IS THERE A DeLay / Foley / Marianas Connection???

[Leopolds Ghost]

Background Info:

Tom DeLay and The "Velvet Mafia" of closeted Republicans on Capitol Hill

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2298454&mesg_id=2298454

DeLay/Abramoff ties to Marianas Islands Child Labor/Trafficking Sweatshop Owners

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2177749&mesg_id=2177962

David Corn Claims He has a Copy of "The List" of closeted Hill staffers:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2311954

David Brock alleged in 2004 that closeted Repubs in DeLay's office maintained it

None of this is by Coincidence:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2314623

people in the know are deliberately turning on Republicans

Was Foley Being Kept in office as a Rovian Blackmail Tool, i.e. a "Honey-Pot"?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2313002

(Or as a casting couch for closeted Republicans, as alleged by some Hill staffers)

OK, So, WHAT WAS THE NATURE of the DeLay / Foley Relationship???

Did they take staffers on frequent junkets to a fake casino in the Marianas, a known "sex tourism" hot-spot? A potential blackmail ring owned and operated by a Marianas crime family that employed the services of Abramoff? Was Foley involved? If so, how? Did he merely invite staffers along to these junkets, or otherwise lure them in?

We know DeLay was insistent on Foley remaining in office and citing David Brock, Washington Monthly asked back in 2004 whether that had anything to do with the alleged existence of a "list" of former pages who owed their jobs on Capitol Hill to Foley.

We know DeLay had deep ties to Abramoff, who had unsavory dealings with crime rings in the Marianas islands that operated under nominal US Federal oversight and engaged in child trafficking while US Prosecutors were fired, or looked the other way.

We suspect DeLay and/or Rove may have had reasons for wanting Foley and his casting couch for closeted congressional staffers to remain in office, not just under wraps but to persuade him to run for re-election.

We know DeLay hosted regular junkets to the Marianas islands where they put politicians and Hill staffers up in a casino hotel that Federal prosecutors say is an organized crime front, allegedly frequented by child prostitution, duty-free gambling and money laundering rings on US soil.

Was Foley a big part of these Marianas junkets hosted by Abramoff and DeLay?

Anyone want to do some research on this?

[HereSince1628]

1. How do we spell K Street project?

Legalized slave labor for Republican fun and profits.

How many stinkin pairs of shoes does it take to pay for a skybox anyway?

[Leopolds Ghost]

2. Blackmail -- an organized crime specialty

DeLay has deep ties to these Marianas child trafficking gang thanks to Abramoff.

What I want to know is,

Didn't Foley invite a huge bunch of House staffers --

some of whom were former congressional pages --

on these DeLay hosted junkets?

[Leopolds Ghost]

3. Well? Does anyone know?

How far did the DeLay - Foley connection go?

People are out there pretending the Foley scandal was engineered by Rove. That's nuts because it implies there's no truth to the scandal. Foley was being used to blackmail somebody, perhaps a great many somebodys.

[Leopolds Ghost]

4. Perhaps there is no "there" there.

After all, why would DeLay want to get Foley et al. in trouble by
inviting him to take pages on junkets to the Marianas Islands, or
whatever it was they were doing?

As mentioned, the Marianas is a notorious organized crime
"sex tourism" hotspot involving child labor (benefiting US companies)
and child prostitution rings, all organized by a small network of
crime families in a US territory, according to recent summaries of
the DeLay/Marianas connection.

DeLay helped protect them from prosecution at Abramoff's backing.

DeLay helped encourage Foley not to resign in 2004 despite rumors.

DeLay invited Foley, other congressmen, and numerous House aides/underlings on Marianas junkets to the aforementoned hotel, operated by an organized crime ring in the US Territory of the Marianas Islands, did he not?

Maybe there is no connection here.

[Sapere aude]

5. While you are at it can you find out if Rush was on any of these junkets?

I'd like to catch as much right wing scum in this net as we can. Didn't Rush go to some country that has a lot of child prostitution where he took along some drugs with another person's name on them?

God I'd like the whole fucking rupuke house of cards to come falling down. Karma is a bitch.

