Florida's top
police agency said Wednesday that its investigation
into former U.S. representative Mark Foley's lurid Internet
communications with teenage boys has been hindered because
neither Foley nor the House will let investigators
examine his congressional computers.
The Florida
Department of Law Enforcement says it hopes to conclude its
investigation next week. Foley, a Florida Republican,
resigned from Congress on September 29 after being
confronted with the computer messages he sent to male
teenage pages who had worked on Capitol Hill.
''We have
requested to review federally owned computers that Mr. Foley
used during his time as a representative, but the U.S. House
of Representatives...cited case law restrictions that
prohibited them from releasing those computers,'' said
Heather Smith, an FDLE spokeswoman.
Smith said the
House claims the computers are considered congressional
work papers and that only Foley can release them for review.
A federal appeals
court ruled this month that the U.S. Justice Department
violated the Constitution in its 2006 raid of the office of
Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana. The FBI crossed
the line when it viewed every record in the office
without allowing Jefferson to argue that some involved
legislative business, the court ruled.
Florida
investigators were working with the FBI and Foley's
attorney, David Roth, to try to reach an agreement,
Smith said. At the investigation's conclusion, its
findings will be forwarded to prosecutors to determine
if charges are warranted.
Under Florida
law, the age of consent is 18. A crime may have been
committed if Foley is simply found to have seduced or
attempted to seduce a minor using lewd or explicit
language.
Roth declined to
comment Wednesday, citing the continuing investigation.
He has previously maintained his client's innocence and said
Foley never had inappropriate sexual contact with
minors.
A message left
after hours at the Committee on House Administration,
which oversees daily functions of the House, was not
immediately returned. A telephone message left for the
House general counsel was also not immediately
returned.
Smith wouldn't
comment on whether investigators have already reviewed
Foley's personal computers. She also couldn't say how many
federal computers the agency was seeking.
After his
resignation, Foley checked himself into an Arizona facility
for what his attorneys said was treatment for
''alcoholism and other behavioral problems.'' At the
time, his attorney said Foley was gay and an
alcoholic, and had been molested by a priest as a teenage
altar boy in Florida.
Foley has kept a
low profile since coming out of rehab but has been seen
occasionally in the Palm Beach area. (Brian Skoloff, AP)
