Story of the Day-Republican Senator Larry Craig

Countdown: To Catch a Senator

Dragnet:Larry Craig on Countdown 08-29-07

Larry Edwin Craig (born July 20, 1945) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Idaho. A Republican, he has served in the United States Senate since 1991. Previously he served in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Idaho's 1st congressional district (1981–1991).[1] Including his service in the House of Representatives, Craig is the second-longest serving member of the United States Congress in Idaho history, trailing only William Edgar Borah.

On August 27, 2007 the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call revealed that Craig had been arrested for lewd conduct in a men's bathroom on June 11, 2007, and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct on August 8, 2007.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Craig



Larry Craig, U.S. Senator / Political Scandal Figure

Born: 20 July 1945
Birthplace: Near Midvale, Idaho
Best Known As: The Idaho senator who was arrested for lewd conduct in 2007


Larry Edwin Craig (born July 20, 1945) is the senior United States Senator from Idaho. He is a member of the Republican Party, and has been a Senator since 1991; he was a U.S. Representative from 1981 to 1991.

Early life and education
Craig was born in Council, Idaho to Dorothy Lenore McCord and Elvin Oren Craig.[2] In 1969, he earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Idaho, where he served as student body President and was a member of the Delta Chi fraternity. He pursued graduate studies at George Washington University before returning to his family's ranching business in 1971, and was a member of the Idaho National Guard from 1970 to 1972, attaining the rank of E3.[3]


Idaho legislature
Craig was elected to the Idaho State Senate in 1974 and reelected in 1976 and 1978.[4]


U.S. Congress
Including his service in the House of Representatives, as of 2007 Craig is the second-longest serving member of the United States Congress in Idaho history, trailing only William E. Borah. If reelected in 2008 Craig would pass Borah in November 2013.


House of Representatives
In 1980, Craig was elected to an open seat in the United States House of Representatives; he succeeded Steve Symms, who stood for the United States Senate, as representative for the first congressional district of Idaho. He was re-elected four times, serving until 1991. While in the House, he supported Ronald Reagan's push to expand vocational education.


U.S. Senate

Elections
In 1990, Craig announced his candidacy for the United States Senate seat to be vacated by the retiring Jim McClure. Craig defeated Idaho Attorney General Jim Jones in the Republican primary and former state legislator Ron J. Twilegar in the general election, getting 57 percent of the vote. Craig was reelected in 1996 with 57 percent of the vote, defeating Democrat Walt Minnick, and in 2002, when he spent $3.2 million to defeat Alan Blinken, winning with 65 percent of the vote.

Craig has not indicated if he will run for reelection in 2008. Announced candidates include Democrat Larry LaRocco, a former Congressman. Possible republican contenders are Governor Butch Otter. [5].


Committees
Craig was chairman of the Republican Policy Committee from 1997 until 2003.[1] He then became chairman of the Special Committee on Aging. He is currently the ranking member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and a member of the Appropriations Committee and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.


Political positions and actions
Craig is a long-time, leading advocate for a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

In May 2003, Craig put a hold on more than 200 Air Force promotions in an attempt to pressure the Air Force to station four new C-130 cargo planes in Idaho, saying that he received a commitment from the Air Force almost seven years earlier that the planes would be delivered. Defense officials said the reason the C-130s had not been sent to Idaho was that no new aircraft were being manufactured for the type of transport mission done by the Idaho Air National Guard unit where Craig wanted the planes delivered.[6]

Craig is a supporter of the guest-worker program proposed by President George W. Bush. In April 2005, Craig attempted to amend an Iraq War supplemental bill with an AgJOBS amendment that would have granted legal status to between 500,000 and 1 million illegal immigrants in farm work. The amendment received 53 votes; 60 were needed because the amendment was not relevant to the matter at hand.[7] A version of the AgJOBS bill legislation was included in the Senate-passed immigration reform bill in 2006.

Craig, the principal sponsor of AgJOBS, continues to support amnesty for illegal immigrants who are "trusted workers with a significant work history in American agriculture."[8] This position has been sharply criticized by anti-immigration activists[9].

In October 2005, Craig suggested that flooded sections of New Orleans should be abandoned after Hurricane Katrina had hit. "Fraud is in the culture of Iraqis. I believe that is true in the state of Louisiana as well," Craig was quoted as saying in a local paper.[10]

On December 16, 2005, Craig voted against a cloture motion filed relative to the USA PATRIOT Act; the motion ultimately earned only 52 votes, and so a Democratic filibuster against extension of the Act (due to expire at the end of 2005) was permitted to continue.[11] On December 21, 2005, Craig backed a six-month extension of the Act while further negotiations took place.[12] On February 9, 2006, Craig announced an agreement between himself, the White House, and fellow Senators John E. Sununu, Arlen Specter, Lisa Murkowski, Chuck Hagel, and Richard Durbin to reauthorize the Act.[13]

In 2006, Craig posted to his Senate website all the earmarks he had inserted into federal spending bills since joining the Senate Appropriations Committee in 1998.

The American Conservative Union gave Craig's 2005 voting record 96 points out of 100. The liberal Americans for Democratic Action gave him 15. Considered a social conservative, Craig has long been an advocate of adoption. He supports the Federal Marriage Amendment, voting for cloture on the amendment in both 2004 and 2006. He voted against cloture on a bill in 2002, which would have extended the federal definition hate crimes to cover sexual orientation.[14]


Personal
Craig and his wife Suzanne have two sons, Mike and Jay, and a daughter, Shae; the children are from her previous marriage and were adopted by Craig.[15] They have nine grandchildren.[16]

In 1995, Craig formed a barbershop quartet called The Singing Senators with Senators Trent Lott, John Ashcroft, and James Jeffords.[17]


Other
Prior to the nomination of Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne, Craig was mentioned as a possible candidate to succeed Gale Norton as United States Secretary of the Interior in March 2006.[18]

Craig has been on the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association since 1983
http://www.answers.com/topic/larry-craig



Larry Craig, US Senator from Idaho
http://craig.senate.gov/contact.cfm

The Larry Craig Bust
http://www.slate.com/id/2172982/entry/0/



U.S. Senator Gets Flushed
Cops: Republican Larry Craig sought Minnesota airport toilet tryst
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0828071craig1.html



US Senator pleads guilty after toilet arrest
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/28/2017411.htm?section=justin
A Republican Senator has confirmed that he pleaded guilty earlier this month to a charge of disorderly conduct after he was arrested at an airport in the United States.

