Mark Adam Foley (born September 8, 1954) is an American former politician who served as a member of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
. He served from 1995 until 2006, representing the
16th District of Florida as a member of the
Republican Party, before resigning due to revelations that he had sent sexually explicit messages to teenaged boys who had served as
congressional pages in what came to be known as the
Mark Foley scandal.
Foley resigned from Congress on September 29, 2006, acting on a request by the Republican leadership after
allegations surfaced that he had sent suggestive emails, as well as sexually explicit
instant messages,
to teenage boys who had formerly served and were at that time serving as
Congressional pages.
As a result of the disclosures, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
(FBI) and the
Florida Department of Law Enforcement conducted investigations of the messages to find possible criminal charges. Each ended with no criminal finding. In the case of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, FDLE commissioner Gerald Bailey with the closure of the case stated that the "FDLE conducted as thorough and comprehensive investigation as possible considering Congress and Mr. Foley denied us access to critical data." The
House Ethics Committee also conducted an investigation into the response of the House Republican leadership and their staff to possible earlier warnings of Foley's conduct.
Early career
Foley was born in
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located roughly west of Downtown Boston, and comprises a patchwork of thirteen villages. The city borders Boston to the northeast and southeast (via the neighborhoods of ...
, the son of Frances and Edward Joseph Foley Jr., a teacher and civic activist. Foley served in the
Florida House of Representatives
The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...
1990–1992 and then in the
Florida State Senate 1993–1994.
Congressional career
Early House career
Foley was elected to the U.S. House in 1994 with 58 percent of the vote, defeating
Democrat John Comerford. He was re-elected in 1996 with 64 percent of the vote against Democrat Jim Stuber and again in 1998 (this time without opposition). He was re-elected in 2000 with 60 percent of the vote against Democrat Jean Elliott Brown and
Reform Party candidate John McGuire.
Constitution Party candidate Jack McLain was his only opponent in 2002. He was re-elected in 2002 with 79 percent of the vote and in 2004 with 68 percent of the vote.
Foley was a
moderate Republican. He spent most of his tenure in Congress as a member of the powerful House
Ways and Means Committee. He was also the first public figure to imply that Vice President
Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...
claimed to have invented the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
. On March 12, 1999,
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency ...
reported Foley as saying, "The Vice President is mistaken. The only thing he has ever invented is another tax. He did not invent the Internet but he sure did tax it."

In late 2000, Foley played a large role in aiding
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
during the
Presidential election recount controversy in
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
.
In 2006, Foley was a member of the Republican House leadership, serving as
deputy whip.
Senate campaign
In 2003, Foley was widely considered the Republican front-runner for
Bob Graham's Senate seat, especially after Graham had announced his
retirement
Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload.
Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
. However, longstanding rumors surfaced that Foley was either homosexual or
bisexual and was in a long-term homosexual relationship. The story was initially published only in local and gay press;
["Being gay in the GOP: Congressman Mark Foley: A model of political hypocrisy and personal cowardice"](_blank)
, ''Boston Phoenix'', May 30, 2003 then the ''
New Times'' broke the story in the mainstream press. Other alternative press rivals, including the ''
New York Press'', then addressed the topic. Foley held a press conference to denounce the "revolting" rumors and stated that his sexual orientation was unimportant, but did not specifically deny the rumors. A few weeks later, he withdrew his candidacy, saying his father's battle with
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
had caused him to reassess his perspective on life (the seat was later won by Republican
Mel Martinez). Foley had raised $3 million in campaign contributions before withdrawing.
Actions in Congress
Legislation regarding pornography and sexual offenses
In the House, Foley was one of the foremost opponents of
child pornography
Child pornography (also abbreviated as CP, also called child porn or kiddie porn, and child sexual abuse material, known by the acronym CSAM (underscoring that children can not be deemed willing participants under law)), is Eroticism, erotic ma ...
