FBI agents question ex-page

Former congressional page Jordan Edmund was interviewed Tuesday by FBI agents in Oklahoma City for about two-and-a-half hours, his attorney said.

Next up may be talking to the U.S. House ethics committee.

The former page “cooperated to the fullest” during his FBI interview, attorney Stephen Jones said.

“Jordan answered all of their questions, relying upon his memory as it exists,” the Enid attorney told reporters.

The FBI is investigating former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, who resigned Sept. 29. The Florida Republican quit after ABC News confronted him about lurid Internet messages sent to teenage, former male pages.

Foley, 52, has admitted through an attorney that he sent inappropriate messages, but he said he never had any sexual contact with a minor.

Edmund, 21, of Carlsbad, Calif., was a U.S. House page in 2001 and 2002. He was identified last week by a blogger as a former page who allegedly received sexual online messages from Foley.

His attorney would not tell reporters Tuesday what was said in the FBI interview. Jones said Edmund was not subpoenaed to appear before any grand jury and was not asked to return.

FBI Agent Gary Johnson, a spokesman for the FBI in Oklahoma, said, “We’re not commenting on the investigation in any fashion.”

Edmund arrived at the U.S. Attorney’s office in downtown Oklahoma City about 10 a.m. He carried a large envelope, but Jones later said, “It was not anything relevant to this. ... He didn’t produce anything nor did they ask him to produce anything.”

His expression was somber. He wore a dark pinstriped suit, white shirt and red tie.

He left about 12:40 p.m. He did not say anything to reporters but stood by Jones as the attorney made a brief statement to the press.

Also Tuesday, Jones said he spoke with someone from the U.S. House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, commonly known as the House ethics committee.

The committee is trying to determine whether congressmen who may have known about Foley’s contacts with pages and former pages took appropriate action to stop them.

“We talked over the phone for 10 or 15 minutes,” Jones said. “They wanted to know what information Jordan could give them. And I advised them. ... I got the impression they would get back in touch with me.”

Edmund has been living for months in Oklahoma City and working as a deputy campaign manager for the gubernatorial campaign of Republican Rep. Ernest Istook. He has not been active in the campaign since his possible part in the scandal became public a week ago.

Istook said Tuesday, “I don’t know how you define his status. We haven’t tried to give a formal definition. It’s just an unusual circumstance.”

Jones said Edmund still is on the campaign’s payroll. The attorney said, “As soon as things calm down, I’ll assume he’ll go back to work for the campaign.”

The attorney Friday described Edmund as a victim. “Jordan did not intend for any of this to become public, and it was certainly not a prank,” Jones said Friday.

Edmund described himself on MySpace.com, a popular Web site, as a political science major at the University of California, Berkeley. He wrote he was taking time off from college to work for Istook.

“Politics is my passion; I love the game,” he wrote.

Among his listed interests were political campaigning, working out, snowboarding, the beach, lacrosse, having a cold brew, ballroom dancing and “making fun of stupid people.”

Contributing: Staff Writers Michael McNutt and Chris Casteel