Boehner Informs Ethics Committee He Told Hastert About Foley Abuse

WASHINGTON — The House majority leader, Rep. John Boehner, testified before the House ethics committee yesterday, indicating afterward that he repeated his statements that he had told the House speaker, Rep. Dennis Hastert, of Rep. Mark Foley’s overly friendly e-mails to a former male page.Mr. Boehner, a Republican of Ohio, would not say what he told the committee behind closed doors but has publicly quoted Mr. Hastert as telling him the complaint “had been taken care of.”“I made myself clear on the record for the last three weeks, and I told the ethics committee today the same thing that I’ve told many of you,” Mr. Boehner said.He appeared after the former clerk of the House testified about his actions regarding Mr. Foley’s inappropriate conduct with male pages.Mr. Hastert has said he doesn’t recall the conversation with Mr. Boehner.Mr. Boehner also issued a written statement, saying, “The despicable conduct from Mark Foley outraged all members who have great respect for this institution. Had anyone known about it, we would have moved to expel him from our ranks immediately.”A former House clerk, Jeff Trandahl, did not answer reporters’ questions as he left the panel’s offices after several hours of testimony. His appearance was central to the case, though, since he shouldered day-to-day responsibility for the page program and had confronted Mr. Foley last fall about inappropriate e-mails.“Jeff Trandahl has cooperated fully with the investigation being conducted by the FBI and the … Committee on Standards. He answered every question asked of him, and stands ready to render additional assistance if needed,” Mr. Trandahl’s attorney, Como Namorato, said in a statement.Mr. Namorato said Mr. Trandahl would not comment while the investigation in ongoing.At issue in the ethics committee investigation is how the office of Mr. Hastert, a Republican of Illinois, dealt with the knowledge that Mr. Foley, a Republican of Florida, was sending inappropriate e-mails to teenage congressional pages. The answers could affect not just Mr. Hastert, but the prospects for control of the House when voters cast ballots in the November 7 midterm elections.Mr. Trandahl was the official who likely would have known about any problems involving the page program, including improper conduct by pages or improper approaches from lawmakers or House employees.

Boehner Informs Ethics Committee He Told Hastert About Foley Abuse

Boehner Informs Ethics Committee He Told Hastert About Foley Abuse

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