Reporting on the recent controversy surrounding the resignation of former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL), a September 30 New York Daily News weblog post (and subsequently an October 2 Los Angeles Times article) noted that last summer, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) had accepted a $100,000 contribution from Foley, even though its chairman, Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (R-NY), had reportedly already learned that Foley had allegedly sent inappropriate emails to an underage congressional page. Further, an October 2 New York Times article pointed out that NRCC communications director Carl Forti recently asserted “that the committee [NRCC] would gladly accept Mr. Foley's money or part of it to devote to House races.” Despite these reports, no other media outlets have reported* that the NRCC, under Reynolds's chairmanship, accepted, as the Daily News noted, an “unusually large” campaign contribution from Foley after reportedly knowing of his inappropriate conduct. They have further ignored the NRCC's continued solicitation of funds from Foley's campaign war chest.

The Associated Press reported that Reynolds was told “sometime this spring” that Foley allegedly had inappropriate email communications with an underage male congressional page from Louisiana. Noting the AP report, the Daily News reported on September 30 that "[o]n July 27, 2006, the NRCC, which Reynolds chairs, accepted an unusually large contribution of $100,000 from Foley." The Los Angeles Times similarly reported that “Foley's campaign committee gave $100,000 to the NRCC this summer, campaign finance records show,” later adding that the contribution “came after Reynolds had acknowledged having learned about the Louisiana page's complaint.”

The New York Times reported that Rep. Heather A. Wilson (R-NM) would “donate the $8,000 she received [from Foley] to charity” after her Democratic opponent called on her to return any of Foley's contributions to her campaign. But noting that Foley “had a balance of $2.7 million” in his campaign account at the end of August 2006, the Times also reported that NRCC spokesman Forti has said that the NRCC would continue to accept money from Foley despite his resignation from Congress:

Carl Forti, the communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said Sunday that the committee would gladly accept Mr. Foley's money or part of it to devote to House races. Mr. Foley already gave $100,000 to the committee in July, campaign records show, as part of the party's Battleground Program, to which members are asked to contribute.

* Results based on a Nexis “News, All” search for “Foley and Reynolds and NRCC or donation or $100,000” and “Foley and Forti” and “Foley and NRCC” from 9/30/06 to 10/02/06.