While it may change the dynamic of the scandal, news that one of the young pages who was a recipient of raunchy instant messages from Congressman Foley set up the lawmaker as part of a prank doesn’t really change the facts of the matter.

Drudge:

According to two people close to former congressional page (name withheld), the now famous lurid AOL Instant Message exchanges that led to the resignation of Mark Foley were part of an online prank that by mistake got into the hands of enemy political operatives, the DRUDGE REPORT can reveal.

According to one Oklahoma source who knows the former page very well, (name withheld), a conservative Republican, goaded an unwitting Foley to type embarrassing comments that were then shared with a small group of young Hill politicos. The prank went awry when the saved IM sessions got into the hands of political operatives favorable to Democrats.

The primary source, an ally of (name withheld), adamantly proclaims that the former page is not a homosexual. The prank scenario was confirmed by a second associate of (name withheld). Both are fearful that their political careers will be affected if they are publicly brought into the investigation.

The prank scenario only applies to the (name withheld) IM sessions and does not necessarily apply to any other exchanges between the former congressman and others.

Those facts are simple; Foley sent at least 60 IM’s to former pages, many of them sexually explicit in nature; that the Republican leadership knew of Foley’s interest in male pages for at least a year possibly more and did nothing concrete to address the problem; and that Democrats have orchestrated the timing and pace of the scandal to maximize its political impact.

Only a fool now believes that this scandal exploded when it did as the result of fate. This story from The Hill about the original source of the emails being a longtime Republican raises some interesting questions, not the least of which could the identity of the “longtime Republican” be none other than former Foley Chief of Staff Kirk Fordham?

The source who in July gave news media Rep. Mark Foley’s (R-Fla.) suspect e-mails to a former House page says the documents came to him from a House GOP aide.

That aide has been a registered Republican since becoming eligible to vote, said the source, who showed The Hill public records supporting his claim.

The same source, who acted as an intermediary between the aide-turned-whistleblower and several news outlets, says the person who shared the documents is no longer employed in the House.

But the whistleblower was a paid GOP staffer when the documents were first given to the media.

The source bolstered the claim by sharing un-redacted e-mails in which the former page first alerted his congressional sponsor’s office of Foley’s attentions. The copies of these e-mails, now available to the public, have the names of senders and recipients blotted out.

These revelations mean that Republicans who are calling for probes to discover what Democratic leaders and staff knew about Foley’s improper exchanges with under-age pages will likely be unable to show that the opposition party orchestrated the scandal now roiling the GOP just a month away from the midterm elections.

First, as former Chief of Staff, Fordham would certainly be in a position to know Foley’s logon information and password. Secondly, as the article says, the GOP staffer is no longer working on the Hill. Third, as Chief of Staff for Tom Reynolds, Fordham would have had access to the other emails mentioned in the article – the ones sent by the young page calling Foley’s emails “sick.”

Finally, Fordham has been chummy with one of the prime suspects in this whole orchestrated affair; John Avarosis of Americablog.

Fordham was semi-outed two years ago by The Washington Blade where he told the gay newspaper that he was “out in the community but not in the press.” This was just after he had been named on “The List” by notorious gay activist Michael Rodgers who has made it his life’s work to out gay Republicans, even if it’s against their will. “The List” names GOP lawmakers and staffers who Rodgers claims are gay. Both Foley and Fordham are on The List.

Rogers frequent partner in outing Republicans has been Avarosis. The blogger claims in this article from 2004 that Fordham told him that Foley was indeed gay.

Foley responded to the reports by initiating a telephone press conference among non-gay Florida media and called discussion about his sexual orientation “revolting.” He declined at that time to answer questions about his sexual orientation and subsequently abandoned his bid for the Senate, citing concerns over his father’s health.

Aravosis said he obtained the latest information about the five-term congressman from Foley’s former chief of staff, Kirk Fordham.

Fordham, who is gay, headed up fund-raising efforts for Foley’s aborted Senate campaign and is now the finance director for one of the remaining GOP primary candidates in that race: Mel Martinez, George W. Bush’s former Housing & Urban Development secretary. Martinez has come out in favor of the Federal Marriage Amendment.

Fordham denied ever speaking with Aravosis and said, “I just don’t discuss Congressman Foley’s personal life with reporters, but I’m not sure what their motive is in outing him, other than to draw attention to themselves. Foley has a good track record with gay issues and opposes the FMA.”

Why would Fordham hand over the emails last July to Rodgers/Avarosis who are believed by many – based on past history and boasts made in public more recently – to be hip deep in the campaign to orchestrate this scandal? Perhaps Fordham, a moderate gay Republican, decided to bring down the anti-gay GOP. Or perhaps he genuinely was concerned both for Foley and the pages and wanted to stop the Congressman before he got into real trouble.

Whatever the reason, the FBI will interview Fordham to determine his role in this scandal. There is also word that the FBI is looking very closely at Messrs. Rogers and Avarosis as well and the Soros funded CREW.

Macsmind:

Besides Foley two names that have come into play are Rogers and John Aravosis of America’s Blog. Both are gay activists who on many occasions have threatened not only Foley and Fordham with outing, but others as well. These guys are what we call “Political Thugs”, the only thing they don’t use is guns, but they do nearly as much damage. Others call it by it’s real name – blackmail.

Again, the FBI - and I have this on good source – are aware of both individuals and looking into their involvement as well. As I said before we cops aren’t so stupid as to just look at an IM log or an email and say, “Oh look at that?, case closed!”

You have to prove that they originated on a specific computer, from a specific individual. If they weren’t they you have to find out who did create them. In any case are evidence, and as such if they were, as is apparent at this point, withheld from authorities for five months, one year or twenty five minutes, that’s breaking the law and such individuals could be charged for that.

I wonder how hard the MSM will be working to get leaks on the case from the FBI regarding the Democratic activists who have nursed this scandal baby for so long and now see the fruits of their labors plastered all over the newspapers of the world?