to ensue.

[kath]

16. Prior to 2005? Yeah, way, WAY prior to 2005. See this WP story:

Pages warned in 1995 to steer clear of Foley.
Some Say They Felt Uneasy About Representative's Attention

By James V. Grimaldi, Juliet Eilperin and Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post
Wednesday, October 4, 2006; Page A01

In 1995, male House pages were warned to steer clear of a freshman Republican from Florida, who was already learning the names of the teenagers, dashing off notes, letters and e-mails to them, and asking them to join him for ice cream, according to a former page.

Mark Beck-Heyman, now a graduate student in clinical psychology at George Washington University, and more than a dozen other former House pages said in interviews and via e-mail that Rep. Mark Foley was known to be extraordinarily friendly in a way that made some of them uncomfortable.

Beck-Heyman, who was a Republican page and is now a Democrat, said the attention was "weird," and he provided a handwritten letter that Foley sent him after the page left Washington to return home to California. The note suggested that they get together during the Republican National Convention in San Diego in 1996. ...

"Mark Foley knew that he could get away with this type of behavior with male pages because he was a congressman," said Beck-Heyman, who later worked in the Clinton White House and on Sen. John F. Kerry's presidential campaign. "But many people on Capitol Hill," including many Republican staffers, "have known for over 11 years about what was going on and chose to do nothing," he said. ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...


(this was the OP of a thread in GD: Politics yesterday that got very little attention. Kicking it here)

[chill_wind]

21. Thnx kath. **11 years of it.** And Capitol Hill is *shocked.* nt

[mcg]

23. link doesn't work, try this link...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/03/AR2006100301633.html

[chill_wind]

17. He's already named one: Scott Palmer

Hastert chief of staff.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2527764&page=1

But Fordham — a former chief of staff to Foley, who resigned as chief of staff to another member of the GOP leadership, Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y. — said that as far back as 2003, Hastert chief of staff Scott Palmer had been told that Foley was too friendly with pages. According to Fordham, Palmer spoke to Foley about the matter.

[jazzjunkysue]

33. Next. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain......

Let's play who wants to Pass the Hot Potato!

[kerry-is-my-prez]

18. whoaaa - they tried to scapegoat the wrong guy.....

[Blackhatjack]

20. Funny, None of the Repubs Are Willing to Take The Bullet For Hastert

....just shows you how the party members are viewing this. Everyone is on their own trying to protect themselves from the next big disclosure.

I can imagine there is more... A LOT MORE ... to come out here.

The secrets have been marinating for over 6 years, and with total power they have lost control and done lots of things that might bring the party down if disclosed. So who do they find to take the bullet?

I think the obvious choice is HASTERT.
If another name has to go down it is a toss up between Reynolds and Boehner, since neither of them has been consistent in their stories.

[cosmicdot]

22. so, Kirk Fordham worked for Foley, Mel Martinez and Reynolds

Worked for Foley as Campaign Manager, and, then, his Chief of Staff before becoming Mel Martinez's Senate campaign Finance Director; and, most recently, worked for Rep. Reynolds as Chief of Staff. Appears to have worked for James Inoufe, too.

Another Gay living comfortably working for right-wingers.
<scratching head>

He probably knows A LOT of things hanging in DC political closets (and, perhaps the Rehoboth Beach closets, too - the Capital's summer getaway). He seems to be known in the DC Gay community.


July 2004 articles in The Washington Blade

http://www.washingtonblade.com/2004/7-23/news/national/antigaysen.cfm

http://www.washblade.com/2004/7-9/news/localnews/outed.cfm

So, did Foley "drop" out of the FL Senate race because his father was ill, or was he 'convinced' it would be in his best interest? This is probably why the Republicans haven't said anything. It's great blackmailing material. Probably why he voted for CAFTA helping it to pass the House by 2 votes.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/073005X.shtml

a letter to Kirk

found here
http://www.blogactive.com/2004/07/action-write-to-kirk-fordhamat-mel.html


~snip~ "All of this reminds me of a letter I wrote last year to Mel's then-campaign finance director, Kirk Fordham. Kirk is an out gay man who, for one reason or another, decided to cast his political fortunes with some of the nation's most well known homophobes. His resume reads like a Who's Who in American Hate with such entries as Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) and Martinez. Before the right wing extremists took control of their party, men like Representative Mark Foley (R-FL) and Kirk Fordham claimed they were working from within the system to improve it. Of course, we know those days are over. One need not look any further than Foley’s recent vote to strip gay and lesbian job protections enacted by localities to realize just how kept in his place he is. My cat Abby has more balls than Mark Foley ...

Some of the very same people who supported Mel Martinez's run for the Senate were filled with glee when Mark Foley's run for the same seat was derailed. In the backrooms (hmmmm) of the GOP there was no way it would be tolerated to let a gay man represent Florida in the US Senate. (There must be two Floridas: Jeb Bush's version and then the state that is home to Key West, South Beach and the biggest cast closet of queens on the planet, Walt Disney World." ~snip~


http://www.pamspaulding.com/weblog/2005/04/rights-bare-behind-exposed-on-schiavo.html


yep, bet he knows a lot

I wish him well.

[Plaid Adder]

24. Woohoo! A pissed off GOP insider with nothing to lose!

n/t

The Plaid Adder

[Binka]

25. Senior GOP Douche Bags Think Gay Men Have No Balls

Think again fuckers. I hope Kirk has finally seen the folly of his ways in his support of Re-pukes and takes a couple fat cats down hard! Hastert should start working on his wrestling moves, he's gonna need them in prison.

[skypilot]

27. It was fucking stupid...

...for them to try to make this guy take the fall. Like I posted yesterday NO ONE is going to sit still while people try to paint them as complicit in a scandal of this particular nature. No one wants that taint. What the fuck did they think this guy was going to do? Go to his grave with that stain on his resume?

[SteppingRazor]

28. I don't read this as Fordham betraying the GOP at all...

instead, he is shifting blame from Republican congressmen to their staffs -- note the bit about "even prior to the existence of the Foley e-mail exchanges, I had more than one conversation with senior staff at the highest level of the House of Representatives asking them to intervene when I was informed of Mr. Foley's inappropriate behavior. One of these staffers is still employed by a senior House Republican leader."

This will serve to transfer blame to people in, say, Dennis Hastert's office, rather than Hastert himself. Such employees will then be dismissed , and the Speaker will keep his seat.

[jazzjunkysue]

34. no chance. He's done. Stick a fork in him.

[SteppingRazor]

36. Oh, I'm not saying the ploy will necessarily work...

I'm just saying that that's what this is -- a ploy.

[svbackstreets]

29. Hastert needs to Cut and Run!

Will the Speaker stay the course or cut and run?

[jazzjunkysue]

35. Lol! Stay the course! Please! This is finally fun!