Tuesday, October 3, 2006 To: Friends & Supporters From: Gary Bauer Cover-Up? Over the last 24 hours, major media outlets have been cranking out headlines and stories about former Congressman Mark Foley at a furious pace, and we’re doing our best to keep up with them. It’s clear that the liberal media smell blood and that this story has become a feeding frenzy for radical activists. Consider these headlines: From the Associated Press, “GOP Leaders Knew of Foley E-Mail in ’05.” From the New York Times, “Pressure Grows for Republicans Over Foley Scandal.” From the Los Angeles Times, “Foley Saga No Shock To Some.” From the front page of today’s Washington Post, “After Foley, New Fears For the GOP.” But the Post buried this headline on page A 11, “FBI Knew in July About Foley E-Mails to Teen.” Yes, that’s right – the FBI knew in July. How did they find out? Eight paragraphs into this story we are told, “Officials from the liberal-leaning group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) said yesterday that they received copies of the Louisiana e-mails on July 21 and turned them over to the FBI the same day. …An FBI official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said the field office concluded that the e-mails ‘did not rise to the level of criminal activity.’” CREW identifies itself as a “progressive” equivalent of groups like Judicial Watch, and its executive director has served as a legal counsel for liberal politicians such as Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE). But this news begs the question: “Who gave the e-mails to CREW?” Not surprisingly, CREW is accusing the House leadership of a cover-up, even though the FBI determined that the e-mails “did not rise to the level of criminal activity.” The FBI was not alone in that assessment. Editors of the St. Petersburg Times also admit that they had viewed these e-mails last year and determined they were nothing more than “friendly chit-chat.” The Miami Herald, not exactly a bastion of conservative opinion, wrote, “Some newspapers -- including this one – knew of this message as well and did not find it worthy of a news story because it seemed innocuous. Thus, Democratic charges of a ‘cover up’ of Mr. Foley’s activities by the Republican House leadership seem not only premature but crassly political.” Please, folks, understand this point: The original emails to the Louisiana page were odd. But there is no evidence that the obscene instant messages were publicly known by Hastert or anyone else until last Friday. Once those instant messages were leaked to the media, House Republicans demanded and received Foley’s resignation. House leaders are no more guilty of a cover up than the FBI, St. Petersburg Times or the Miami Herald. But the media appear to be intentionally blurring the distinction between the e-mails and the instant messages. Nevertheless, someone has been “shopping” these e-mails to the Florida newspapers and leftwing groups here in Washington for months, and they waited until five weeks before the election to release the obscene instant messages, which date back to 2003. If anyone is guilty of protecting Mark Foley it is the person or persons clearly on the Left who have been peddling the e-mails and who leaked these instant messages right before an election with the obvious intention of damaging House Republicans. More Hypocrisy While we should be concerned about how this incident was handled, I’m having a hard time with the faux outrage of big media and many liberals. Most of these folks have attacked the Boy Scouts for years over its policy against homosexual scout masters, and they regularly accuse conservatives of intolerance whenever we defend traditional marriage or resist attempts by the radical homosexual rights movement to indoctrinate our school children. But liberals are suddenly acting like Mark Foley’s e-mails are the worst scandal ever on Capitol Hill, and this “outrage” is coming from the party that is “in bed” with homosexual activists and Hollywood! Liberal candidates are running ads touting “values,” while leftwing websites are crowing over the “outing” of Mark Foley and insinuating that there is “another case coming down the pike.” Don’t be fooled, my friends. The notion that those advocating for same-sex “marriage” somehow have more credibility on values issues is ludicrous. And we’ve seen this before. The same folks now gloating over Foley’s resignation forced a Virginia Republican to resign in 2004. The fact that Mark Foley routinely voted against values issues was irrelevant to the Left. His demise was useful in casting a pall over the House leadership and sowing seeds of doubt in the minds of values voters. Their agenda is obvious – to depress turnout on Election Day. Whether they succeed or not is up to you. * * * * * If you are interested in receiving Mr. Bauer's daily report by e-mail, please call 703-671-9700, visit SIGN UP FOR GARY BAUER'S "END OF DAY REPORT" or simply send a reply e-mail titled "Subscribe" and include your name and address. To be removed from Gary Bauer's End of Day distribution list, please reply to this message with "Remove" in the subject line. Please feel free to share this report with family and friends. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, donations to American Values are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. 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