Five Years After Scandal, Mark Foley Faces National Interview and Fox News' Sean Hannity

In his first national television interview since he resigned from the U.S. House in a cloud of scandal in 2006, Mark Foley admitted to Fox News' "Hannity" viewers Thursday night that his sexually explicit e-mails to congressional pages were "horriffic behavior" that "embarrassed myself, my staff, my constituents, the Chamber I loved ..."

Foley spent the first 10 minutes of the interview, regardless of the questions asked him, apologizing. He answered every question.

Foley said it was particularly upsetting to him at the time to hear the names of Republican House leaders like Denny Hastert accused of covering up for him. "You have no idea," he told host Sean Hannity. "People like John Boehner and Denny Hastert would never have covered something like that up for one minute."

He also took responsibility for "tipping the scales" in the tough 2006 election cycle to the Democrats. "I am fully aware of the damage I did," he said.

Host Sean Hannity asked Foley if Rep. Anthony Weiner should resign. Foley hesitated, but when pressed, said, "In my heart, (I know) you cannot fix this from inside that building. ... You have to get out."

Foley now is a radio talk-show host in West Palm Beach, a consultant and a real estate investment broker. He nearly ran for mayor of West Palm Beach in 2010, and though top of the early polls, he said at the time, "I can't put my family through everything it will take. I have a good life without the need of that kind of hassle."

On Sept. 29, 2006, Foley resigned his House seat following allegations that he sent sexually explicit e-mails and instant messages to teenage male congressional pages. The scandal came weeks ahead of the congressional midterm elections. After leaving Congress, Foley checked into a rehabilitation clinic for alcoholism and admitted that he is gay.

He remains a member of the Republican Party, though he admitted to Hannity Thursday night, "I'm a libertarian."

Read an exclusive interview with Mark Foley before the "Hannity" show.
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