. Foley had served as chairman of the
House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children. He introduced a bill, coined the "Child Modeling Exploitation Prevention Act of 2002" to outlaw websites featuring sexually suggestive images of preteen children, saying that "these websites are nothing more than a fix for
pedophiles." As it was written, the bill would have prohibited commercial photography of children and it failed due to the unmanageable burden it would have presented to the legitimate entertainment industry. In June 2003 he wrote letters to the governor and attorney general of Florida, asking them to review the legality of a program for teenagers of a Lake Como
nudist resort in
Land o' Lakes, Florida.
Foley's legislation to change federal
sex offender
A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a Sex and the law, sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convi ...
laws was supported by the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, ''
America's Most Wanted'' host
John Walsh and a number of victims' rights groups. President Bush signed it into law as part of the
Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.
Foley also succeeded in getting a law passed that allows volunteer youth-serving organizations like the
Boy Scouts of America
Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...
and
Boys and Girls Clubs to have access to
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
fingerprint background checks.
Other social issues
Foley's stances on many social issues differ from his party's leadership. Although he professes to be
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
Foley was a member of The Republican Majority For Choice which does not believe there should be any restriction on abortion. He has, however, advocated alternatives such as
adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, fro ...
and
sexual abstinence. He also supported the
Patriot Act, the
death penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
and strict sentencing for
hate crimes. Foley was a member of
Christine Todd Whitman's It's My Party Too and the
Republican Main Street Partnership. According to the ''
National Journals calculations, in 2005, Foley's voting record on
social policy
Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize social policy and public policy to be two separate, competing approaches for the same public interest (similar to MD a ...
issues was moderate.
Other domestic issues
Foley helped secure the first-ever financial commitment from Congress for the preservation of Florida's
Everglades.
Foley helped pass legislation that expedites the
deportation
Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or is under sen ...
of non-violent criminal aliens serving their sentences in federal prisons; and helped eliminate federal prohibitions on notifying a campus community when a student commits a violent crime.
Foley worked to pass legislation to help surviving heirs of
Holocaust victims who have been unable to collect on
life insurance policies owed to them.
Scandal and resignation
On September 28, 2006,
ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to:
* ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
* ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company
ABC News may a ...
Chief Investigative Correspondent
Brian Ross reported that in 2005, Foley had sent email messages from his personal
AOL account to a former Congressional page, asking the page to send a photo of himself to Foley, among other things.
Foley's office confirmed that Foley had sent the messages but said it has a practice of asking for photos of individuals who may ask for recommendations and that the page had requested a recommendation.
The original news report prompted another page to come forward and on September 29, 2006, ABC News reported that it had seen excerpts of sexually explicit instant messages allegedly sent by Foley. The instant messages made repeated references to sexual organs and acts.
Kirk Fordham, chief of staff to
Tom Reynolds (chairman of the fundraising
National Republican Congressional Committee
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is the United States Republican Party, Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives.
The NRCC was formed in 1866, when the Repub ...
) and former chief of staff to Foley, said that he was with Foley on September 29, 2006, when ABC confronted him with the explicit messages before they were publicized.
Fordham then informed Reynolds and
Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert; he returned with a one-sentence resignation letter that Foley signed. Hastert and Reynolds made it clear that if Foley didn't resign, he would be expelled from the House. That same day, Foley tendered his resignation to Hastert as well as Florida Governor
Jeb Bush. Foley said in a statement, "I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida I have had the privilege to represent." Once the news report became more widely known, Foley's chances of retaining his seat in Congress were limited. Hastert said in an October 2 press conference that he would have demanded Foley's expulsion from the House had he tried to stay in office. (Ironically, Hastert himself was described by a
Federal District Court judge as a "serial child molester" and jailed in 2016 for illegally structuring bank withdrawals in an attempt to hide his own sexual abuse of four high school boys during his pre-Congressional career ). Even if Foley had tried to get his seat back, polls showed him losing badly to his Democratic opponent,
Tim Mahoney.