Senator Larry Craig of Idaho was arrested in June by a plain-clothes police officer investigating complaints of lewd conduct in the men's public toilet at the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport, the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call reports.

The police report said Craig entered a bathroom stall next to the investigator, placed his bag against the front of the door and tapped his foot - a signal commonly used to try to pick up men in public toilets.

The investigator said he recognised this as "a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct," the newspaper reported.

In a carefully worded statement, Craig made no mention of the incident that prompted his arrest or the charges brought against him.

"At the time of this incident, I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my actions. I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct," he said in a statement.

"I should have had the advice of counsel in resolving this matter. In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously."

Craig pleaded guilty to the misdemeanour of disorderly conduct on August 8 and paid more than $US500 ($607) in fines and fees. He also was given one year of probation, the newspaper reported.

Craig, a married father of three, is in his third term and up for re-election next year.

A gay rights activist claimed in a blog in October last year that Craig had had several gay relationships.

The Senator's office denied it, telling the Spokesman-Review newspaper in Washington that the allegations were "completely ridiculous" and had "no basis in fact".

Senator Larry Craig Arrest & Interrogation Tape


Senator Larry Craig: "I am not gay"


Craig: I did nothing 'inappropriate' in airport bathroom
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/08/28/craig.arrest/index.html
Sen. Larry Craig said he "overreacted and made a poor decision" in pleading guilty to disorderly conduct after his June arrest following an incident in a Minneapolis, Minnesota, airport bathroom.

Tuesday, in his first public statement on the arrest, the Idaho Republican said he did nothing "inappropriate."

"Let me be clear: I am not gay and never have been," said Craig, who has aligned himself with conservative groups who oppose gay rights.

With his wife by his side, Craig said he is the victim of a "witch hunt" conducted by the Idaho Statesman newspaper.

"In pleading guilty, I overreacted in Minneapolis, because of the stress of the Idaho Statesman's investigation and the rumors it has fueled around Idaho," he said. "Again, that overreaction was a mistake, and I apologize for my misjudgment." Watch Craig say he did nothing wrong »

He added: "I should not have kept this arrest to myself, and should have told my family and friends about it. I wasn't eager to share this failure, but I should have done so anyway."

A police officer who arrested him June 11 said Craig peered through a crack in a restroom stall door for two minutes and made gestures suggesting to the officer he wanted to engage in "lewd conduct."


Craig's blue eyes were clearly visible through the crack in the door, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport police Sgt. Dave Karsnia wrote in the report he filed.

"Craig would look down at his hands, 'fidget' with his fingers, and then look through the crack into my stall again," Karsnia wrote in documents accompanying the arrest report.

Craig said the officer misinterpreted his actions.

After he was taken for questioning, the police report says, Craig pulled out a Senate business card and asked the officer: "What do you think of that?"

Before the senator spoke in Boise, Idaho, Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, informed Craig the leaders of his own party were calling for an ethics investigation into what they termed a "serious matter," a Senate Republican leadership aide told CNN.

The aide said senators, who discussed the matter by phone, were especially concerned about the business card allegation.

The GOP leadership consists of McConnell, Assistant Minority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi, Conference Chairman Jon Kyl of Arizona, Policy Committee Chair Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, and Senatorial Committee Chair John Ensign of Nevada.

"Due to the reported and disputed circumstances, and the legal resolution of this serious case, we will recommend that Senator Craig's incident be reported to the Senate Ethics Committee for its review," the group said in a statement.

"In the meantime, Leadership is examining other aspects of the case to determine if additional action is required," the statement said.

Craig, 62, pleaded guilty August 8 to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge in the incident, according to Minnesota criminal records.

The senator said he "chose to plead guilty to a lesser charge in the hope of making it go away. I did not seek any counsel, either from an attorney, staff, friends, or family. That was a mistake, and I deeply regret it."

On Tuesday, Craig announced that he has retained an attorney.

The officer wrote he was on a plainclothes detail in the restroom because of citizen complaints and arrests for sexual activity there.

Karsnia wrote that when the person occupying the stall beside him left, Craig entered it and blocked the door with his rolling suitcase.

"My experience has shown that individuals engaging in lewd conduct use their bags to block the view from the front of their stall," the officer said in his report.

The senator then tapped his right foot, "a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct," Karsnia wrote, and Craig ran his left hand several times underneath the partition dividing the stalls.

"The presence of others did not seem to deter Craig as he moved his right foot so that it touched the side of my left foot, which was within my stall area," the officer's report said.

When the police interviewed him later, the senator said that "he has a wide stance when going to the bathroom" and that was why his foot may have touched the officer's, the report said.

Craig also told police that he had reached down to the floor to pick up a piece of paper, the officer wrote.

"It should be noted that there was not a piece of paper on the bathroom floor, nor did Craig pick up a piece of paper," Karsnia wrote.

"During the interview, Craig either disagreed with me or 'didn't recall' the events as they happened."

After Craig ran his hand underneath the partition wall three times, Karsnia held his police identification down by the floor so the senator could see it, the report said.

"With my left hand near the floor, I pointed towards the exit. Craig responded, 'No!'

"I again pointed towards the exit. Craig exited the stall with his roller bags without flushing the toilet," Karsnia wrote.

The senator initially resisted the officer's request to go to the police operations center, he said, but finally did. There, he was read his Miranda rights, interviewed, photographed, fingerprinted and released, the report said.

The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call first reported the arrest Monday.

In a statement released Monday evening, Craig denied inappropriate conduct and said he regrets his guilty plea, which he entered without having an attorney present.

"At the time of this incident, I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my actions. I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct," he said. "I should have had the advice of counsel in resolving this matter. In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously."

Craig paid a $500 fine when he entered his guilty plea in Hennepin County Municipal Court in Bloomington, Minnesota, according to state criminal records.

In his petition to enter a guilty plea, Craig acknowledged that he "engaged in (physical) conduct which I knew or should have known tended to arouse alarm or resentment."

He also was required to stipulate in the statement that he would "make no claim that I am innocent of the charge to which I am entering a plea of guilty," the document said.

