Date: October 5, 2006 1:12:09 PM PDT
Subject: "Pervertgate" Leads to Jeb Bush's Doorstep
October 4, 2006 -- GOP desperate to spin themselves out of a major scandal. Facing a rebellion from some of their most conservative stalwart supporters such as the Washington Times and World Net Daily, the GOP is attempting to spin itself out of a major sex scandal that is spreading outside of the House of Representatives and into the Senate, Republican National Committee, Governor's Office in Florida, and White House.
The spin operation is occurring on several fronts. First, the GOP is attempting to separate ex-Florida Republican Rep. Mark Foley from others involved in the scandal by having his lawyer claim 1) Foley is an alcoholic; 2) Foley is gay; and 3) Foley was sexually abused when he was between 13 and 15 by a pedophile clergyman.
Second, Florida Governor Jeb Bush is trying to distance himself and his desired successor, Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist from the Foley matter. Bush is suggesting that he only heard about Foley when the story hit the media. However, WMR has been told by its Florida sources that Bush and Crist both knew of Foley's sexual predatory emails with underage male congressional pages at least a year before Foley's resignation.
Crist is now reported to have maintained a close relationship with the now openly gay Foley, having attended gay parties together in Miami's South Beach.
However, there has been and continues to be a coordinated attempt by the GOP spin machine to steer the media away from Pagegate. Not only did the Miami Herald and St. Petersburg Times sit on the story about Foley's dubious emails to a 16 year old Louisiana former page for several months but WMR has learned that one Capitol Hill reporter for a major newspaper was removed from the story when he "got too close" to exposing the cover-up of the scandal by another senior GOP House member.
October 3, 2006 -- Informed sources in Tallahassee, Florida have told WMR that Governor Jeb Bush was fully aware of ex-Rep. Mark Foley's conduct with underage male pages but sat on the information to protect Foley and another top GOP Florida official, Attorney General Charlie Crist, who is currently running for governor to replace Bush. Today, Jeb Bush said he had not previously known about Foley's behavior with the pages before being informed by House Speaker Dennis Hastert in a letter dated October 1, 2006. Bush said he was "dismayed and shocked to learn about Congressman Foley's unacceptable behavior."
However, according to our Florida sources, the FBI and Justice Department informed the Florida Governor's office, Attorney General Crist, and the Florida AG's Child Protection Cybercrime Unit at least a year ago about Foley's predatory emails and instant messages. WMR was told that Crist's conflict-of-interest in the case stems from Crist's and Foley's involvement in gay sex parties, some of which took place during 2003 in trendy Coconut Grove, Florida.
![]()
![]()
![]()
Foley scandal reverberating in Florida gubernatorial race. Left to right: Crist, Foley, and Jeb Bush.
Informed Florida sources claim that up until now, Crist and Jeb Bush have been able to keep a lid on the once-divorced Crist's life style, touting his conservative Christian credentials, but that the Foley revelations will severely impact the Crist gubernatorial campaign. The links between Foley and Crist are certain to harm Crist with his conservative backers who admire Crist for his anti-gay rights stance. Floridians begin early voting on October 23.
