WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert's chief of staff told a House ethics panel he did not know of ex-Rep. Mark Foley's behavior before the matter became public.
During testimony Monday before the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, Scott Palmer said conversations about Foley's suggestive correspondence with male House pages "did not happen," the Washington Post said. A statement from the Speaker's office said Palmer and Hastert were not told by others in Hastert's office who may have known about the matter last year, the Post said.
Foley, a Republican from Florida, resigned Sept. 29 after suggestive electronic exchanges with former House pages came to light.
Palmer's testimony conflicts with testimony by Kirk Fordham, Foley's former chief of staff, who said he went to Palmer out of concern about Foley's attention to pages and asked for help, the Post said. Fordham said Palmer later said he met with Foley and spoke with Hastert.
Two House leaders said they spoke with Hastert about Foley's electronic exchanges with a specific page; Hastert said he doesn't recall the conversations, the Post said.
Hastert said he plans to testify this week.
