Editorial boards around New York State are calling for an independent investigation of how the Republican congressional leadership handled allegations of predatory sexual conduct by former Congressman Mark Foley as papers dig deeper into the scandal.

Local coverage after the jump.

There's more...

Rep. Tom Reynolds (NY-26) is the Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and one of the people who knew about Mark Foley's emails to 16 year old Congressional interns before they were made public.  Reynolds is locked in a tight race with Democratic-Working Families Party candidate Jack Davis.

Here's a statement from the Davis campaign's Communications Director Curtis Ellis:

"No issue is more important than the safety and security of our children. Like all of us, Tom Reynolds has a moral obligation to protect our children. Reynolds should have been demanding accountability from Mark Foley. Instead, he was demanding a $100,000 campaign contribution - and took it."

More from Davis after the jump.

There's more...

On July 27, 2006, Mark Foley made a $100,000 contribution to the National Republican Congressional Committee.  This has every appearance of "hush money" accepted by the political committee controlled by Rep. Thomas Reynolds (R-NY).

We need to demand the appointment of an outside special counsel not subject to dismissal by any political appointee or elected official with the independence to investigate and prosecute any and all criminal acts, or conspiracy to commit criminal acts, committed by any member of the U.S. House of Representatives relating to the apparent cover-up of the Mark Foley affair.  Hastert has already given way to public pressure and called for a Department of Justice investigation - we need to keep pushing to make sure there's a real investigation by an outside special counsel.

Send email now, read more after the jump.

There's more...