What Did Democratic Leader Rahm Emanuel Know About the Mark Foley E-mails?

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Knew About E-mails?

The man who ran the Democratic effort to retake the House apparently knew about the Mark Foley e-mails in the fall of 2005 — despite his statements to the contrary when the scandal broke this September.

Published reports say Rahm Emanuel learned about the e-mails from a staffer. But when asked by ABC's George Stephanopoulos if he or his staff knew about the messages, Emanuel said, "No, we never saw them. No involvement."

North Carolina Republican Patrick McHenry called the revelation "stunning" and told The Washington Times that Emanuel had let a "predator roam free" for "cold, calculated political advantage."

The Times also reports that a House ethics committee report says Democratic operatives pushed newspapers to write about the Foley e-mails in hopes of sparking a scandal before the midterm elections.

That same House ethics panel has rebuked — but not punished — Democratic Congressman Jim McDermott of Washington for leaking to the media a secretly taped phone call of Republican leaders discussing strategy in 1997.

The report said McDermott's actions were "inconsistent with the spirit of the applicable rules and represented a failure on his part to meet his obligations" as the ranking member of the ethics committee.

Mcdermott — who was forced to resign from the committee — issued a statement saying he was pleased with the report's conclusion. McDermott was sued by Republican John Boehner, who was on the tape. Boehner won but the case is still on appeal.

National Security Threat?

A group that advocates for religious neutrality in the military says Christian military officers who share their faith at work pose a threat to national security. The Cybercast News Service reports the Military Religious Freedom Foundation claims America's enemies "see us as invading imperialists and crusaders." It says evangelistic efforts by officers amount to "coercion" and "fanatical unconstitutional religious persecution."

The group has called for an investigation into a promotional video for a Christian organization that ministers to various government personnel — and featured four generals and three colonels wearing their uniforms.

Not-So-Honored Roll

Students who make the honor roll at Needham High School in Massachusetts will no longer have their names in the local newspaper. That's because principal Paul Richards says publishing the honor roll represents "an unhealthy focus on grades" and goes against the school's mission to "promote learning."

Richards tells a Boston TV station that the new policy is aimed at reducing students' stress levels in what he calls "this high expectations, high achievement culture." The principal says the change was prompted by a complaint from a parent. He says he's received dozens of messages both for and against the new policy — which he says is "subject to review."

—FOX News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.