What did Fox News know about Foley, and when did they know it?

An October 2 Associated Press article reported that Fox News was among several news organizations that were leaked copies of email messages allegedly sent by former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) to a 16-year-old male former congressional page. The AP wrote that "Florida newspapers" that received copies of the emails last year, such as the St. Petersburg Times and The Miami Herald, have acknowledged having received the emails and "defended their decision not to run stories." A Media Matters for America search on the Nexis database of Fox News in prime time turned up no references to the channel having previously received these emails nor any refutation of reports that it had.

Fox News' prime-time programs --The Big Story with John Gibson, Special Report with Brit Hume, The O'Reilly Factor, and Hannity & Colmes -- have covered the story every day since it broke on September 28.

From the October 2 AP article:

Meanwhile, Florida newspapers -- who were leaked copies of the e-mail with the Louisiana boy last year -- defended their decision not to run stories. Both The St. Petersburg Times and The Miami Herald were given copies of the e-mail, as were other news organizations, including Fox News.

"Our decision at the time was ... that because the language was not sexually explicit and was subject to interpretation, from innocuous to 'sick,' as the page characterized it, to be cautious," said Tom Fiedler, executive editor of the Herald. "Given the potentially devastating impact that a false suggestion of pedophilia could have on anyone, not to mention a congressman known to be gay, and lacking any corroborating information, we chose not to do a story."

A Media Matters Nexis search of Fox News for "Foley and ((fox or network or FNC) w/20 (receiv! or advanc! or obtain! or acquir! or leak! or (copy or copies))" for all dates after September 27, 2006, yielded no relevant results.

—S.S.M.