On Tuesday, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee, asking that the senator's conduct be investigated. The group, which largely targets Republicans, asked the committee to probe whether Craig "violated the Senate Rules of Conduct by engaging in disorderly conduct," a statement said.

"If pleading guilty to charges stemming from an attempt to solicit an undercover officer in a public restroom is not conduct that reflects poorly upon the Senate, what is?" asked Melanie Sloan, the group's executive director, in a statement. Sloan is a former U.S. attorney in the Clinton administration's Justice Department.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, chairwoman of the Ethics Committee, declined to comment on whether an investigation would be conducted. Her office noted the committee's work is generally confidential.

A Senate aide familiar with Ethics Committee practices said ethics rules do not specifically require a member to disclose pleading guilty to a misdemeanor. But the rules require the panel to look into a matter and determine whether an investigation is appropriate once a formal complaint is lodged.

Craig resigned Monday night as a Senate liaison for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. Romney's son Josh canceled a trip to Idaho on Tuesday.

Craig, Idaho's senior senator, is married with three grown children and nine grandchildren. A former rancher, he was first elected to the Senate in 1990 after serving a decade in the House of Representatives. His seat is up for re-election in 2008.

Last fall, Craig's office publicly denied assertions by Internet blogger Mike Rogers that the senator is gay. Craig's office dismissed speculation about the senator's sexuality as "completely ridiculous."

In 1982, Craig denied rumors he was under investigation as part of a federal probe into allegations that lawmakers on Capitol Hill had sexual relationships with congressional pages, saying the "false allegations" made him "mad as hell."

He was never implicated in that investigation, which led to ethics charges against two other congressmen.

In recent years, Craig's voting record has earned him top ratings from social conservative groups such as the American Family Association, Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council.

He has supported a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, telling his colleagues that it was "important for us to stand up now and protect traditional marriage, which is under attack by a few unelected judges and litigious activists."


In 1996, Craig also voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition to same-sex marriages and prevents states from being forced to recognize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples legally performed in other states.

Craig also has opposed expanding the federal hate crimes law to cover offenses motivated by anti-gay bias and, in 1996, voted against a bill that would have outlawed employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, which failed by a single vote in the Senate.



1982 Larry Craig denial

When the congressional sex and drug scandal was going down in 82', Craig came out with a preemptive denial regarding any involvement. This video is an ABC News segment containing that denial. This and other information coming out is making it appear that it was well known for a long time that Craig was into this kinda thing. If the Ethics Committee is going to have a field day, it should focus on Congress' hear-no-evil see-no-evil problem more than Craig's bathroom antics..

Men's room arrest reopens questions about Sen. Larry Craig
Idaho senator pleads guilty to disorderly conduct after incident at Minnesota airport that echoes previous allegation of homosexual conduct.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/eyepiece/story/143801.html

Sen. Larry Craig, who in May told the Idaho Statesman he had never engaged in homosexual acts, was arrested less than a month later by an undercover police officer who said Craig made a sexual advance toward him in an airport men's room.

The arrest at a Minnesota airport prompted Craig to plead guilty to disorderly conduct earlier this month. His June 11 encounter with the officer was similar to an incident in a men's room in a Washington, D.C., rail station described by a Washington-area man to the Idaho Statesman. In that case, the man said he and Craig had sexual contact.

The Minnesota arrest was first reported Monday by Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper.

In an interview on May 14, Craig told the Idaho Statesman he'd never engaged in sex with a man or solicited sex with a man. The Craig interview was the culmination of a Statesman investigation that began after a blogger accused Craig of homosexual sex in October. Over five months, the Statesman examined rumors about Craig dating to his college days and his 1982 pre-emptive denial that he had sex with underage congressional pages.

The most serious finding by the Statesman was the report by a professional man with close ties to Republican officials. The 40-year-old man reported having oral sex with Craig at Washington's Union Station, probably in 2004. The Statesman also spoke with a man who said Craig made a sexual advance toward him at the University of Idaho in 1967 and a man who said Craig "cruised" him for sex in 1994 at the REI store in Boise. The Statesman also explored dozens of allegations that proved untrue, unclear or unverifiable.

Craig, 62, was elected to Congress in 1980. Should he win re-election in 2008 and complete his term, he would be the longest-serving Idahoan ever in Congress. His record includes a series of votes against gay rights and his support of a 2006 amendment to the Idaho Constitution that bars gay marriage and civil unions.

News about the June 11 arrest at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was reported on Roll Call's Web site Monday. According to police and court records obtained by Roll Call, Craig pleaded guilty Aug. 8 to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in Hennepin County District Court. He paid $575 in fines and fees. A 10-day jail sentence was suspended and Craig received one year's unsupervised probation.

Craig on Monday denied any misconduct. "At the time of this incident, I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my actions," he said in a written statement. "I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct. I should have had the advice of counsel in resolving this matter. In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously."

Craig, through his staff, declined to answer questions.

Craig resigns Romney post

On Monday afternoon, Craig resigned from his role as the U.S. Senate co-chair of the Mitt Romney for president campaign. Monday night, the Romney campaign canceled a visit to Boise scheduled for today by Romney's son, Josh.

Until Monday, the Statesman had declined to run a story about Craig's sex life, because the paper didn't have enough corroborating evidence and because of the senator's steadfast denial.

In the hourlong May 14 interview, Craig was accompanied by his wife, Suzanne. He specifically and generally denied ever engaging in any homosexual conduct.

During that interview, the Statesman played Craig an audiotape of the man claiming that he and Craig had sex in the Union Station restroom. Like the Minnesota airport restroom, the Union Station restroom is known as a place where men can find anonymous sex.

Craig denied the man's account and said, "I am not gay and I have never been in a restroom in Union Station having sex with anybody.

"There's a very clear bottom line here," Craig said. "I don't do that kind of thing. I am not gay, and I never have been."

Craig's accuser spoke to the Statesman on the condition he not be named. The man said he was sure it was Craig he had oral sex with but said he had no evidence other than his word.

Craig also denied the claims of the two other men that he made sexual advances to them.

One man, who was considering pledging with Craig's fraternity at the U of I in 1967, said Craig took him to his room and made what the man said he took to be an invitation to sex. Responding to that allegation in May, Craig said, "I don't hit on any men."

