The Foley Timeline
Oct. 12, 2006: Bush and Hastert attend a fundraiser together in Illinois. The president states that he is "proud to be standing with the current speaker of the House, who is going to be the future speaker."
The House ethics committee questions Kirk Fordham--former chief of staff to Foley and Rep. Thomas Reynolds--for five hours. After the closed-door session, Fordham's attorney, Timothy Heaphy, reiterates that Fordham "has been consistent in his accounts of these events when he talked to the FBI and today met with the ethics committee. He's been truthful and cooperative and will continue to be throughout this and other investigations."
Oct. 14, 2006: A preliminary investigation into a Fourth of July Grand Canyon camping trip that Kolbe took with two former pages in 1996 is opened by federal prosecutors. The Arizona Republican's spokeswoman, Korenna Cline, responds to questions by saying that the party also included five staffers, Kolbe's sister, and National Park Service officials and that nothing improper happened. Kolbe is the only openly gay Republican in Congress and is set to retire after 22 years of service in the House.
Oct. 16, 2006: Alexander's chief of staff is called for questioning by the House ethics committee but dismissed 45 minutes later. Royal Alexander, no relation to the congressman, says he will be recalled to testify at a future date.
Kildee says that the House Page Board is reviewing additional allegations of improper conduct toward teenage pages that are unrelated to the Foley matter.
Oct. 20, 2006: The Archdiocese of Miami issues a statement of apology to Foley for the "inexcusable" behavior of Mercierca. The statement reads: "Such behavior is morally reprehensible, canonically criminal and inexcusable." They also barred Mercierca from performing the duties of a priest anywhere in the world. This means he will no longer be allowed to celebrate Mass publicly, wear a priest's garments, or administer the sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church.
Oct. 24, 2006: Speaker Hastert and GOP campaign Chairman Reynolds testify in front of the ethics investigators behind closed doors. Hastert's deputy chief of staff, Mike Stokke, is also questioned regarding his knowledge of the Ee-mail Foley sent to a page from Louisiana in 2005. After his testimony, Hastert asserts to reporters that he told the committee "that they needed to move quickly to get to the bottom of this issue, including who knew about the sexually explicit messages and when they knew about it."
Oct. 25, 2006: Another former altar boy in Miami claims he was sexually abused by Mercierca in the 1970s. The altar boy is identified as John Doe No. 26 in a lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of Miami seeking $10 million in damages.
Ted Van Der Meid, one of Hastert's aides, testifies for more than six hours in front of the ethics panel. He acted as a liaison between Hastert's office and the office of the House Clerk, which was responsible for the page program, and explained to the committee how the office handled the complaint about Foley from the former page from Louisiana.
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