More pages came forward, alleging a history of inappropriate conduct by Foley dating back at least 10 years. Foley had been warned about the matter in 2005 by another House Republican and the House Clerk. Through his lawyer, Foley insisted he was not a
pedophile and asserted that he had not "had contact" with a minor.
Foley also explained that he had a
drinking problem and had made the communications while intoxicated. He checked himself into a
rehab clinic on October 2, 2006.
His lawyer revealed that Foley claimed he was molested by a clergyman when he was between the ages of 13 and 15 adding that "Mark Foley wants you to know he is a gay man."
Federal authorities said the explicit messages could result in Foley's prosecution, under some of the same laws he helped to enact.
Foley resigned from the US Congress on Friday, September 29, 2006.
There was widespread criticism of Republican leaders for their response to earlier warnings and inconsistencies in their statements. In particular, many called for Hastert to resign, including some
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
voices such as the editorial page of ''
The Washington Times''.
On October 19, 2006, the ''
Sarasota Herald-Tribune'' stated that a disgraced abusive homosexual Catholic priest named Anthony Mercieca told the newspaper about an intimate two-year relationship he had with Foley when the congressman was a teenage altar boy living in
Lake Worth, Florida. The priest is retired and living in
Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
. He acknowledged getting naked in saunas and possible "light touching", but denied contact of a sexual nature.
Florida officials closed the investigation of Foley, stating they found "insufficient evidence" to file criminal charges since the page was over the age of consent (16).
November 2006 election
Shortly after Foley resigned, the Republican Party of Florida named State Representative
Joe Negron to run as the Republican replacement candidate to face Mahoney.
[Caputo, Marc and Long, Phil, ] In accordance with Florida election law, Foley's name remained on the ballot. Votes cast for Foley in the November election counted towards Negron's total. Mahoney called for a full investigation of Foley's actions.
Foley's district had been held by Republicans since its creation in 1973 (it was the 10th District until 1983 and the 12th District until 1993.) In an effort to use the scandal to his benefit, Negron used the slogan "Punch Foley for Joe!", instructing voters to "punch" Foley's name on the ballot to chastise him and support Negron.
Negron narrowly lost the election to
Tim Mahoney. Negron had 47.7 percent and Mahoney had 49.5 percent. The seat fell back into Republican hands in the 111th Congress with the 2008 election of
Tom Rooney.
Post-congressional life
After leaving Congress, Foley entered the real estate business in
Palm Beach, Florida. He also
came out publicly and was in a relationship with Palm Beach dermatologist Layne Nisenbaum until Nisenbaum's death in 2012. On September 22, 2009, Foley debuted as host of his own radio show, "Foley on Politics", on
Seaview AM 960 in
North Palm Beach, Florida.
After several years removed from the public eye, Foley resurfaced as a supporter of
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
during the 2016 presidential election, appearing behind him in a crowd at one of his rallies.
Electoral history
1According to Florida law, the names of those with no opposition are not printed on the ballot and no totals need be submitted.
2Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2000, write-ins received 9 votes.
3Mark Foley's name was the one on the ballot, however, as noted above.
See also
*
Ego-dystonic sexual orientation
*
List of federal political sex scandals in the United States
*
List of federal political scandals in the United States
*
List of LGBT members of the United States Congress
*
Mark Foley scandal
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foley, Mark
1954 births
American talk radio hosts
Republican Party Florida state senators
American gay politicians
American LGBTQ broadcasters
American LGBTQ city council members
Florida Republicans
LGBTQ members of the United States Congress
LGBTQ state legislators in Florida
LGBTQ people from Massachusetts
LGBTQ Roman Catholics
Living people
Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives
Palm Beach State College alumni
Politicians from West Palm Beach, Florida
Politicians from Newton, Massachusetts
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida
LGBTQ conservatism in the United States
Members of Congress who became lobbyists
21st-century Florida politicians
21st-century American LGBTQ people
21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives
20th-century members of the Florida Legislature