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Former top Foley aide testifies

Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., left, introduces President Bush before a campaign fundraiser Thursday in Chicago. Bush said the nation would be
Larry Margasak Associated Press
Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., left, introduces President Bush before a campaign fundraiser Thursday in Chicago. Bush said the nation would be

WASHINGTON – Former Rep. Mark Foley’s one-time aide didn’t waver Thursday from his contention that he told the House speaker’s chief of staff at least three years ago about Foley’s approaches to male pages, the witness’s lawyer said.

Kirk Fordham would not comment after emerging from nearly five hours of closed-door testimony before the House ethics committee, but his lawyer, Timothy Heaphy, said Fordham was “consistent in his accounts.” Fordham has spoken out publicly on his timeline and was questioned by the FBI.

Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill, has said he learned of inappropriate approaches by Foley in late September and his aides found out in the fall of 2005. Hastert’s chief of staff, Scott Palmer, has denied that Fordham contacted him at least three years ago, contradicting Fordham and creating one of the major conflicts the committee must resolve.

Heaphy told reporters Fordham was “forthcoming” in his testimony. “He has been consistent in his accounts of these events when he talked to the FBI and today met with the ethics committee.”

Foley resigned from Congress on Sept. 29 after being confronted with sexually explicit instant messages.

Polls indicate the page scandal is hurting Republican chances of retaining the majority in the House. President Bush appeared with the embattled speaker in Chicago on Thursday, saying the country would be “better off” with Hastert in power.

“I am proud to be standing with the current speaker of the House, who is going to be the future speaker of the House,” Bush said as he opened a speech to raise money for two Illinois congressional candidates.

Republicans received a new indication Thursday that the Foley scandal is hurting their chances of retaining control of the House.

Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., said in Cape Girardeau, Mo., that GOP leaders made a mistake in failing to take quick action to address Foley’s conduct. She said the controversy and the public’s frustration with the war in Iraq could make it difficult for the GOP to retain control.

“Today, I’d say we aren’t going to hold it,” she said in remarks quoted by the Southeast Missourian newspaper in Cape Girardeau.