MENDACITY

Another revealing statement by a GOP leader, this time Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), chairman of the bipartisan House Page Board:

“Congressman Foley told the Clerk and me that he was simply acting as a mentor to this former House Page and that nothing inappropriate had occurred. Nevertheless, we ordered Congressman Foley to cease all contact with this former House Page to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. We also advised him to be especially mindful of his conduct with respect to current and former House Pages, and he assured us he would do so.

Note that last sentence: "We also advised him to be especially mindful of his conduct with respect to current and former House Pages ..." Sounds to me as if Shimkus could smell exactly what was going on, but was willing, for the sake of a Republican majority, to accept the assurances of the accused instead of investigating further.

The Page Board consists of two Members from the Majority party selected by the Speaker, one Member from the Minority party selected by the Minority Leader, the Clerk of the House and the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House. The one-and-only Democratic member of the Board was never informed of any allegations against Foley:

The Democrat on the board, Representative Dale E. Kildee of Michigan, said he had not learned of the episode until Friday, the day Mr. Foley resigned.

“I was never informed of the allegations about Mr. Foley’s inappropriate communications with a House page,” Mr. Kildee said in a statement released Saturday evening. “And I was never involved in any inquiry into this matter.”

Why keep the lone Democrat in the dark about so serious an accusation? The whole episode stinks of "mendacity," as Big Daddy would say.

Tags: John Shimkus, Mark Foley