WASHINGTON — Some unusual antics from conservative Republican Congress members during a free trip to Israel paid by an Israel-American lobbying group last summer. It was billed as a fact-finding trip and for Johnson County Republican Kevin Yoder, it was nothing but the bare facts. After a night of drinking the 30 Congressional members and their staffers did more than dip into the facts, according to a story by the Internet-based Politico. ABC news senior political correspondent Jonathan Karl reports that things got out of control during dinner out at the Sea of Galilee, doing some drinking apparently. After the dinner, several of the members of Congress and top Congressional staff decided to take an impromptu dip in the sea. Some of them went in fully clothed and some went in partially clothed. Karl reports that Kevin Yoder, Kansas Republican went in without any clothes at all. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who was among the group at the Sea of Galilee, has dressed down his fellow conservatives and the FBI has been questioning the Congress members and their staffers to determine if any of the partiers could be subject to blackmail. In an interview with the ABC-TV station in Manchester, N.H., Mitt Romney calls the conduct “reprehensible,” and a “terrible mistake.” His running mate, House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan, says the behavior is “unbecoming of a member of Congress.” Yoder has apologized for his antics, denying that alcohol was a factor but was the result of a spontaneous moment.
Tuesday, Aug. 21, 7 a.m.