Speculation Centers on a Republican Former Page

Edmund's allegiance to the GOP, say some, raises one of the biggest questions about him: Why would a young man with seemingly such a bright future in the Republican Party save messages so potentially damaging to it?

"He's a very personable guy and . . . certainly a rising star," said one page who served with Edmund in 2002 and who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation. The page said Edmund was known among some fellow pages that year for boasting of his friendship with Foley.

In recent days, some blogs have published reports that the exchanges were a prank and that the teen in the messages, who seems uncertain about his sexual orientation, was actually trying to solicit sexually suggestive messages from Foley.

In daily online exchanges with fellow former pages over the last week, the former page who served with Edmund said, "Someone commented that if it was indeed a prank then it's very upsetting and disappointing that Jordan would do that. It would have been insensitive to Foley's sexual orientation."

Jones, Edmund's lawyer, said: "It was not a prank, not a practical joke, that pages played on a congressman."

Edmund "demonstrated integrity" by agreeing to cooperate in the investigation, Jones said. "I don't think Jordan intended for any of this to become public.

"I think he'd like to have his privacy respected. I told him I thought he was a victim."

Staff researcher Madonna Lebling contributed to this report.