UPDATE IV: Josh Marshall has [link|http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/010070.php|the statement] released by Denny Hastert. I think Hastert is in a lot of trouble here. First, John Boehner said he told Hastert about Foley, then Boehner [link|http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2006/09/loss_of_memory.html|changed his story], and Hastert's office flatly denied Hastert knew. But today, Tom Reynolds [link|http://rollcall.com/issues/1_1/breakingnews/15260-1.html|emphatically said] that he also told Hastert about this months ago, directly contradicting Hastert's denials.

With regard to Hastert's story, ask yourselves these question: (1) even if everything happened the way Hastert claims, does that sound more like an attempt to "investigate" Foley's wrongdoing or cover it up?; (2) given that several high-ranking members of Hastert's staff were coordinating the handling of the page's complaint about Foley, is it even remotely possible that Hastert didn't learn of this -- wouldn't complaints about a GOP Congressman's conduct regarding a Congressional page be something they would tell Hastert?; (3) Hastert says he has no reason to doubt Reynolds' claim that he spoke to Hastert about this, but Hastert just doesn't recall that. If Rep. Reynolds told Hastert that a Congressional page and his parents complained about Foley's behavior and insisted that he not contact the page again, isn't that something Hastert would remember?

Then there is [link|http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/010071.php|this statement] from Rep. Dale Kildee, the Democratic member of the House Page Board, who says: "any statement by Mr. Reynolds or anyone else that the House Page Board ever investigated Mr. Foley is completely untrue. I was never informed of the allegations about Mr. Foley's inappropriate communications with a House Page and I was never involved in any inquiry into this matter."

That remains the most incriminating fact in my view -- they purposely excluded the Democratic member of the Board from knowing about these accusations to ensure that the accusations would remain concealed and un-investigated.

Yesterday's developments revealed a rift at the highest echelons of House Republican ranks a month before the Nov. 7 elections, and they threatened to expand the scandal to a full-blown party dilemma.

Only after Reynolds's definitive statement did Hastert concede yesterday that he may have been notified of some of the questionable activities of Foley, 52, who had co-chaired the Congressional Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children. Hastert said, however, that he knew nothing of the sexually explicit instant messages that became public Friday when ABC News and other news outlets reported them. The messages apparently were exchanged with youths other than the 16-year-old.

[...]

Republicans appeared to have kept the matter under wraps. Rep. Dale E. Kildee (Mich.), the only Democrat on the House Page Board, said yesterday: "I was never informed of the allegations about Mr. Foley's inappropriate communications with a House page, and I was never involved in any inquiry into this matter."

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, questioned yesterday why Alexander had gone to the House Republicans' chief political operative, rather than to other party leaders. "That's to protect a member, not to protect a child," Emanuel said.

With his statement, Reynolds, who is locked in a difficult reelection campaign, signaled he was unwilling to take the fall alone amid partisan attacks that were becoming increasingly vituperative. The Democratic National Committee yesterday issued a statement asking "Why Did Tom Reynolds Cover Up Congressman's Sex Crimes?" It continued: "While the shocking [online] exchanges produced an immediate uproar that cost Congressman Foley his job, at least one member of the House Republican leadership had known about the situation for months and did nothing about it: . . . Reynolds."

Republican insiders said Reynolds spoke out because he was angry that Hastert appeared willing to let him take the blame for the party leadership's silence.

A House GOP leadership aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of losing his job, said that Reynolds realizes he has taken a shot at his leader but that it is understandable.

"This is what happens when one member tries to throw another member under a bus," the aide said.

[...]