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Page Scandal Threatens to Engulf Rep. Kolbe

By Jeralyn, Section Other Politics
Posted on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 05:11:49 PM EST
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Uh-oh. The Feds are investigating Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) for allegations of inappropiate conduct with pages on a camping trip he took ten years ago.

A spokesman for the Justice Department in Washington said that the U.S. attorney in Arizona has started a "preliminary assessment" of the trip, after an unidentified source made allegations about the congressman's behavior on the expedition. "The U.S. attorney is looking into allegations about the congressman taking a trip with the two pages," the spokesman said.

Count me underwhelmed on this one. I'm not buying it.

NBC News interviewed several people who were on the trip, and their accounts vary. One participant, who requested anonymity, said he was uncomfortable with the attention Kolbe paid to one of the former pages. He was "creeped out by it," he said, adding that there was a lot of "fawning, petting and touching" on the teenager's arms, shoulders and back by Kolbe.

However, Gary Cummins, the deputy superintendent of the Grand Canyon National Park at the time -- and who also was on the trip -- said he did not see anything inappropriate take place.

Kolbe is the only openly gay Republican member of Congress. He's too easy a target. It was too long ago. I smell a setup.

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    Page Scandal Threatens to Engulf Rep. Kolbe | 12 comments (12 topical)
    Re: Page Scandal Threatens to Engulf Rep. Kolbe (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 05:23:40 PM EST
    I thought Barney Frank was also an openly gay member of Congress.

    Re: Page Scandal Threatens to Engulf Rep. Kolbe (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 05:39:12 PM EST
    You're right. Kolbe is the only openly gay Republican member of Congress. I made the correction above. Thanks!

    Re: Page Scandal Threatens to Engulf Rep. Kolbe (none / 0) (#3)
    by zAmboni on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 05:39:12 PM EST
    Barney Frank is not a Republican

    Re: Page Scandal Threatens to Engulf Rep. Kolbe (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 06:46:37 PM EST
    The gay witch hunt has begun... the Repubs will start eating their young next...

    Re: Page Scandal Threatens to Engulf Rep. Kolbe (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 07:10:15 PM EST
    Sounds fishy to me, too. It's a purge of gay people in the Republican choir.

    Re: Page Scandal Threatens to Engulf Rep. Kolbe (none / 0) (#6)
    by dutchfox on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 08:33:55 PM EST
    I can see where this is going. NPR did a story today on All Things Considered about outing of gays on the left and the right.

    Re: Page Scandal Threatens to Engulf Rep. Kolbe (none / 0) (#7)
    by Justina on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 08:33:55 PM EST
    Unless someone is alleging that Representative Kolbe murdered one or more of the pages on that camping trip ten years ago, the statute of limitations has run on any criminal offenses that Kolbe might have committed on that trip. Thus this "preliminary FBI investigation" must be a sham, perhaps intended to divert attention from Representative Hastert & Company's failure to take action against Representative Foley's improper advances to the pages. Or, equally possible, the attention to Kolbe is part of the right wing's plan to shift blame for all society's problems to any and all homosexuals.

    Re: Page Scandal Threatens to Engulf Rep. Kolbe (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Oct 14, 2006 at 09:36:58 AM EST
    I smell vengeful political intimidation and crmbling independence at the DOJ.

    Re: Page Scandal Threatens to Engulf Rep. Kolbe (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Oct 14, 2006 at 09:36:58 AM EST
    So if you are saying "I am not buying this one" and it turns out he is as much a horndog as Foley, are you willing to give Hastert et al some understanding and compassion for their initial assesment of an email that simply asks a teenager for a photo???? Creepy but as a stand alone, nothing more than creepy.

    Re: Page Scandal Threatens to Engulf Rep. Kolbe (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Oct 14, 2006 at 09:36:58 AM EST
    Am I hearing this right? Another Republican may be swept away in the coming election and you're upset because his own support for a homophobic, antigay political party may do him in? Screw Kolbe. And a slap upside the head to any Democrat dumb enough to feel sorry for him.

    Re: Page Scandal Threatens to Engulf Rep. Kolbe (none / 0) (#11)
    by rwb on Sat Oct 14, 2006 at 09:37:34 AM EST
    Isn't Kolbe retiring anyway? This may be an attempt to discreidit Kolbe's statement that he warned Republican leadership about Foley's teen fixation several years ago. What Kolbe suggests is that the cover-up or willful blindness regarding Foley has been going on for years. And since he's retiring anyway, he's a perfect target for "swift-paging".

    Re: Page Scandal Threatens to Engulf Rep. Kolbe (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Oct 14, 2006 at 01:13:32 PM EST
    This may be an attempt to discreidit Kolbe's statement that he warned Republican leadership about Foley's teen fixation several years ago.
    So what. You should be rooting for his political demise and replacement by a Democrat. Jesus, no wonder these guys beat us. There are no good Republicans. There are no bad Democrats.

    Page Scandal Threatens to Engulf Rep. Kolbe | 12 comments (12 topical)