Florida representative steps down
Foley resigns after reports of e-mails to teen
WASHINGTON -- Six-term Representative Mark Foley, Republican of Florida, resigned yesterday after reports that he had sent sexually explicit e-mails to at least one underage former male page.
Foley, who was considered likely to win reelection this fall, said in a three-sentence letter of resignation, ``I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida I have had the privilege to represent."
The resignation rocked the Capitol as lawmakers were rushing to adjourn for at least six weeks. It overshadowed a Republican ceremony hailing a military commissions bill, and gave Democrats sudden hopes of winning the Palm Beach-based 16th District. Many lawmakers feel Democrats are on the verge of winning control of the House in November, and an unexpected gain could prove crucial.
At the signing ceremony for the commissions bill, a GOP campaign priority, reporters asked Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican, only about Foley. ``He's done the right thing," Hastert replied. ``I've asked John Shimkus [Republican of Illinois], who is head of the Page Board, to look into this issue regarding congressman Foley. We want to make sure that all of our pages are safe and our page system is safe. None of us are happy about it."
ABC News reported yesterday that it had interviewed Foley, 52, about excerpts of instant messages provided by current and former pages under the age of 18. ABC reported that Foley, under the AOL Instant Messenger screen name Maf54, made repeated references to sexual organs and acts. An aide to a top Republican said House leaders had no reason to discount the report.
By 3 p.m. yesterday, Foley's office in the Cannon Building was closed. Hastert confirmed his resignation at 3:45, and the House reading clerk announced the news in a brief statement on the floor at 4:26.
The news emboldened Democrats that they could gain the 15 seats they need to regain the House majority they lost in 1994. The Florida district's Democratic nominee, Tim Mahoney, has been running a credible campaign, raising more than $700,000 and airing TV ads for nearly a month, according to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The committee said it is too late under Florida law to remove Foley's name as the GOP nominee on the Nov. 7 ballot, a circumstance that would improve Mahoney's chances of being elected.
But Carl Forti, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said lawyers hope they can replace Foley's name on the ballot.
At a minimum, he said, party officials can designate an alternate candidate who would be credited with all votes cast for Foley on Nov. 7. ``It's a very Republican seat," Forti said. Republicans ``can move forward" when they have a new candidate.
Florida's GOP chairwoman, Carole Jean Jordan, said in a statement that executives from each county in Foley's district ``will meet to choose a replacement on the ballot."
Possible candidates include state Representative Joe Negron, she said. The decision, she said, is ``very time sensitive" because the replacement ``would have the opportunity to get around the district and campaign in a very short amount of time."
Foley's resignation was startlingly sudden. He was a respected House member heading toward a seventh term when ABC News reported Thursday that he had sent brief, chatty e-mails last year to a youth, then 16, who had been a House page. 