WASHINGTON — Two influential members of Congress from Tennessee denied Thursday that they knew about former Rep. Mark Foley's inappropriate behavior toward congressional pages.
Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., a Knoxville Republican, issued a statement after a page he sponsored, Tyson Vivyan, came forward to say he received sexually suggestive messages from Foley in 1997.
Vivyan, 26, who used to live in Knoxville and now lives in Atlanta, told The Associated Press that Foley began sending him instant messages about a month or two after his nine-month stint as a page ended in June 1997.
Foley resigned last week after news broke that he had sent sexually explicit Internet messages to teenage boys who worked as pages on Capitol Hill.
Duncan said in his statement that he was informed of Vivyan's allegations against Foley on Monday.
"I was shocked to learn this, as I was three days earlier when I first learned of the disgusting behavior by Rep. Foley. I instructed my chief of staff to immediately call the offices of the speaker of the House, the clerk of the House, and the U.S. Department of Justice," Duncan said.
Duncan's statement came a day after Tennessee Democrats sent out a mailing raising questions about when Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a member of the House leadership team, knew about the allegations against Foley.
Blackburn, an assistant Republican whip from Brentwood, said in an interview she learned about the allegations when the news media broke the story last week.
"I don't think anyone knew about Foley's behavior. If it had been known, it would not have been tolerated," Blackburn said.
She added that anyone who is discovered to have "participated in a cover-up should immediately resign."