Another man said that in November 1994 Craig "cruised" him at the REI store in Boise. The man, who is gay, told the Statesman that Craig stared at him in a sexually inviting way and followed him around REI for a half-hour. Said Craig: "Once again, I'm not gay, and I don't cruise, and I don't hit on men. I have no idea how he drew that conclusion. A smile? Here is one thing I do out in public: I make eye contact, I smile at people, they recognize me, they say, ‘Oh, hi, Senator.' Or, ‘Do I know you?'

"I've been in this business 27 years in the public eye here. I don't go around anywhere hitting on men, and by God, if I did, I wouldn't do it in Boise, Idaho! Jiminy!"

Undecided about re-election

On Aug. 9, the day after his guilty plea in Minnesota, Craig told the Statesman he had yet to decide whether he would seek re-election in 2008. He served five terms in the House before he was elected to the Senate. His third Senate term expires in January 2009. Lt. Gov. Jim Risch has said he will likely run should Craig retire. Former Democratic Rep. Larry LaRocco announced in April that he will run for the Senate.

Craig said that he would announce his re-election plans by mid-September. He said personal factors, including spending time with his nine grandchildren, were weighing on the side of retirement. But he also said he enjoyed his job and the benefits of seniority.

During the interview in May, Craig said his re-election or retirement would not be influenced by accusations that he was gay. "If I'm going to run from these kinds of stupid, false allegations after 27 years in public life, having done a credible job, then I shouldn't have been there in the first place."

Blogger makes claims

The Statesman began its inquiry last October, after a gay activist blogger, Mike Rogers, published a claim that Craig had sex with men. Rogers cited anonymous sources. Rogers believed he had the evidence to nail a hypocritical Republican foe of gay rights, raise the din in the Rep. Mark Foley scandal, and help the Democrats win the Congress.

Millions heard or read of Rogers' claims. Amid anticipatory buzz from Web sites like the liberal Wonkette, Rogers published his report at blogactive.com Oct. 17. He also appeared on a liberal talk show in 100 radio markets. Mainstream media — including four Idaho newspapers, the Washington Post, USA Today, MSNBC and Bill Maher on HBO — spread the story widely.

But Statesman editor Vicki Gowler would not rely on Rogers' anonymous sources. Instead, she decided to investigate the widespread rumors that date to 1982, when Craig pre-emptively denied involvement in a gay sex scandal involving congressmen and underage pages.

During its investigation, the Statesman interviewed 300 people, visited the ranch where Craig grew up, and made two trips to Washington, D.C.

On May 12, two days before its interview with Craig, the Statesman finally interviewed Rogers' "best source," the man who says he is certain he had a brief sexual encounter with Craig at Union Station, which is two blocks from Craig's office. The man said the sex occurred in two restrooms on a weekday afternoon. He estimated the encounter lasted three or four minutes.

The man's motive was twofold. A lifelong Republican, he recently had re-registered as a Democrat because he's angry with what he sees as the GOP's gay-bashing. Second, he was tired of Rogers picking on congressional staffers and offered him the chance to "out" a senator.

The Washington-area man's story has remained consistent, beginning with his Aug. 9, 2004, e-mail to Mike Rogers: "I've hooked up with Craig ... why not out some actual members and not their staffers?"

That suggestion came shortly after Rogers launched his outing campaign, prompted by his anger over the GOP election-year push for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Craig voted for the failed measure July 14, 2004. He also has opposed allowing gays or lesbians in the military and voted against extending civil rights protections to homosexuals in the workplace.

Craig told the Statesman in May that he doesn't care about a person's sexual orientation. He said he had a homosexual staffer. "I hire people based on their talent and their ability to produce," he said.

Marriage should be between and man and a woman, Craig said. But he said he supports unions between same-sex couples. "You can have a civil union, but you can't commandeer the institution of marriage. That's very special, religious, culturally, and you can't go there."

Last fall, however, after Rogers' report, Craig issued a statement saying he would vote for an amendment to the Idaho Constitution on the November ballot that bans both gay marriage and civil unions.

In the May 14 interview, Craig and his wife listened to a four-minute excerpt of the Statesman's interview with the 40-year-old man who first spoke to Rogers. At first, Craig objected to the man's anonymity, but agreed to listen. The man's voice was disguised.

Craig said the man is an activist. "The gay movement, we know it for what it is. It's now aggressive and it's liberal and it's naming people to try to put them in compromising, difficult situations."

Suzanne Craig's eyes reddened and filled with tears as she listened. After her husband's denial, she said, "I'm incensed that you would even consider such a piece of trash as a credible source."

To which Craig added, "Jiminy God!"

Before moving on to the next question, Craig turned to his wife and said, "Sorry, Hon."

Until Monday's report, Craig was facing a lone credible accuser. Rogers told the Statesman he had lost track of his other two sources, who he said described encounters with the senator, one in Idaho and one in Seattle. Rogers concedes he doesn't know those two sources' last names. "I was an amateur," he told the Statesman.

The Statesman followed dozens of leads about alleged sexual partners. Two prevalent rumors swirl around two men who are dead. The Statesman has found no written record of sexual intimacy between those men and Craig. Relatives of those men are dead, unaware of proof to substantiate the rumors, or unreachable.

Two other alleged partners unequivocally denied having been intimate with Craig. Other accounts are simply unfounded. Some were inconclusive.

There are, however, the two men who told the Statesman Craig made passes at them. Craig denied those accounts in his May 14 interview.

The Page Scandal

Until the Mike Rogers report in October and the Roll Call story on Monday, rumors about Craig were grounded in the 1982 congressional page scandal. Craig denied involvement in 1982, but the timing of his statement fueled rumors that lasted decades. Among them were that Craig married shortly after the scandal to cover up his alleged homosexuality.

Craig and the then-Suzanne Scott had their first date on Valentine's Day 1980, when Craig was making his first run for Congress. Craig proposed six months after the scandal, on Suzanne's birthday, Dec. 28, 1982. They married in July 1983.

About a year before the marriage, on June 30, 1982, 13.3 million viewers of CBS News heard page Leroy Williams allege he had sex with three House members when he was 17.

The following day, Craig issued a statement saying he'd received calls from reporters saying they were going to publish his name in connection with the scandal. His statement called the allegations "part of a concerted effort at character assassination."

"I have done nothing that I need to be either publicly or privately ashamed of. I am guilty of no crime or impropriety, and I am convinced that this is an effort to damage my personal character and destroy my political career."

