John Fund writes today:

Now Washington is filled with speculation that Mr. Trandahl [former House Clerk] and other staffers might have been trying to cover up for Mr. Foley. On "Fox News Sunday," Rep. Jack Kingston, vice chairman of the Republican Conference, raised the idea that "there was a staffer or two who decided to maybe protect Mark Foley for reasons unknown."

The Washington Post has reported that Mr. Trandahl is on the board of the gay-rights group Human Rights Campaign and is "personally close to the now-disgraced former lawmaker, who announced through his lawyer this week that he is gay."

Now the Washington Post is reporting this morning that retiring Rep. Jim Kolbe, the only openly gay Republican member of Congress, was shown sexually explicit messeages between Mark Foley and a page six years ago:

A spokeswoman for Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) confirmed yesterday that a former page showed the congressman Internet messages that had made the youth feel uncomfortable with the direction Foley (R-Fla.) was taking their e-mail relationship. Last week, when the Foley matter erupted, a Kolbe staff member suggested to the former page that he take the matter to the clerk of the House, Karen Haas, said Kolbe's press secretary, Korenna Cline.

Kolbe's press secretary said "corrective measures" were taken, though it is unclear exactly what that phrase means other than it appears Kolbe confronted Foley about the messages shortly after he learned about them.

If this story turns out to be true and no other actions were taken against Foley, it would appear there was an effort on behalf of at least one gay Republican member of Congress to "protect" Mark Foley by handling the matter privately and by not referring an obviously sensitive and serious incident through the proper chain of command in the House.