Question is if he knew he was an alkie, why didn’t Mark Foley check into rehab before he was caught with the e-mails?

WASHINGTON – While GOP leaders scramble to contain the political fallout from the latest Washington sex scandal, the FBI is examining Republican Rep. Mark Foley’s e-mail exchanges with teenage boys and he has checked himself into an alcohol rehabilitation facility.

The FBI “is conducting an assessment to see if there’s been a violation of federal law,” FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said, declining to elaborate.

Foley announced Monday through his attorney that he had been battling alcoholism and had checked into an unidentified rehabilitation facility for treatment over the weekend. “I strongly believe that I am an alcoholic and have accepted the need for immediate treatment for alcoholism and other behavioral problems,” Foley said in a statement released in Florida by his attorney, David Roth.

Additional story: The top Republican in the U.S. House has asked the Justice Department to investigate whether there was a coverup in the scandal surrounding Rep. Mark Foley.

The FBI has begun a preliminary inquiry into whether any laws were broken when Foley allegedly sent sexually explicit e-mails to underage male pages, CNN reported.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert now has asked the Justice Department to investigate how lawmakers handled allegations surrounding the former Florida congressman.

Democrats had complained earlier Sunday that the House Republican leadership had stifled concerns about Foley’s activity, CNN said.

Foley, who was co-chairman of the Missing and Exploited Children’s Caucus and backed legislation to crack down on Internet pages, resigned Friday when the scandal broke.