Craig alone — among 535 members of Congress — issued such a statement. In the news vacuum of the July 4 recess, the freshman Republican was thrust into the national spotlight. A network helicopter followed him to Jordan Valley, Ore., where he attended a potluck for Southwest Idaho ranchers.

He told a national audience: "Persons who are unmarried as I am, by choice or by circumstance, have always been the subject of innuendos, gossip and false accusations. I think this is despicable."

Before he hit the airwaves, Craig hosted a breakfast for his campaign staff at the Owyhee Hotel to tell them what was about to happen. Brad Hoaglun remembers the moment: "He was very matter-of-fact and forthright. He said, ‘I want to tell you nothing in the story is accurate.'"

"I was finishing up college. This was my first paid campaign, and I can remember sitting there thinking, my gosh, what have I got myself into? And, OK, do I believe Larry Craig? And I came quickly to the conclusion that, yes, I do."

Hoaglun went on to be an important GOP hand and was former Gov. Jim Risch's spokesman.

After the staff breakfast in 1982, Cheryl Miller, a top Craig campaign aide, drove Craig to Jordan Valley in her silver Pontiac. She said Craig liked to sing along to her 8-track tapes of country western and gospel. It relaxed him. Despite the pressure, Craig's gift for campaigning was unaffected, Miller said. All who knew him believed he'd been wrongly accused, she said.

Staffer John Keenan was on the next leg, from Boise to North Idaho. "It really rattled our cages," said Keenan, a Craig staffer from 1981-85. At a stop in Council, a crew from a second network helicopter "stuck a microphone in his face. I was standing there, just kind of amazed. I was so impressed, he handled it so well."

During the drive, Craig told tales of his youth on the family ranch 24 long miles from Midvale, where he attended the one-room South Crane School, became a champion orator and tussled with a cow that stuck its head in his tent and took off running.

"He took comfort in telling us stories," said Keenan. "He has a sense of humor that he doesn't reveal easily. Gosh, I was laughing my head off."

At the time, a top Craig staffer, Karmen Larson, said reporters from CBS and The New York Post said they were going to name Craig, prompting his denial. The CBS reporter on the story, John Ferrugia, declined comment to the Statesman.

Craig says he ‘panicked'

But Peter Fearon, then with the New York Post, said he never said his paper was preparing to name Craig. "No, no — it wasn't ‘are you under investigation?' It was simply an inquiry: ‘Have you heard anything? Who have you heard about? Have you heard any names mentioned? What's your reaction to this news?'

"The next thing I know, Larry Craig has issued a press release: ‘This isn't me.' Which I just thought was a bizarre and ultimately very foolish thing to do.

"He was the only person going on the record anywhere," Fearon said. "And of course, when you do that, it's like raw meat. He's saying, ‘Nobody's actually accusing, but it wasn't me!' It's no wonder it's dogged him. He denied something that no one had accused him of."

Four weeks later, page Williams recanted, saying he'd made up the whole thing. A second page who had appeared on CBS, Jeffrey Opp, said he'd exaggerated or misunderstood what he took to be sexual advances from congressmen.

A six-month probe into sex charges was launched by the House ethics committee. In December 1982, they exonerated those accused by Williams and Opp.

The committee chastised CBS's Ferrugia for planting "lurid tales of sexual misconduct and homosexual prostitution in the Congress" in Opp's mind. Opp declined to speak to the Statesman for this story; Williams did not reply to repeated inquiries.

Though his staff credits Craig for a cool head in 1982, he told the Statesman on May 14 that he panicked.

"I was scared, plain and simple scared," he said. "When you have somebody walk into your office and make that kind of allegation and tells me he's gonna go to print — and I'm a freshman congressman and go, ‘Oh my God!'"

Craig talks to FBI

Craig allowed the Statesman to review, but not copy, what he said were an FBI report and a privately administered polygraph from 1982 regarding the page scandal.

Craig did not respond to requests to have the FBI verify the authenticity of the FBI document. Craig also declined to sign a waiver allowing the Statesman to review anything in his FBI file regarding homosexuality.

The FBI document supplied by Craig describes a July 20, 1982, FBI interview with Craig at the offices of his Washington law firm. Craig requested the interview with the FBI and said reporters had threatened to disclose allegations of homosexuality.

"Craig stated that he had never engaged in a homosexual relationship" with Williams or Opp, the FBI report said. "Craig further indicated that he has never engaged in a homosexual relationship with any person."

The document says Craig told the FBI that he suspected that then-Rep. Patricia Schroeder, D-Colo., might be behind the allegations against him. Opp was appointed by Schroeder. "Craig said that recent polls indicate strong support for his re-election this fall, and he perceives this as a slanderous campaign by the opposition party to have him defeated," said the report.

An attached document from a polygraph examiner hired by Craig said it was the examiner's opinion "that Congressman Craig is not a homosexual and has since adulthood not engaged in homosexual acts of any type."

Craig also provided the Statesman military records to respond to a rumor he left the Idaho National Guard because he was homosexual. Craig was honorably discharged in 1972, after 20 months of a six-year enlistment.

Had he been discharged for homosexual conduct, a different section of the military code would have been cited, and he wouldn't have received an honorable discharge. Records show he was let go because of a "physical disqualification," although they do not specify the reason. There is no physician's report available, according to the Pentagon and the Idaho Guard. Craig says his ailment was flat feet.

U of I days

Craig told the Statesman he was unaware of rumors about him being gay going back to his college days. Craig had about 150 fraternity brothers at Delta Chi during his U of I years.

The Statesman interviewed 41 of them. Of those 41, three said there were jokes about him being effeminate and possibly gay. Most said that had Craig been thought to be gay, he would have never become a leader in the fraternity and the student body.

As president of Delta Chi, Craig secured a $100,000 loan to remodel the fraternity house, instituted study hours, and blackballed members for drug use. They called him "Mother Craig" for his officiousness.

After shedding 50 pounds the summer before college, he was elected state president of the Future Farmers of America on his second try. He also was student body president at U of I. Graduating in 1969, he won the Donald R. Theophilus Outstanding Senior Award. Five years later, at 28, he was elected to the state Senate. He's been in public office ever since.

Most of Craig's college friends say he was disciplined, studious and serious, even if he was awkward with women.

