Less than eight months ago the world learned of former GOP Rep. Mark Foley’s seedy online and possible in-person interactions with several male high school students who recently took part in the Congressional Page Program. But Big Head DC has learned from insiders that the scandal has actually helped promote the program, rather than detract from it, as some had feared. In fact, the numbers of students and their families who have contacted program officials regarding employment has skyrocketed since Foley’s misdeeds came to light.

It’s generally known that pages do menial tasks while employed by Congress, like running files and answering phones, but you’ll need lots of luck (and considerable sway with top Congressional officials), if you want to hear from current students about what real life is like as a Congressional Page. Officials with the program have told BHDC sources that current students are “off limits for interviews.”

CNN Capitol Hill reporter Lisa Goddard, for instance, was all set to interview a current student and his or her family on camera on Saturday, but program officials put the kibosh on those plans late Friday night. Goddard was left to speak with past pages who had nothing but positive things to say about the program.

“I think there’s a lot of white-washing going on,” one less enthusiastic former page told BHDC in reference to the renewed secrecy being instituted by current program officials. “There are lots of scandalous things to talk about, which is why officials are holding these kids in a gestapo state.”

Our source believes that pages should be able to talk freely about their experiences, so that interested candidates can make more informed decisions before participating. Indeed, many internship programs in Washington go out of their way to let current interns speak out in the press.

One thing’s for sure: whatever secrets lie within the current Congressional Page Program will have to wait for a later date to be aired.

Earlier: Exclusive: Foley-Gate Web Site Could Be Yours!; Sex in the Union Station Bathrooms?; Political Page Bondage; How Long Have We Been Harping About Jeff Trandahl?; What Does the Former Clerk of the House Know?; Jeff Trandahl Still Silent in Foleygate; Secrets in the House Clerk’s Closet