Some question Foley fundraising

In light of the scandal surrounding Mark Foley and the Republican leadership, some attention has begun to be focused on the disgraced Representative's role as a party fundraiser.

The Tampa Tribune reports that "Foley leaves office with about $2.8 million in cash in his campaign account, the fourth-largest in Congress." However, more importantly, he was a very generous donor to the GOP.

Since 1998, Foley has given $550,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee, the branch of the national Republican Party charged with getting Republicans elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Besides that, Foley has given $194,250 to other Republican candidates and party organizations, according to figures from the Committee for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan watchdog group that focuses on money in politics.

And perhaps even more troubling is a $100,000 donation given to RNCC in July, several months after the Republican's top House political operative, Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-NY) learned of the e-mails to young pages.

Another unanswered question is whether any of Foley's donors will request their donations back.