One woman who dated him off and on for a year asked not to be named, but said, "I don't imagine that he ever held my hand. He was into the gotta-hold-the-door-for-the-woman sort of thing. But I always felt like I was an accessory. I might as well have been his briefcase."

Craig said he did sometimes invite women because a date was expected. But he said he had a serious girlfriend in college; they split over religious differences. He declined to name her.

Men Craig served with or under in Congress — Republicans Jim McClure, Orval Hansen, George Hansen and Steve Symms and Democrats Richard Stallings and Larry LaRocco — all said they have no credible evidence of Craig being gay. The same goes for scores of former staffers. They spoke to the Statesman before Monday's news of Craig's guilty plea.

McClure, whom Craig succeeded in the Senate, said Craig's formal manner of speaking has fueled rumors. Craig was taught by an old-school orator — the late D.L. Carter of Weiser. The lessons served Craig well, as he won state championships, attended two national contests and filled his bedroom at the ranch with trophies.

Said McClure: "He was of the old oratorical school where you went in and took each word and broke it into syllables and enunciated and all of that. And that's how that style came about, to project across a full hall."

Craig also took piano lessons in high school and was in the high school choir.

"Larry's speech patterns are very precise," said McClure. "They're not what you expect from a rancher from Midvale. His speech patterns say, ‘Hey, here's a guy who's a little different.' And he is, he's a little different. But that doesn't mean he's homosexual for heaven's sakes! You have to jump from prejudice to suspicion to I don't know what to give the rumors any credibility."

Neighbors weigh in

Last fall, Craig's neighbors at a Washington marina expressed disbelief at Rogers' attempt to out him. Ed Johnson is an openly gay man, former local elected official and has been an acquaintance and neighbor of Craig's off and on for 15 years. He is president of the Gangplank Slipholders Association, a neighbor to the smaller Capital Yacht Club, where Craig lives.

A Democrat, Johnson works for the American Humanists Association, which he describes as "the godless, liberal, left-wing atheists."

"If I thought there was truth to the rumor, I'd be first in line to out him," said Johnson, who agrees hypocritical public officials should be exposed.

"But after 15 years in a close-knit community where everybody knows everybody's business, to be that clandestine and never have anything said — it's just hard to imagine. I mean, if somebody has a fight and breaks up with their boyfriend or girlfriend, you know it the next day."

Larry Craig: A Democratic No-Fly Zone
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1657766,00.html
Mitt Romney was the first of the Republican presidential candidates to denounce Larry Craig's indiscretion in an airport men's room. "It's disgusting," Romney said of the man who used to be his Senate liaison. Senator John McCain, a Romney rival, echoed those sentiments, saying: "He should resign. My opinion is that when you plead guilty to a crime you shouldn't serve." Many of Craig's Republican colleagues in the Senate, meanwhile, are clamoring to get him to step down.


But one group of politicians has been strangely silent on this latest Republican scandal. Not a single one of the Democratic candidates for President has made a public comment on it.

In the past, Democratic candidates have been quick to use GOP corruption scandals, such as the revelations about lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the investigation into Senator Ted Stevens, as evidence that there needs to be change in Washington. They even have cited former Florida representative Mark Foley, the victim of another sex scandal, for his abuse of power. But they seem to have drawn the line at politicizing Craig's scandal.

The political calculation seems to be that the issue will do more for the party if it is simply left alone. Thus far the Republican knee-jerk reaction — to reassure the conservative base — has had the side effect of energizing gay groups. Why attack him and risk the ire of gay-rights groups when Democrats can sit back and watch the GOP eat their own?

The silence is being welcomed by gay activists. "I'll never complain about Democrats actually staying on message," said John Marble, communications director for Stonewall Democrats, a national gay, lesbian bi-sexual and transgender umbrella group for Democratic activists, in a telephone interview. "If anything, we'd like to see them use this opportunity to speak positively about gay families and gay Americans and be very clear that they support equal rights for the gay community."

Craig, a three-term Republican senator from Idaho, pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct August 8 after he allegedly tried to solicit sex from an undercover police officer in a men's bathroom at the Minneapolis Airport. Craig, who has a long voting record against gay rights, this week denied any wrongdoing and denied being gay.

Republicans, meanwhile, are tripping over themselves to get away from Craig as yet another scandal risks further depressing their base. The effect of the Craig scandal "will be to intensify their anti-gay rhetoric," said Becky Dansky, federal legislative director at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, pointing to the contrast between the treatment of Craig and that of Louisiana Senator David Vitter, who admitted to being involved with the infamous D.C. Madam. "Vitter received a standing ovation from his party caucus; Senator Craig is immediately forced out of his committee positions just because of the gender involved in the scandal," Dansky said. "I never thought I'd start to feel a little bit sorry for Senator Craig."

Romney's reaction, meanwhile, shows "the danger of legislating morality, and hypocrisy is revealed," said Patrick Sammon, president of the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay Republican group. "Mitt Romney is basing his whole campaign on quote-unquote 'family values,' so it's an embarrassment for Mitt Romney and he tried to get away from him as fast as he can."

Log Cabin Republicans are also calling on Craig to resign, though for different reasons, Sammon said. "Innocent people don't plead guilty. The time to contest these allegations is before and not after," he said.

Not all of the Republican candidates have weighed in on the scandal. Rudy Giuliani's campaign declined to comment, as did the exploratory committee for former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, who is weighing a run. Meanwhile, two conservative GOP presidential hopefuls, former Mike Huckabee and Kansas Senator Sam Brownback, have, ironically, taken a more moderate stance on Craig. Brownback told MSNBC that "we ought to look and see what the facts actually are and then build and move forward off of that... Larry's a colleague. He is somebody that I know. I want to hear what he has to say." And when asked if he thought Craig should resign, Huckabee told CNN, "[It] depends on what turns out to be the facts, and I don't want to prejudge until they're established."

Larry Craig on Mitt Romney




Romney Criticizes Senator's Conduct
AP Interview: Romney Says Sen. Craig's Behavior 'Disgraceful'
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=3543515
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said Thursday that Idaho Sen. Larry Craig's conduct was "disappointing and disgraceful," but that questionable actions of prominent supporters are simply episodes candidates must confront.

"You'll always have surprises," Romney said in an interview with The Associated Press. "That's the nature of humanity. People sometimes disappoint, and then the question is, 'How do you respond to that?'

