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No criminal charges in Capitol Hill page scandal

In print: Saturday, September 20, 2008

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ADVERTISEMENT Mark Foley gave up his seat in Congress after being confronted with the allegations.

WEST PALM BEACH — Former Rep. Mark Foley won't face state or federal criminal charges for sending allegedly salacious computer messages to underage male pages, in part because authorities couldn't prove the authenticity of the chats, officials said Friday.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement also noted in an investigative report that too much time had passed since the February 2003 messages to bring any charges.

Justice Department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney said Friday that prosecutors advised Foley's attorney in July that the former congressman would not face any federal charges, either.

The Florida Republican resigned from Congress in 2006 after being confronted with illicit e-mails and instant messages he was purported to have sent to Capitol Hill pages, who are high school students that run errands for lawmakers.

Florida law enforcement had been investigating alleged electronic communication between Foley and an underage page, Jordan Edmund.

Foley's attorney, David Roth, read a statement in which the former congressman apologized for "the completely inappropriate e-mails and instant messages I sent."

"I am of course relieved," Foley's statement said. "I, however, recognize that while my behavior was not illegal, it does not by any means make it proper or appropriate."

Florida authorities noted the case took a long time to close, in part because Foley refused to allow investigators to examine his congressional computer hard drives. The computers and their contents are protected as privileged material, and only Foley could release them.

Edmund had told investigators that he was 17 and a high school senior when he began communicating with Foley after completing the House page program.

He told investigators that he chatted with Foley over the Internet up to four times a week and that the content of the messages grew "more sexual in nature."

However, he told investigators he never engaged in sexual activity with Foley, despite once being offered oral sex from the congressman during a page reunion.

State investigators said they interviewed 17 House pages and none reported any inappropriate communications with Foley.

Foley represented parts of Palm Beach County for 12 years in Congress, building a national reputation as an advocate for tougher laws against child sexual predators.