Republican in Sex Email Scandal

The White House yesterday fought to contain the damage to Republican electoral prospects from a Florida congressman under FBI investigation for sending inappropriate emails to male teenage congressional pages.

With five weeks to go before midterm elections, the White House and the Republican leadership moved to defuse Democratic charges that the party knew, but failed to investigate, allegations that Mark Foley, a six-term Congressman, had sent sexually explicit emails to male teenage messengers and administrators.

Mr Foley, who was instrumental in the passage of a law against sexual predators on the internet, checked into a rehab centre for alcoholism at the weekend, soon after he resigned his seat in Congress.

"Events that led to my resignation have crystalised recognition of my long-standing and significant alcoholism and emotional difficulties," the congressman said yesterday.

In Washington, he left behind a leadership determined to shield the Republicans from Democratic charges that it was slow to respond when the allegations first surfaced.

"Yes, look, I hate to tell you, but it's not always pretty up there on Capitol Hill. And there have been other scandals, as you know, that have been more than simply naughty emails," Tony Snow, the White House spokesman, told CNN.

The House speaker, Dennis Hastert, meanwhile, issued his fiercest denunciation of Mr Foley so far, saying he was "outraged and disgusted" with Mr Foley's actions.

Mr Hastert's aides first came to know of Mr Foley's inappropriate overtures to pages in November.