Craig was Senate liaison for Romney's campaign, a post he abandoned on Monday when his guilty plea in a men's room undercover police operation came to light.

The former Massachusetts governor, a frequent critic of Democratic presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton, declined to criticize the New York senator after the disclosure that one of her top money-raisers is wanted on a felony fraud charge.

"In any administration, in any organization, there are going to be people who fail to live up to the expectations you might have had. And then the right response is what's important," Romney said.

Romney, on the first of two days of campaigning in this early voting state, said he would not tell Craig what he should do next. The 62-year-old Idaho senator pleaded guilty earlier this month to a charge stemming from an undercover police operation last June in a Minneapolis airport bathroom. Craig said Tuesday he had committed no wrongdoing and shouldn't have pleaded guilty. He also said he was not gay.

Several Republican lawmakers, including Romney's presidential rival John McCain, have said the three-term senator should step down.

Earlier in the day, Romney was asked by a voter why Republicans were distancing themselves from Craig.

"I think it's appropriate when there's been conduct that we think is disappointing and disgraceful to indicate that. I don't think there's a responsibility to try to gild the lily in a setting like this," Romney said. "I think individuals across the country expect us to have the same expression that they feel, which is disappointment."

Romney said it was up to Craig to decide what to do.

"I expressed my view that his conduct was disappointing, disgraceful, and at this stage, he has a decision of his own to make about his future. I'm not going to insert myself between him and his conscience," Romney said during a stop in North Charleston.

While in Myrtle Beach, Romney said Craig's problems won't affect the campaign and that they were dealt with properly.

"People recognize that it's tough enough being a candidate and that one's supporters are going to sometimes make you look better than you deserve and at other times can be disappointing," Romney told reporters after talking to a crowd of more than 80 at a Myrtle Beach hotel. "This is a setting where Senator Craig has been disappointing to his colleagues and to his citizenry."

Romney was touring the early voting state where Republicans plan to hold their primary on Jan. 19. He was using a bus dubbed the "Mitt Mobile" as he tries to gain momentum in South Carolina, where Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson have garnered support.

While he's on his 13th visit to the state, Romney said he's been more focused on Iowa and New Hampshire, where his attention has paid off in polling. "Now you're going to see more of me than you like perhaps in South Carolina, Florida and Michigan," Romney said. "I hope to be able to win in South Carolina."

Romney & Senator Larry Craig


Idaho Senator Loses Committee Leadership Posts
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/washington/30cnd-craig.html
WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 — The political career of Senator Larry Craig of Idaho appeared to be collapsing today as fellow Republicans called for his resignation and party leaders ousted him from his committee leadership posts amid the fallout over his arrest and guilty plea in connection with an incident in an airport restroom.

A statement by the Senate Republican leadership said Mr. Craig “has agreed to comply” with a request to step down as the top Republican on the Veterans Affairs Committee, the Appropriations subcommittee on the Interior and the Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee on public lands and forests.

“This is not a decision we take lightly, but we believe this is in the best interest of the Senate until this situation is resolved by the Ethics Committee,” the statement said. It was issued by Senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the party leader; Trent Lott of Mississippi, the whip; Jon Kyl of Arizona, the conference chairman, and other prominent Republicans.

Mr. Craig will still retain membership on the committees, but he will have no more power than a freshman senator, even though he is nearing the end of his third term and was himself in the party leadership not so long ago.

Meanwhile, Senators John McCain of Arizona and Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Representative Pete Hoekstra called on their fellow Republican to resign.

“My position is that when you plead guilty to a crime, you shouldn’t serve,” Mr. McCain said in an interview on CNN. “That’s not a moral stand. That’s not holier-than-thou. It’s just a factual situation.”

Mr. Coleman issued a statement saying that Mr. Craig had pleaded guilty to “a crime involving conduct unbecoming a senator. He should resign.”

And Mr. Hoekstra, who was apparently the first Republican in Congress to call for Mr. Craig’s resignation, said the senator should quit because he “represents the Republican Party.”

“It’s not a judgment on gay rights or anything like that,” Mr. Hoekstra said in an interview with The Associated Press. “This is about leadership and setting a standard that the American people and your colleagues in the Republican Party can feel good about.”

Mr. Craig was arrested on June 11 in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport by an undercover police officer investigating sexual activity in a men’s room. He denied any sexual intent and on Aug. 8 pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. A second charge, of interference with privacy, was dismissed. The senator was fined more than $500, given a suspended 10-day jail sentence and placed on unsupervised probation for a year.

On Tuesday, Mr. Craig said he regretted having pleaded guilty and had done so because his judgment had been clouded by a “witch hunt” being carried out by Idaho newspaper reporters looking into his personal life.

Today, Mr. Hoekstra called that explanation “not credible.”



GOP Senators Say Craig Should Resign
GOP Colleagues Urge Craig to Resign in Bathroom Arrest; White House 'Disappointed'
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=3538366
Idaho Sen. Larry Craig's political support eroded by the hour on Wednesday as fellow Republicans in Congress called for him to resign and party leaders pushed him unceremoniously from senior committee posts.

The White House expressed disappointment, too and nary a word of support for the 62-year-old lawmaker, who pleaded guilty earlier this month to a charge stemming from an undercover police operation in an airport men's room.

Craig "represents the Republican Party," said Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, the first in a steadily lengthening list of GOP members of Congress to urge a resignation.

The senator's spokesman declined comment. "They have a right to express themselves," said Sidney Smith. He said he had heard no discussion of a possible resignation.

Craig said Tuesday he had committed no wrongdoing and shouldn't have pleaded guilty. He said he had only recently retained a lawyer to advise him in the case that threatens to write an ignominious end to a lifetime in public office.

Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Norm Coleman of Minnesota joined Hoekstra in urging Craig to step down, as did Rep. Jeff Miller of Florida and others who joined them as the day wore on.

McCain spoke out in an interview with CNN. "My opinion is that when you plead guilty to a crime, you shouldn't serve. That's not a moral stand. That's not a holier-than-thou. It's just a factual situation."

Coleman said in a written statement, "Senator Craig pled guilty to a crime involving conduct unbecoming a senator."

For a second consecutive day, GOP Senate leaders stepped in, issuing a statement that said Craig had "agreed to comply with leadership's request" to temporarily give up his posts on important committees. He has been the top Republican on the Veterans Affairs Committee as well as on subcommittees for two other panels.

