Report: Some GOP congressmen chided for booze, nudity during swim in Israel

View of the Sea of Galilee from the old city of Tiberias in Israel, in an undated photo

/ Deror avi via Wikimedia Commons

Updated at 12:01 p.m. ET with clarification on the FBI investigation.

(CBS News) Shortly after the contentious debt ceiling debate last year, nearly one in five congressmen took off for week-long informational trips during their summer recess, most of which were paid for by a pro-Israel lobbying group. The relief from escaping the toxic air of Washington, D.C., last summer may have been overwhelming for some of the lawmakers.

Politico reported that a late-night dip in the Sea of Galilee near the Israeli city of Tiberias by several GOP freshmen lawmakers and top leadership staff during that trip led to an FBI probe after reports of drinking and even a bit of nudity surfaced. Federal officials told CBS News that there is an FBI investigation into public corruption, but the skinny-dipping incident cited in the report is ancillary to the larger probe. Those officials also said that Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kan., - who was named in the Politico report - is not the subject of the federal investigation.

Yoder took off his clothes for the swim, Politico reports, and some of the other lawmakers partially disrobed, even though families - including one congressman's daughter - were also apparently swimming at the same time. Sources told Politico more than 20 people in total took part in the late-night swim.

Rep. Kevin Yoder, R.-Kan, on February 7, 2012, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

/ Getty Images

In a statement to Politico, Yoder said: "A year ago, my wife, Brooke, and I joined colleagues for dinner at the Sea of Galilee in Israel. After dinner I followed some Members of Congress in a spontaneous and very brief dive into the sea and regrettably I jumped into the water without a swimsuit. It is my greatest honor to represent the people of Kansas in Congress and [for] any embarrassment I have caused for my colleagues and constituents, I apologize."

Politico reports the other lawmakers who went swimming that night were: Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Fla., and his daughter; Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., and his wife; Rep. Ben Quayle, R-Ariz.; Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif.; and Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y.

The reasons lawmakers gave Politico for the swim varied: Some said it was a religious experience (the Bible says the Sea of Galilee is where Jesus walked on water); others said they wanted to cool off; and still others admitted alcohol may have guided their decision.

Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., who did not swim that night, allegedly scolded the group after learning about the evening, Politico reports, because it was distracting from the mission of their trip. The FBI probe allegedly ended after a few questions about what happened that night were answered by a Cantor staffer.

American lawmakers from both parties frequently make summer excursions to Israel on trips funded by the American Israel Education Foundation, which is a supporting organization of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The trips are designed to promote the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship, and they also bring the politicians to the most-sacred sites of both Judaism and Christianity.

[thetruescoop]

Was Condosleezy swimming in the buff too?

HA

[Lindag20]

Go on an all expense paid trip to Israel, get drunk as a skunk, go skinny dipping in the Sea of Galilee AND give Israel another $4 Billion handout when you get back to Congress. Ah the life of a GOP Congressman, how wonderful it is!!!

[CBSDebbie]

Conservative Christian values? Nude and drinking where Jesus walked on the water. Nice respect shown for Jesus...not.

[cbs4111]

Ancient news. The real story is who in the FBI authorized an investigation into skinny dipping. If the liberals that run CBS news would look into that, they might actually find a story worth reporting.

[stevex47]

birthers bought and paid for by the pro-Israel lobbying group, and keepin' it classy !

Mission Accomplished.

[KnowerseekerReturns]

When it comes to the Bible, Republicans fail to follow the spirit of it, while Democrats fail to follow the letter. (Occasionally, the opposite is true.) That's why real Christians -- who follow both the letter and the spirit of the Bible -- don't fit neatly into either group, and that's why I'm an independent voter.

[Uradeadhd]

An independent voter is a voter who is confuse.... Waste of a brain.....

[TJphoto]

Don't worry folks, it's only the party of "Family Values"

[TimeToEvolve]

Who let the Government of Pigs children overseas again? Every time they leave they embarrass us parents here in America.

[TimeToEvolve]

The problem is that the fake Christian conservatives and Republicons are champions of morals and actually campaign on family values.

Fellow Americans, how much longer are we going to be played by this greedy, unscrupulous, bought off and bribed bunch of hypocrite Republicons?

[myopinionpal]

If this had been democrats they would of went on Fox News saying that all of the democratic congressmen should resign at once because they defiled a holy place and disgraced the office they hold. But whenever repubs mess up "oh its just boys being boys".

[Verascity]

Those family values folks act like college freshmen when they're out of town.

An Oregon Republican, Kevin Cameron, has resigned after an out of town evening at a strip club. The other conservatives in the group are staying on.

Not crimes, just embarrassing lapses for the "morality" party.