Bush standing by embattled Hastert

Story Highlights

• NEW: President Bush calls Speaker Hastert to lend his support
• Hastert says he is sorry for Foley scandal but will not step down
• Parents of page issue statement saying their son is "a hero"
• House Ethics Committee to investigate, issue subpoenas

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush called House Speaker Dennis Hastert, under fire for his handling of the Mark Foley scandal, and "expressed his support," White House Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino said.

In the Thursday evening conversation, which lasted only a few minutes, the president thanked the speaker for "making a clear public statement today in which he and the House leadership took responsibility and said that they are accountable to the American people," Perino said.

The president also said he appreciated that "when leadership found out about the lurid [Foley] emails, that they swiftly made clear that Foley must resign and that they promptly called for a professional investigation by the DOJ," according to Perino.

Earlier Thursday, Hastert, R-Illinois, said he had "done nothing wrong" and would not step down over the controversy surrounding Foley.

"I'm going to run and presumably win in this election, and when I do I expect to run for speaker," Hastert told reporters at his district office outside Chicago.

Hastert has been the subject of fierce criticism since Foley, a six-term Republican congressman from Florida, resigned a week ago amid allegations that he wrote e-mails and lurid instant messages to teenage congressional pages. (Watch how the scandal is threatening Speaker Hastert's leadership -- 2:07)

Top GOP leaders have stood by Hastert, saying he should not give up his speakership.

House Majority Leader John Boehner, of Ohio, attributed the scandal to partisan dirty tricks and said the uncovering of the messages just weeks before midterm elections "is concerning, at a minimum." (Watch how counterattacking could be risky for the GOP -- 2:10)

Majority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri said Hastert has led the House well and that "there is not, and has not been, any daylight between the speaker and me."

In his speech Thursday, Hastert said he takes ultimate responsibility for how the incident was handled. However, he insisted he learned about the sexually explicit messages last Friday, when they were released.

Hastert said he heard allegations before Friday that Foley had sent an inappropriate "Katrina e-mail."

"I'm sorry. You know, when you talk about the page issue and what's happened in the Congress, I'm deeply sorry that this has happened," Hastert said. "And the bottom line is that we're taking responsibility because ultimately, as someone has said in Washington before, the buck stops here."

Who knew what when?

The Katrina e-mail was part of the first set of published correspondences between Foley and a teenage page. In them, Foley asked the boy what he wanted for his upcoming birthday, how he was doing after Hurricane Katrina and requested a photo.

"We knew of no other e-mails in that system, and there were no other e-mails other than that one that I know of," Hastert said. "And we didn't even have the e-mail because the parents didn't want to give the e-mail out."

The page's parents on Thursday released a statement calling their son "a hero" and saying that they asked their congressman to get Foley to stop contacting their son. (Full story)

Hastert said Rep. John Shimkus, the Illinois Republican who chairs the board overseeing the page program, told Foley to stop the correspondences. Shimkus dubbed them "overly friendly."

Foley told Shimkus he would and that there were no other e-mails, Hastert said.

"The parents were happy," Hastert said.

The sexually explicit instant messages, including one in which Foley allegedly asked the teen page if he made him "a little horny," did not come to Hastert's attention until last Friday, he said.

A former House staffer has said he told Hastert's office before 2005 that there were concerns about Foley.

Hastert has asked the House ethics committee to look into the matter. He also has asked the Justice Department, FBI and state of Florida to open criminal investigations, Hastert said, adding that the House has set up a tip line. The number is (866) 348-0481.

"I don't know who knew what when," Hastert said. "That's why we asked for [a congressional] investigation." (Watch CNN political reporters weigh in on Hastert's future -- 7:49)

Hastert said the House investigation will determine if anyone on his staff knew about the messages before 2005.

"If somebody didn't let us know, then there's a problem," Hastert said. "And I think the investigation will find that out."

Hastert also suggested that the release of Foley's correspondences may be a ploy by Democrats to get the upper hand during next month's midterm elections.

He said the GOP was proud of its strides regarding the economy, border security and the war on terror, "So, you know, we have a good story to tell.

"Our friends on the other side of the aisle really don't have a story to tell, and maybe they're resolving to another way, to another political tactic," he said.

But he acknowledged the matter could have been handled better.

"Could we have done it better? Could the Page Board have handled it better? In retrospect, probably, yes," Hastert said. "But at that time, what we knew and what we acted upon was what we had."

Who will review program?

Hastert said he was looking for someone "of high caliber" to review the program.

"I reached out to the Democrat leader and shared with her some of the ideas, and we hope to resolve this soon," he said.

A GOP leadership aide said Hastert planned to ask former FBI Director Louis Freeh to examine the page program. Later, the aide said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California objected to the move, a claim Pelosi denies. (Watch how the Foley scandal has had a ripple effect on Capitol Hill -- 2:02 )

Hastert called Pelosi to notify her that he was bringing in an outside investigator, and Pelosi pointed out to him that the move was a "unilateral decision," spokeswoman Jennifer Crider said.

"He said, 'I'm calling to notify you' and Pelosi responded, 'You'll do what you'll do,' " she said.

Pelosi has respect for Freeh's law enforcement credentials "but his expertise is not exploited children," Crider said.

Freeh, a former federal judge, was appointed to head the FBI after the 1993 raid in Waco, Texas. He oversaw the probe into President Clinton's sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Pelosi told Hastert that the page program isn't the problem, Crider said.

"There is a process and rules in place to protect the pages. It's not that the rules were inadequate. It's that the rules in place weren't followed by the Republican leadership," she said.

Probe could engulf House

The House Ethics Committee convened Thursday and approved 48 subpoenas, which could be served to House members, officers and staff members. (Watch how the investigation is moving along rapidly -- 1:44 )

Rep. Doc Hastings, a Republican from Washington, would not say who could be called on to testify.

The committee voted unanimously to form an investigative subcommittee headed by Hastings and the committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Howard Berman of California.

Berman said he expects the investigation to take "weeks, not months."

The FBI, meanwhile, interviewed former Foley chief of staff Kirk Fordham, who has said he told Hastert's chief of staff, Scott Palmer, about Foley's correspondences before 2005, Fordham's attorney said.

Fordham's statement calls into question top GOP leaders' statements that they were unaware of Foley's behavior before last year.

Palmer has issued a terse response to Fordham's claim that Palmer knew about Foley before 2005: "What Kirk Fordham said did not happen."

Fordham's attorney, Tim Heaphy, did not provide details on the interview but said beforehand that it would focus on whether Fordham knew of any potential crimes committed by Foley.

Fordham resigned Wednesday as chief of staff to Rep. Tom Reynolds of New York.

On Wednesday, Fordham also said he told Hastert's staff about the Foley messages, but he has adamantly denied allegations aired by ABC News that he intervened with the House Page Board to keep Foley out of trouble. (Watch how the scandal has the GOP reeling -- 2:54 )

ABC reported that Fordham offered the network an exclusive story on Foley's resignation if it agreed not to air transcripts of the most explicit messages.

ABC also reported that Fordham's associates consider him a scapegoat for Hastert. Hastert's spokesman Ron Bonjean said the speaker had no advance knowledge of Fordham's resignation, nor did he demand it.

CNN's Ted Barrett, Kathleen Koch, Dana Bash, Deirdre Walsh and Andrea Koppel contributed to this report.

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