Republicans rally round Hastert in face of scandal

It was Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House and Republican leader, who best summarised his party's response to the scandal over a lawmaker's lewd internet messages to teenage interns. "There's a certain stench of hypocrisy," he said in reference to past sex scandals among Democrats.

For the time being, top Republicans are rallying behind Dennis Hastert, the current speaker, who on Thursday rejected calls to resign and who denied allegations that he knew of congressman Mark Foley's behaviour as early as 2003, when members of his staff on Capitol Hill were apparently informed.

But Mr Hastert also raised eyebrows when, by questioning the timing of the scandal, he hinted at a leftwing conspiracy to derail his party's mid-term election chances. The story hit the front pages last week, at a point when Republican chances appeared to be on the mend for the first time in more than a year.

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NowPublic

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