The report said those who knew of the exchanges may have feared that "raising the issue too aggressively might have risked exposing Rep. Foley's homosexuality."
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The findings
In addition to e-mails, the report said, Foley sent instant messages containing "sexually explicit and salacious language" to one or more former congressional pages, and several Republican lawmakers and staffers knew of the correspondences before they were made public.
"The failure to exhaust all reasonable efforts to call attention to potential misconduct involving a member and House page is not merely the exercise of poor judgment; it is a present danger to House pages and to the integrity of the institution of the House," according to the report's executive summary.
The report said some who knew of the allegations shifted responsibility and some declined to probe too deeply into the matter.
"Others tried repeatedly to elevate the matter, but encountered obstacles in the chain of command," the report said.
At question before the ethics panel was what and when Republican leaders knew about Foley's actions and how they reacted to the accusations once they surfaced.
Evidence showed that concerns began to arise about Foley's interactions with pages or other young male staff members shortly after he took office in 1995, according to the document.
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