FoleyGate: What Did "The Rove Gang" Know?

TNR's Ryan Lizza reports that Karl Rove blackmailed Mark Foley early in 2006 to run for re-election, even though Foley wanted to quit Congress and cash in as a lobbyist.

"Mark's a friend of mine," says this source. "He told me, 'I'm thinking about getting out of it and becoming a lobbyist.'"

But when Foley's friend saw the Congressman again this spring, something had changed. To the source's surprise, Foley told him he would indeed be standing for re-election. What happened? Karl Rove intervened.

According to the source, Foley said he was being pressured by "the White House and Rove gang," who insisted that Foley run. If he didn't, Foley was told, it might impact his lobbying career.

"He said, 'The White House made it very clear I have to run,'" explains Foley's friend, adding that Foley told him that the White House promised that if Foley served for two more years it would "enhance his success" as a lobbyist. "I said, 'I thought you wanted out of this?' And he said, 'I do, but they're scared of losing the House and the thought of two years of Congressional hearings, so I have two more years of duty.'"

This raises a very important question - one Ryan Lizza unfortunately doesn't explore. Did the "Rove Gang" know about Mark Foley's "page problem"?

Since the scandal broke, we have learned that "everyone knew" Foley was a closeted gay. Obviously that included the "Rove Gang."

We have also learned that reports about Foley's "page problem" began circulating in senior Republican ranks at least as far back as 2000, when Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) reported a complaint he received to Foley's office. In 2001, pages were warned to "watch out for Congressman Mark Foley" by a Republican staffer. In 2003, Kirk Fordham reported sexual IM exchanges to Denny Hastert's Chief of Staff. In 2005, Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-LA) reported another complaint to Hastert's office, which resulted in urgent meetings among Hastert's top staffers, as well as Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), Chairman of the House Page Board, and the Clerk of the House.

The odds that none of these reports reached the "Rove Gang" are between slim and none.

The odds that Foley's "page problem" was not discussed when the "Rove Gang" were pressuring Foley to run one more time are also between slim and none.

A week ago, the House Ethics Committee promised to interview everyone who had any knowledge of Foley's page problem and issued 44 subpoenas.

At the same time, House Republicans led by Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Jack Kingston (R-GA) demanded the questioning of Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Rahm Emanuel.

Pelosi and Emanuel were not privy to GOP scandal secrets - but the "Rove Gang" is the central hub for all such secrets.

Will the House Ethics Committee subpoena Karl Rove and the rest of the "Rove Gang"???

Call the Page Tip Line at 866-348-0481 and email the four Members of the investigation committee:

• Doc Hastings (R-WA): http://hastings.house.gov/ContactForm.aspx
• Howard Berman (D-CA): http://www.house.gov/berman/contact/
• Judy Biggert (R-IL): http://judybiggert.house.gov/FormCheck.asp
• Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH): http://www.house.gov/tubbsjones/contact2.htm

Also email TNR's Ryan Lizza rlizza@tnr.com and ABC's Brian Ross brian.ross@abc.com

Post any replies below.

Update 1: John Aravosis reports:

Bush suddenly started avoiding Foley in Sept. 2004, after months of using Foley to help Bush's re-election campaign. What did Bush find out?

Why did the White House suddenly decide two years ago that Foley was too hot to handle? And even more interesting, why did Foley reach out to Jeb Bush about something he needed his advice on right about the time Foley's creepy emails became known amonst Republicans on the Hill in late 2005? Did Foley and Jeb Bush talk about the sdandal a year ago? Did the White House know something two years ago?