Congressman quits over sexual harrassment

[Balta1701]

The Associated Press is reporting that the DOJ/House Page board are now looking into a trip taken in the mid 90's by another member of Congress, Rep. Jim Kolbe.

 

Overseers of the House page program this week discussed a camping trip that Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz. took with two former pages and others in 1996 — an outing now under review by the Justice Department, a congressional source said Tuesday.

 

The House Page Board, consisting of three lawmakers and two senior House officials, did not have any new information beyond recent news stories on the Kolbe trip. The source is familiar with the discussions but is not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

 

The conference call Monday involving the Kolbe trip shows that the people responsible for the teenage page program are casting a wider net following revelations that ex-Rep. Mark Foley was sending overly friendly e-mails and sexually explicit instant messages to former male pages.

 

The meeting was first revealed Monday by the lone Democrat on the Page Board, Rep. Dale Kildee of Michigan, who declined to say which lawmakers were discussed.

Maybe also worth noting, Rep. Kolbe is the same person who says he first saw some of Foley's electronic communications in 2000.

[Rex Kickass]

I think you can fault Kolbe for not doing enough to make sure that the Foley thing was taken care of six years ago.

 

However, this little investigation is based on an allegation that he gave a former page a hug on a family/staff camping trip and then nothing else happened.

[Rex Kickass]

A State Senator from South Dakota has been accused of the same thing.

 

http://www.keloland.com/News/NewsDetail6371.cfm?Id=0,51805

 

He's a Democrat, btw. And if it's true, I hope he's throttled out of office.

[kapkomet]

Very sad.

[Texsox]

A couple thoughts,

 

#1. This is a very small minority of elected officials

 

#2. In the context of #1, are these guys sick before taking office, or does the office and power somehow trigger this?

[NorthSideSox72]

A couple thoughts,

 

#1. This is a very small minority of elected officials

 

#2. In the context of #1, are these guys sick before taking office, or does the office and power somehow trigger this?

In this case, the page is 18, though he is still in high school. So its slimy, but maybe not pedophilia.

 

As to #2, a similar discussion is often had about cops. Are bad cops bad people to being with, or did the job push them over the edge? To me the answer, in both cases, is that it is some of each. Despite how much we ridicule them, being in Congress is not at all an easy job. So, if people already have problematic tendencies or habits, the job may push them over.

 

But in the specific case of people who are pedophiles (and yes, I still think that is the correct word in Foley's case), I cannot imagine the job did this to them. Made the problem worse maybe, but I fail to see how any job could create this type of problem.

[Rex Kickass]

Rumor is another Congressman gets accused tomorrow in the pages of the Washington Post.

[Balta1701]

Rumor is another Congressman gets accused tomorrow in the pages of the Washington Post.

Hi-O! (/rimshot)

Edited October 19, 2006 by Balta1701

[kapkomet]

Rumor is another Congressman gets accused tomorrow in the pages of the Washington Post.

And ummm... let's see...

[Balta1701]

Take this one with just about as big of a salt grain as you should have taken with Drudge's "Kerry cheating on his wife" story back in 2004 until you get a better source, but the liberal/gossip blog Wonkette has named Illinois Republican Congressman Jerry Weller (11th district) as the person who is the focus of this set of rumors about a Congressman and female pages.

[Mplssoxfan]

Take this one with just about as big of a salt grain as you should have taken with Drudge's "Kerry cheating on his wife" story back in 2004 until you get a better source, but the liberal/gossip blog Wonkette has named Illinois Republican Congressman Jerry Weller (11th district) as the person who is the focus of this set of rumors about a Congressman and female pages.

 

Hey! Wonkette is an extremely reliable source!

[Balta1701]

Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.), hit with rumors that he was somehow involved in the page scandal, issued a statement Thursday saying he was not a factor -- but a former page or intern he sponsored was subject to some questionable behavior by another lawmaker.

 

With rumors racing across a number of left-wing blogs naming Weller, his campaign manager Steve Shearer said there were no facts to back up any story.

 

This has "nothing to do with Jerry Weller doing anything," Shearer said.

 

With the blogosphere pushing unsubstantiated rumor, Shearer said "it is a new way of political assassination."

 

Shearer released the statement after the blog entries were multiplying and he was flooded with calls from reporters.

 

"There have been all kinds of wild rumors circulating over the past week," Shearer said.

 

"We believe we have now gotten to the bottom of this and other reporters who have researched this agree -- that what we have been told is that a page or intern who was sponsored by Cong. Weller was inappropriately invited to a social event with another congressman."

Sun-Times.

[Balta1701]

T'Other way round?

 

Rep. Jerry Weller, R-Morris, through his election attorney, moved Thursday to inform the House that a former page or intern may have been the subject of inappropriate attention from another lawmaker, Weller's campaign manager said Thursday.

 

Steven Shearer said the congressman was not prepared to reveal the identity of the youth, the timing, nor the identity of the lawmaker, but felt confident that a former page or intern was "inappropriately invited to a social function by another congressman."

 

Shearer said Weller directed his campaign attorney to inform the House Page Board and the House Ethics Committee of the incident.