The proverbial excrement has really hit the fan on this folks. Here's what's been flying 'round today...

White House downplays Foley scandal as "simply naughty emails"
WH Press Secretary Tony Snow, appearing on CNN this morning, downplayed the Foley scandal. Soledad noted that Snow "tried really hard to minimize the impact and any kind of political fallout." Snow said, "I hate to tell but it's not always pretty up there on Capitol Hill and there have been other scandals as you know that have been more than simply naughty emails."... You can Watch the "Naughty Emails" Video over at thinkprogress.org

FBI has had the Foley emails since July - CREW URGES DOJ I.G. TO PROBE WHY FBI FAILED TO INVESTIGATE Administration Officials Must Explain Lack of Action - Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) wrote to the DoJ Inspector General’s office today to ask for an investigation into why the FBI failed to begin investigating Rep. Mark Foley’s emails to a former House page as soon as the Bureau learned about the emails in July 2006... 10/02/06: CREW letter to DOJ IG hat tip to TPM

E-mails Show Foley Sought to Rendezvous with Page
In addition to explicit sexual language, former Congressman Mark Foley's Internet messages also include repeated efforts to get the underage recipient to rendezvous with him at night. "I would drive a few miles for a hot stud like you," Foley said in one message obtained by ABC News... Much more below the fold (Note: The report's title is misleading, it's really more IM transcript)

Maf54: I miss you lots since san diego.
Teen: ya I cant wait til dc
Maf54: :)
Teen: did you pick a night for dinner
Maf54: not yet…but likely Friday
Teen: ok…ill plan for Friday then
Maf54: that will be fun

I noted in the first FoleyGate Uupdate that the GOPer's would gladly take receipt (buried at the end of the report) of Foley's $2.7 million campaign war-chest. Now MSNBC is reporting "National Republican Congressional Committee plans to keep Foley's money". Turns out that's $550,000 worth of donations... Oh, they do report a couple Repug's are giving back Foley donation's - Sen. G.Felix Allen(Macaca-VA) and Rep. Heather Wilson(R-NM)

Foley tried to cut a deal with ABC's Brian Ross (Scroll halfway down page)
On Friday afternoon, a strategist for Rep. Mark Foley tried to cut a deal with ABC's Brian Ross. The correspondent, who had dozens of instant messages that Foley sent to teenage House pages, had asked to interview the Florida Republican. Foley's former chief of staff said the congressman was quitting and that Ross could have that information exclusively if he agreed not to publish the raw, sexually explicit messages. "I said we're not making any deals," Ross recalls. He says the Internet made the story possible, because on Thursday he posted a story on his ABC Web page, the Blotter, after obtaining one milder e-mail that Foley had sent a 16-year-old page, asking for a picture. Within two hours, former pages had e-mailed Ross and provided the salacious messages... (hat tip to AmericaBlog. Howie Kurtz also a decent round-up of the blogosphere a little farther down the page)

What an alcohol problem has to do with homosexual pedophilia, I'll never know, but Josh Marshall seems to think rehab's the last refuge of the disgraced House Republican... Foley Checks Into Alcohol Rehab
(CBS/AP) Disgraced former Congressman Mark Foley has checked into an alcohol rehabilitation clinic. Meanwhile, the FBI is investigating the Florida Republican's e-mail messages to young male pages. Foley announced through his lawyer that he had been battling alcoholism and had checked into an unidentified rehabilitation facility for treatment over the weekend. "I strongly believe that I am an alcoholic and have accepted the need for immediate treatment for alcoholism and other behavioral problems," Foley said. "I deeply regret and accept full responsibility for the harm I have caused." ...

Former page: We knew about Foley 'for years'
Sexually explicit messages from former Rep. Mark Foley to one former congressional page might be just the tip of the iceberg, the leader of an alumni association for former congressional pages told Scripps Howard News Service on Saturday. While Foley resigned this week after published reports of "friendly" e-mails to one 16-year-old male page and the pending broadcast of more sexually explicit instant messages, similar graphic messages from him were received by at least three other teenage boys who once worked in the page program, said Matthew Loraditch, a Maryland college senior who runs the U.S. House Page Alumni Association's Internet message board. "I've known about them (messages) for several years now," he said Saturday. "It was more like, 'Hey, look at this,' " said Loraditch, 21, who served in the page program in the 2001-02 session. "I don't think the people in question felt that uncomfortable. It was more, 'Ooh, look at that creepy guy.'...

ABC report that forced Foley to cut and run - Exclusive: The Sexually Explicit Internet Messages That Led to Fla. Rep. Foley's Resignation September 29 Florida Rep. Mark Foley's resignation came just hours after ABC News questioned the congressman about a series of sexually explicit instant messages involving congressional pages, high school students who are under 18 years of age. In Congress, Rep. Foley (R-FL) was part of the Republican leadership and the chairman of the House caucus on missing and exploited children. He crusaded for tough laws against those who used the Internet for sexual exploitation of children. "They're sick people; they need mental health counseling," Foley said...

The Foley Instant Messages Transcript CAUTION: If you are easily offended by homosexual pedophilia chat perhaps another webpage would be more appropriate

Rep. Foley's Opponent Calls for an Investigation into Allegations of Inappropriate E-mails with Former Page
The Democratic opponent of Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) is calling for an investigation into allegations that a 16-year-old male who had worked as a congressional page alerted Capitol Hill staffers after an e-mail exchange with Congressman Foley that the young man said "freaked me out." "This is a matter for the appropriate authorities to investigate," said a spokesperson for the campaign of Tim Mahoney...

ABC news report that started it all - Sixteen-Year-Old Who Worked as Capitol Hill Page Concerned About E-mail Exchange with Congressman
A 16-year-old male former congressional page concerned about the appropriateness of an e-mail exchange with a congressman alerted Capitol Hill staffers to the communication. Congressman Mark Foley's office says the e-mails were entirely appropriate and that their release is part of a smear campaign by his opponent. In the series of e-mails, obtained by ABC News, from Rep. Foley (R-FL) to the former page, Foley asks the young man how old he is, what he wants for his birthday and requests a photo of him. The concerned young man alerted congressional staffers to the e-mails. In one e-mail, the former page writes to a staffer, "Maybe it is just me being paranoid, but seriously. This freaked me out."...

Also see the first FoleyGate Update