Their View: Delaying investigation is unacceptable by any means
It's hard to find a member of Congress who hasn't issued a statement of outrage and disgust over former Rep. Mark Foley's despicable communications with teenage pages. But in all the furor in the past two days, there has been little call for the kind of independent investigation that should begin immediately and be concluded before Election Day.
That is especially important for voters of this region, as Rep. Thomas Reynolds, whose district includes part of Monroe County, N.Y., and who is seeking re-election, says he was told about some of Foley's e-mails. Reynolds has defended his actions, saying he passed on the information to House Speaker Rep. Dennis Hastert.
The public needs to know to what extent Republican congressional leadership acted to protect Foley, whose questionable behavior had been talked about on Capitol Hill for years. And Congress must fill the oversight gaps in the page program that let Foley, and others, escape scrutiny.
If Republican leaders were in the dark about Foley's more scandalous messages to pages, as they claim, it could be because there had been no adequate investigation to uncover them.
An independent investigation should determine whether there was wrongdoing, and both parties should work to overhaul the page program. Delay is unacceptable.
- The Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, N.Y.
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