Attorney: Feds, page to talk about Foley correspondence

From Tracy Sabo
CNN

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ENID, Oklahoma (CNN) -- A former congressional page who was reportedly told in an instant message from former Rep. Mark Foley to "strip down and get relaxed" likely will talk to federal agents investigating the scandal next week, his lawyer said Friday.

Jordan Edmund, now a 21-year-old aide to Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Oklahoma, was among the pages to whom Foley wrote e-mails and allegedly sent lurid instant messages.

Foley resigned September 29 as a series of correspondences between him and teenage male pages became public. (Watch what other pages say about their interactions with Foley -- 2:02 )

The six-term Republican had represented Florida's 16th District.

Attorney Stephen Jones declined to discuss Edmund's contact with Foley, but said the 21-year-old likely would sit down with investigators from the FBI or Department of Justice next week.

"I anticipate that he will meet with one of them, at least, next week," he said.

Edmund is one of the former pages referred to in the ABC News report that triggered Foley's resignation. The network reported that Foley sent sexually explicit instant messages to a page now identified as Edmund, and other pages.

In one message, the user Maf54, whom ABC News identifies as Foley, asked the teen: "You in your boxers, too?"

The teen replied, "Nope, just got home. I had a college interview that went late."

"Well, strip down and get relaxed," Maf54 wrote back. (Watch how Foley was reportedly urged to come out of the closet for years -- 2:40 )

Jones would not comment on whether Edmund reported his exchanges with Foley to House officials. Jones said he had not seen transcripts of the instant messages.

"I've only read what's in the press," he said.

Jones said he is still learning details of Edmund's role but added that his client is talking to federal officials as a witness.

"He's not a suspect in any crime," Jones said. "Jordan has not done anything wrong. He is a witness. He will cooperate fully both with the investigation by the [Justice Department] and with the House."

There was "no personal relationship" between Foley and Edmund, who served as a page in 2001 and 2002 when he was a high school junior, the attorney said.

"I'm certain there was no physical involvement between Jordan and Mr. Foley," Jones said, adding that the messages "read like some of the novels that are on the market, but I don't know if they're true or they have been edited."

The Drudge Report on Thursday reported that two people close to Edmund said he goaded Foley into the exchange as a prank.

Jones said a prank could not be ruled out, "But it sounds like a piece of fiction."

"I don't want to say that there might not have been an element of a practical joke in it, but it seems pretty serious on its face," he said. "I think we have to treat it seriously and let the facts speak for themselves."

Jones said Foley was "obviously a man in anguish, and I wouldn't want to add to his anguish by anything I say, and I don't think Jordan would." He further said Foley had a good reputation, "aside from this incident."

Jones is no stranger to high-profile cases. The prominent Oklahoma attorney counts Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh among his previous clients.

The attorney also has contributed to the campaign of Rep. Istook, who is running for Oklahoma governor.