NY-26: Firing Of Reynolds Aide Could Make Things Look Worse For NRCC Chief
A quick point about the apparent firing of Kirk Fordham, the chief of staff to NRCC chief Tom Reynolds. ABC News says that Fordham's allies are defending him by saying that Fordham repeatedly warned Hastert's staff about Mark Foley's "problem" with pages. But paradoxically, this version of events actually makes it look even worse for Fordham's ex-boss -- that is, Reynolds. Here's why: Reynolds' chief of staff, we're told, knew this was a huge problem -- huge enough for him to push Hastert's staff repeatedly. But Reynolds apparently did nothing more than mention it to Hastert. His own chief of staff knew Foley had this "problem," but Reynolds did little to nothing -- one conversation with Hastert, no apparent follow-up. Even worse, if Robert Novak is right, Reynolds even pushed Foley to run again. Bad, bad, bad.
Fordham tried to get ABC's Ross to suppress the emails in exchange for an exclusive with Foley. Ross refused.
Greenbaum's "Unclaimed Territory" and, I believe, Muckracker both had the story yesterday. Greenbaum ranks the villans thus:
1) Reynolds
2) Boehner
3) Hastert
October 4, 2006 3:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why is there no pressure on all Representatives that were aware of Foley's trolling for underage boys to resign. Including staff. Knowing this was happening and not exposing it to law enforcement means they were supressing it to retain power. Even begging Foley to run when they new of his proclivities and giving to and accepting campaign funds from him. If Hastert, when he first knew of it , had performed as "Tip" O'Neil when a Page scandal erupted, he would not be under near the pressure he is now. Class shows.
October 5, 2006 1:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
And Reynolds also accepted $100,000 from Foley while he was deciding whether to refer complaints against Foley for investigation. It's hard to see how Reynolds can survive long.
October 5, 2006 1:59 PM | Reply | Permalink