Bush backs Hastert to keep job

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President Bush and other Republicans defended House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert yesterday against Democrats and conservatives who have called for his resignation over the handling of sexually explicit Internet messages former Rep. Mark Foley wrote a teenage boy who had worked as a congressional page.

"I know Denny Hastert, I meet with him a lot," Mr. Bush said yesterday. "He is a father, teacher, coach, who cares about the children of this country."

Mr. Bush said he was "disgusted" by Mr. Foley's behavior and said he supports Mr. Hastert's call for a full investigation. "I'm confident he will provide whatever leadership he can to law enforcement in this investigation," he said.

Earlier this week, several conservatives called for Mr. Hastert's resignation because, they said, Mr. Hastert and other leaders did not act aggressively enough when they first learned last year of a separate set of "overly friendly" e-mails that Mr. Foley had sent to another teenage former page.

"[N]o one in the leadership, including Speaker Hastert, had any knowledge of the warped and sexually explicit instant messages that were revealed by ABC News last Friday," Majority Leader John A. Boehner wrote yesterday in a letter to The Washington Times, whose editorial board called on Mr. Hastert to step down.

"Had Speaker Hastert or anyone else in our leadership known about Mr. Foley's despicable conduct, I'm confident the speaker would have moved to expel Mr. Foley immediately and turn him over to the appropriate authorities," the Ohio Republican said.

Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino said the president has not personally spoken to Mr. Hastert in "the last few days," although the White House and the speaker's office are in "regular contact."

Asked what the president thought about the calls for Mr. Hastert's resignation, she replied that Mr. Bush wants to know all the facts.

"The speaker called for the investigation, the president supports that, and one is under way. And so let's let that play out," Mrs. Perino said.

As House Republicans worked to show unified support for Mr. Hastert, new "instant messages" between Mr. Foley and a former page surfaced.