Editing Mark Foley (section)

{{short description|American politician (born 1954)}}
{{for-multi|the Irish hurlers|Mark Foley (Limerick hurler)|and|Mark Foley (Cork hurler)}}
{{use American English|date=August 2023}}
{{use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name          = Mark Foley
|image         = Mark Foley, official 109th Congress photo.jpg

|state         = [[Florida]]
|district      = {{ushr|FL|16|16th}}
|term_start    = January 3, 1995
|term_end      = September 29, 2006
|predecessor   = [[Tom Lewis (American politician)|Tom Lewis]]
|successor     = [[Tim Mahoney]]
|state_senate1 = Florida
|district1     = 35th
|term_start1   = November 1992
|term_end1     = November 1994
|predecessor1  = [[Jack D. Gordon]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=219559|title = Our Campaigns - FL State Senate 35 Race - Nov 03, 1992}}</ref>
|successor1    = [[Tom Rossin]]
|state_house2= Florida
|district2   = 85th
|term_start2 = November 1990
|term_end2   = November 1992
|predecessor2= [[Frank S. Messersmith]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=217207|title = Our Campaigns - FL State House 85 Race - Nov 06, 1990}}</ref>
|successor2  = Mimi McAndrews
|birth_name  = Mark Adam Foley
|birth_date  = {{birth date and age|1954|9|8}}
|birth_place = [[Newton, Massachusetts]], U.S.
|death_date  = 
|death_place = 
|party       = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|partner     = Layne Nisenbaum (1984–died 2012)
|education   = [[Palm Beach State College]]
}}
'''Mark Adam Foley''' (born September 8, 1954) is an American former politician who served as a member of the [[United States House of Representatives]]. He served from 1995 until 2006, representing the [[Florida's 16th congressional district|16th District of Florida]] as a member of the [[Republican Party (United States)|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 [[Mark Foley scandal|allegations surfaced]] that he had sent suggestive emails, as well as sexually explicit [[Instant messaging|instant messages]],<ref name="threemore">{{cite news |url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/10/three_more_form.html |work=ABC News |title=Three More Former Pages Accuse Foley of Online Sexual Approaches |date=October 5, 2006 |access-date=2006-10-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061011091337/http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/10/three_more_form.html |archive-date=October 11, 2006 }}</ref> to teenage boys who had formerly served and were at that time serving as [[United States House of Representatives Page|Congressional pages]].<ref name="bloomberg">{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=awMK6Ha3Yas4&refer=home|title=Florida Republican Foley Resigns From U.S. House Seat|access-date=2006-09-29|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|date=September 29, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Foley's Exchange With Underage Page| website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |url=https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/BrianRoss/story?id=2509586&page=1}}</ref> As a result of the disclosures, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) and the [[Florida Department of Law Enforcement]] conducted investigations of the messages to find possible criminal charges.<ref>{{cite news|title=FBI to Examine Foley's E-Mails|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/01/AR2006100100644.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |first1=Charles |last1=Babington |first2=Jonathan |last2=Weisman |date=October 2, 2006 |access-date=May 12, 2010}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/Content/News/September-2008/Denied-Access-to-Critical-Data,-FDLE-Concludes-Inv.aspx |title=Foley Investigations Summary, October 2, 2007 |publisher=Fdle.state.fl.us |date=2008-09-19 |access-date=2011-09-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927101525/http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/Content/News/September-2008/Denied-Access-to-Critical-Data%2C-FDLE-Concludes-Inv.aspx |archive-date=September 27, 2011 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/11/AR2006101101639.html|title=Hastert Aides Interest Ethics Panel: Staff Members' Knowledge of Foley's Actions With Former Pages in Question|newspaper=Washington Post|date=2006-10-12|access-date=2006-10-12 |first=Jonathan |last=Weisman}}</ref>