[Leopolds Ghost]

7. WE NEED RESEARCH. Can someone here provide data on the junkets??

As I recall, all references to the junkets were to the Marianas.

I don't have the research. All I know about the Marianas junkets is what I've read on DU (see link in the OP).

DU'ers, I am asking YOU:

Does anyone have any information on Foley's involvement in the junkets, whether he helped DeLay organize them, and who (pages? staffers? other Congressmen? Rush?) was invited to attend?

Please help us out, I wouldn't know where to begin.

ALL WE HAVE TO PROVE is FOLEY'S involvement.

He is the key to the whole puzzle.

[Leopolds Ghost]

6. If we understand Foley may have been kept in office to blackmail other

Congressmen and Hill staffers, thereby keeping them in line;

If we understand DeLay's office was behind the blackmail effort, putting pressure mainly on closeted gay staffers who had slept with Foley (as suggested by David Brock and the "list");

If we understand that Foley was a known pedophile running around Congress potentially allowed to run loose in order to attract not just impressionable GOP pages -- in a patronage scam intended to recruit and keep tabs on closeted gay Republican staffers -- but potentially also other borderline pedophiles in Congress, sex parties, all kinds of dirt;

If we're aware that Foley went on DeLay's junkets to the Marianas and invited others with him;

Then that last point, easily proven, is the piece of the puzzle that cracks the whole thing open.

Am I mistaken here?

[Leopolds Ghost]

8. My OP Was not a Rhetorical Question. WHAT Was FOLEY'S Role In The JUNKETS?

Surely someone here on DU knows more about the Marianas connection, it has been the subject of numerous posts usually glossing over Foley's participation since little was known about his activities.

I know nothing about the Marianas junkets except what I've read here on DU.

I know they were hosted by Abramoff and DeLay. That's it.

C'mon people!!! This could be the key to the whole puzzle.

[Leopolds Ghost]

9. Bump

Trying to keep this issue alive.

If DeLay wasn't using Foley as a blackmail trap and/or recruiting tool, I'm a monkeys uncle. David Brock suggested as much in the Washington Monthly in 2004.

[Leopolds Ghost]

10. O'Donnell alludes to staff level patronage/blackmail scam - tip of iceberg

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2323080

O'DONNELL: But Joe, this is very, very important piece of the story. This is going to be part of where we track the information about how it flowed. And it' going to be a very important question on the staff level, not necessarily on the elected level. But people are going—Republican base is going to be shocked

SCARBOROUGH: And I...

O‘DONNELL: ...when they discover within a week where the closetted gay men are positioned in this story who have not yet been revealed.

SCARBOROUGH: And Ana, you were talking about--earlier with me--we were talking about the fact that the Republican Party has some issues on the gay issue.

ANA MARIE COX, WASHINGTON EDITOR, TIME.COM: They do. (The Republicans) have a kind of split personality about it. On the one hand, they have a base who is largely, not to be put too fine point on it, pretty homophobic, and they really count on that. They got out the vote by campaigning against gay marriage in the past few years.

And on the other hand, they have a somewhat more sophisticated, somewhat more worldly, let's say, elected leadership who not only know gay people but know gay Republicans and work with gay Republicans. And Lawrence is right. At the staff level, the House has quite a few gay people. And those are the people—are the "Velvet Mafia" of the House, of the Hill, and those are the people that are counted on to keep the other closeted members of Congress and staff members in line, and that is how they tried to deal with Foley this time around.

SCARBOROUGH: Lawrence O'Donnell, I think the Republican Party is doomed. I think even if they throw Denny Hastert overboard, that does absolutely nothing to save him. What do you say?

O'DONNELL: I agree with you, Joe. This is one of those things where there‘s no good political choice to make. The story is completely out of control.

I just want to stress, today it moved to the staff level. It's going to stay now at the staff level for the next news cycle. This is now a very, very important staff credibility issue. The battle between Kirk Fordham and Scott Palmer, who, as reported in the initial report tonight on your show--Scott Palmer, chief of staff for Denny Hastert, who is denying, very specifically denying that he was ever told that there was a problem with Foley by Fordham. Now, that is a crucial--those two guys are going to become the stars of this story over the next couple of days, and it's going to make the story something different.