10 Outrageous But Forgotten Political Scandals
3. Mark Foley and the Congressional Pages
In 2006, Mark Foley, a Republican Congressman from Florida, got into hot water over sexually suggestive and soliciting electronic messages to teenage boys who had formerly served as congressional pages. Ironically, Foley had earned most of his political fame by chairing the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, which introduced legislation targeting sexual predators. Two former pages anonymously told reporters they had had sexual relations with Foley. Foley was never charged due to lack of evidence, but the scandal grew to encompass Republic House leadership’s response to the scandal, or lack thereof. The questionable relations occurred between 1995 and 2005, during which several complaints were issued against Foley. Nothing was done then and when investigations into Foley’s behavior began Congress was less than cooperative. The scandal did lead to Foley’s resignation and many believe contributed the Republican Party’s defeat in the 2006 midterm elections.
He was never Prime Minister. He was the President.