Mejias Calls on Hastert to Resign

DAVE MEJIAS CALLS ON HOUSE SPEAKER HASTERT TO RESIGN

Hastert Knew Mark Foley Was A Sexual Predator And Failed To Act

FARMINGDALE – Nassau County Legislator Dave Mejias , Democratic candidate for Congress in New York ’s 3rd Congressional District, today called on House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois) to resign as Speaker of the House of Representatives in light of news reports that Hastert failed to act when informed of the inappropriate actions of former Congressman Mark Foley (R-Florida).

“Speaker Hastert was told last year that Mark Foley was preying on underage Congressional staff and did nothing,” said Mejias. “Hastert should have informed the police immediately and cooperated in a full investigation of Foley’s criminal acts. Instead, the Speaker did nothing, and Foley was allowed to continue to use his position in Congress to commit crimes against these children. Hastert has dishonored the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives, abandoned his oath of office and quite possibly broken the law. He must step down immediately.”

Mark Foley resigned last week as a Member of Congress when email and instant message communications between Foley and several underage boys who had served as Congressional Pages were revealed in the press. The communications were of a graphic sexual nature, and the F.B.I. has launched an investigation into Foley’s contacts with these pages. The Associated Press reported yesterday that “GOP leaders admit their offices have known for months that a Florida Republican congressman was sending inappropriate e-mails to a boy who had worked as a page in the House of Representatives.”

“The Republican leadership will do anything to protect their majority in the House, including letting a known sexual predator roam the halls of Congress,” said Mejias. “Failing to notify the F.B.I. was only part of the problem – the leadership has engaged in a cover-up. A full investigation is needed, and anyone who broke the law must be prosecuted.”

As a Nassau County Legislator, Dave Mejias sponsored one of the toughest Megan’s law in New York State , cracking down on sexual predators in Nassau County . “I have worked to protect children from sexual predators,” said Mejias. “It is deeply shocking that the leadership in Congress refused to do the same.”