A strongly worded statement assailing Foley from the chamber's top three Republicans came as they tried to answer key questions: What did they know and what did they do about it?

"The improper communications between Congressman Mark Foley and former House congressional pages is unacceptable and abhorrent," read the statement issued by Majority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois and Majority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri.

Foley, a Republican from Florida, resigned Friday after his alleged e-mail exchanges with a teenage male page were made public, and the House voted to launch an investigation. Foley apologized to his family and his constituents.

Foley, who co-chaired the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus, did not mention the messages that brought him down. The six-term representative has pushed legislation to crack down on Internet child pornography and tighten tracking rules for sex offenders.

GOP sources told CNN that Foley's resignation was prompted in part by concerns that other potentially politically damaging e-mails or information might surface, including exchanges with other pages that were more graphic.

ABC News on Friday evening reported details of three exchanges of instant messages sent in 2003 between teenage male pages and someone using the screen name Maf54, which ABC identified as Foley. The congressman's initials are MAF, and he was born in 1954.

The Democratic National Committee issued a statement Saturday saying that at least one member of the Republican House leadership, Rep. Tom Reynolds of New York, had "known about the situation for months and did nothing about it."

Reynolds responded by saying that when Rep. Rodney Alexander, a Louisiana Republican, told him about the e-mails, he said the teen's parents didn't want the matter pursued. Alexander was the boy's sponsor.

"Mark Foley betrayed the integrity of this institution as well as the trust of his colleagues and constituents. There is no excuse, and he needs to be held accountable," Reynolds said in a statement Saturday.

After an initial denial, Hastert's office said Saturday night that Reynolds, in a meeting with the speaker this year, had brought up the e-mail issue.

Reynolds told Hastert in that meeting an investigation had been done by Rep. John Shimkus, an Illinois Republican, chairman of the House Page Board, and the clerk of the House, who manages the work-study program for youths under 18.

"While the speaker does not explicitly recall this conversation, he has no reason to dispute Congressman Reynolds' recollection that he reported to him on the problem and its resolution," the Hastert statement said.

"Any statement by Mr. Reynolds or anyone else that the House Page Board ever investigated Mr. Foley is completely untrue," the Michigan Democrat said in a statement.

The Foley e-mail allegations first came to light in 2005, and the Democratic National Committee said Reynolds took no steps to discipline Foley -- "apparently choosing instead to sweep the matter under the rug to protect the Republican Party's dwindling chances of retaining control of the House."

"Reynolds' inaction in the face of such a serious situation is very troubling, and raises important questions about whether there was an attempt to cover up criminal activity involving a minor to keep it from coming to light before Election Day," said committee spokesperson Karen Finney.

Shimkus said when he and the clerk discussed the e-mail reports with Foley, the congressman falsely assured them that he was only mentoring the teen.

Foley also explained that he was concerned about the teen's fate following Hurricane Katrina. He asked the young man to send him a photograph of himself, according to Shimkus.

"It has become clear to me today, based on information I only now have learned, that Congressman Foley was not honest about his conduct," Shimkus said in a statement issued after Foley's resignation Friday.

Boehner learned about the e-mails in the spring, but "there wasn't a level of alarm because there was no specificity about the contact," an aide to Boehner told CNN.

"I am working with the clerk [of the House] to fully review this incident and determine what actions need to be taken," Shimkus said. "Preserving the integrity of the House page program is of utmost importance to me."

Boehner, Blunt and Hastert said in their joint statement they have asked the page board to undertake a full review of the incident, and have also requested a toll-free number be created for pages, their families and staffers to report "incidents of concern."

"We have confidence that the House of Representatives will address this matter appropriately," said White House spokesman Blain Rethmeier in a statement.

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