Fossella complicates GOP attack on Mahoney

House Republicans trying to keep the heat on Democrats and Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fla.) will have to deal with a court appearance on Friday for a GOP lawmaker who agreed not to seek reelection this year after his own sex scandal.

Rep. Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.) faces a trial in Alexandria on Friday, where he faces DUI charges, a spectacle that will remind voters about the GOP lawmaker’s infidelity and drunken driving.

{mosads}After Fossella’s arrest, news broke that the married congressman was having an affair and had fathered an out-of-wedlock child with the woman.

The worst-case scenario for Fossella on the DUI charges is jail time. Legal experts have pointed out that Virginia law mandates a minimum of 5 days in jail for any person convicted of a DUI in which their blood alcohol content was above a 0.15. According to police reports, Fossella registered a 0.13 immediately after being pulled over, but a 0.17 at the police station.

If convicted, Fossella may have to begin serving a mandatory jail sentence that same day. Either way, the very trial will at least complicate continuing efforts by House Republicans to keep the focus on Mahoney, who is surrounded by allegations that he had an affair with and paid hush money to a former staff member. Unlike Fossella, who decided not to seek reelection after news of his DUI arrest and affair surfaced, Democrats appear stuck with Mahoney. The election is only three weeks away, two late for Democrats to switch horses in the race.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Wednesday demanded to know what more, if anything, Democratic leaders knew about Mahoney’s alleged affair before it became public.

“The American people deserve to know what House Democratic leaders knew about Congressman Mahoney’s reprehensible actions, what they did with the information, and whether they played any role in the actions Congressman Mahoney took,” Boehner said in a statement.

If Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) handled the situation appropriately, they should come forward and provide a detailed accounting of their actions and welcome the opportunity to testify under oath about their actions,” Boehner said.

This differs from Boehner’s initial reaction to the Fossella news, when he initially said the matter was between Fossella, his family and his constituents, a position the GOP leader held fast to for the roughly two weeks before Fossella announced his retirement.

Boehner’s office rejected any comparison to the two sex scandals and the way each party’s leadership responded to it.

“In Rep. Fossella's case, the Republican Leadership acted swiftly and appropriately — There is no comparison," said Boehner spokesman Michael Steel. “Serious questions remain unanswered about how the Democratic Leadership, particularly Reps. Emanuel and Van Hollen, seem to have swept the allegations against Rep. Mahoney under the rug.  Democrat's spin will not allow them to evade responsibility for their hypocrisy.”

A spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee charged the GOP with throwing stones from glass houses over the Manoney matter.

"The sound you just heard was the shattering of the Republicans' glass house," said DCCC spokesman Doug Thornell.

Pelosi on Monday said she had just learned about the Mahoney matter and called for immediate action by the ethics panel. Democrats would not say whether the panel would start investigating before or after the election, and the ethics committee has not announced a probe.

Emanuel and Van Hollen said they confronted Mahoney about rumors that he was having an affair. It is unclear, however, whether they followed up on the matter.

Boehner has called on Mahoney and Democratic leaders to answer questions from the media and the ethics committee, if it acts. Initially, when the Fossella scandal broke, Boehner called on the ethics committee to “do its job.”

The ethics committee launched an investigation and more than a week later Fossella decided not to seek reelection. Even as it announced the creation of a special “investigative subcommittee” to look into the matter, the panel suspended action on the Fossella matter until after his court case is finished.

According to news reports, Mahoney allegedly paid $121,000 in hush money from his private accounts to a former staffer who worked for his congressional office and campaign and was subsequently fired after she ended the alleged affair.

Mahoney, who had run on a promise of restoring moral integrity to the office, replaced disgraced former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) and the incumbent became engulfed in a scandal involving inappropriate e-mails and instant messages with former Congressional pages.

In calling for Democrats to tell all they know about Mahoney, Boehner has raised the Foley scandal but not Fossella.

“In 2006, House Republican leaders voluntarily testified under oath in the matter of disgraced former Congressman Mark Foley,” Boehner said in his statement. “Will House Democratic leaders, including Speaker Pelosi, Congressman Emanuel, and Congressman Van Hollen do the same?”

When the Foley page scandal erupted right before the critical 2006 election that handed Democrats the majority, Republican leaders were skewered for failing to respond to warnings about the Florida lawmaker’s behavior. A House ethics committee investigation found that then-Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), his aides and other GOP House leaders knew about the communication but didn’t do enough to stop it.

As a result, Republicans now see turn-about as fair play. But Fossella’s court appearance, sure to be covered by the New York tabloids, could make their case a tougher sell.

An Emanuel aide said he would have no problems telling the ethics committee what he knows about the Mahoney matter.

“As Congressman Emanuel has said, he agrees with Speaker Pelosi that the Ethics Committee should take up their investigation with all due haste and of course is more than happy to speak with the committee if they are interested in speaking with him,” the staffer said.

A Van Hollen aide echoed Emanuel’s willingness to speak to the ethics committee, saying the panel should “immediately and thoroughly investigate” Maloney’s actions.

This story was updated at 7:42 p.m.