"This is not a decision we take lightly, but we believe this is in the best interest of the Senate until this situation is resolved by the ethics committee," said the statement, issued in the name of Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the party leader, and others.

On Tuesday, the leaders jumped in ahead of Craig's appearance before television cameras in Idaho to announce they had asked the ethics committee to look into the case.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said, "We are disappointed in the matter," without specifying exactly what was causing the discomfort.

He said he hoped the ethics committee would do its work swiftly, "as that would be in the best interests of the Senate and the people of Idaho."

In Craig's home state, Republican Gov. C.L. (Butch) Otter said his longtime friend "is an honorable man and I am confident that Larry Craig will do what is best for him and his family and the state of Idaho."

For the most part, Democrats studiously avoided involvement with an unfolding Republican scandal.

"We at least ought to hear his side of the story.," said Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, like McCain a presidential contender who spoke on CNN.

Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., said his party stood to gain. "All of these people who (are) holier than thou are now under investigations. ... I think the Republican Party will find itself in a great peril next year," he said.

McCain's call for a resignation was the first among GOP presidential rivals.

Sen. Sam Brownback, also seeking the White House, said Craig's declaration that he had pleaded guilty to make the issue go away "doesn't work in these jobs." Still, the Kansan said it was premature to call for Craig to resign.

That wasn't how it was seen by Coleman, a senator facing a potentially difficult re-election contest next year, or by Hoekstra, who signaled a concern about the impact on the party generally.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Hoekstra called Craig's explanations "not credible."

"I think it's important for Republicans to step out right now and say, 'No, this behavior is not going to be tolerated,'" he said.

Hoekstra, a conservative from western Michigan, said he reached his decision on his own and had not consulted with party leaders.

"It's not a judgment on gay rights or anything like that. This is about leadership and setting a standard that the American people and your colleagues in the Republican Party can feel good about."

Other Republicans dwelt on Craig's guilty plea, but Hoekstra's mention of homosexuality reflected a separate concern.

"I am not gay. I never have been gay," the senator said on Tuesday, but that stood in apparent contradiction to the police report that led to his guilty plea, submitted on Aug. 1.

Craig was arrested on June 11 in the Minneapolis airport men's room after an undercover officer observed conduct that he said was "often used by persons communicating a desire to engage in sexual conduct."

Craig was read his rights, fingerprinted and required to submit to a mug shot at the time of his arrest.

He subsequently pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, and signed papers that included a notation that the court would not accept a guilty plea from anyone claiming to be innocent.

In his public appearance on Tuesday, Craig said he had "overreacted and made a poor decision" after being apprehended.

"While I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct in the Minneapolis Airport or anywhere else, I chose to plead guilty to a lesser charge in hopes of making it go away," he said.

Democratic Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, an openly homosexual member of the House, said Craig was a hypocrite on gay rights issues but he didn't think the Republican senator should resign.

"This is the hypocrisy it's to deny legal equality to gay people, but then to engage in gay behavior," Frank said.

Associated Press writer Todd Dvorak contributed to this story from Idaho. Matthew Daly, Ken Thomas and Andrew Miga contributed from Washington, and Jim Davenport from Columbia, S.C.


GOP officials say Craig may resign
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003862111_webcraig31.html
WASHINGTON — Idaho Sen. Larry Craig is considering resigning, Republican officials said today, after days of public and private pressure stemming from his arrest in June in a police undercover operation at an airport men's room.

Craig pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct on Aug. 1, and while he has since said he did nothing wrong, the episode has roiled the Republican party and produced numerous calls for him to step down.

As a measure of the pressure Craig faces, party officials said a statement had been drafted at Republican Party headquarters calling for the third-term senator to resign. It was not issued, these officials said, in response to concerns that it might complicate quiet efforts under way to persuade the 62-year-old lawmaker to give up his seat.

Any resignation would clear the way for Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, a Republican, to name a replacement who would serve until the end of Craig's current term in 2009. Lt. Gov. James Risch and Rep. Mike Simpson were among the possible replacements, according to the GOP officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Craig has not made any public statements about his case since an appearance earlier this week in Boise, Idaho, in which he said he had done nothing wrong. "I am not gay. I never have been gay," he added emphatically.

He said any additional comment would be posted on his official Web site, where the only reference to the incident as of Friday morning was a text of the statement he read before the television cameras.

Craig, 62, served in the House before winning his first Senate term in 1990, and compiled a strongly conservative voting record.

He was arrested on June 11 by an undercover police officer in a Minneapolis airport men's room who said the senator had engaged in conduct "often used by persons communicating a desire to engage in sexual conduct."

Minutes after he was arrested for lewd conduct, Craig denied soliciting for sex, saying "I'm not gay. I don't do these kinds of things," according to an audio tape released by police on Thursday.

He denied that he had used foot and hand gestures to signal interest in a sexual encounter. The officer, Sgt. Dave Karsnia, accused the three-term senator of lying and grew exasperated with his denials.

"Embarrassing, embarrassing. No wonder why we're going down the tubes," Karsnia said.

In the police interview, Craig, 62, never admitted doing anything wrong and said his actions had been misinterpreted. However, Karsnia wrote in his report that the gestures were consistent with efforts to find a sexual partner in the men's room.


Craig later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct, which he now calls a mistake.

More Republicans distanced themselves from Craig on Thursday. Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, who chairs the GOP's senatorial campaign committee, stopped short of calling on him to resign but suggested strongly that he should.

"I wouldn't put myself hopefully in that kind of position, but if I was in a position like that, that's what I would do," Ensign told The Associated Press in his home state. "He's going to have to answer that for himself."

The party's Senate leadership had previously called for the ethics committee to investigate, and on Wednesday took the highly unusual measure of asking him to give up his seniority in committee positions. Craig complied.

On the tape, Craig and the arresting officer can be heard arguing over what happened in the men's room minutes earlier. Craig acknowledges that the men's feet bumped but says nothing improper happened.

"Did we bump? Yes, I think we did. You said so. I don't disagree with that," Craig said.

But Craig disputes the officer's account that he swept his hand under the stall next to him in an apparent effort to advance the encounter. They even disagree whether Craig used his right hand or his left hand.

Craig said he was merely trying to pick up a piece of paper — an account the officer disputes.

"I'm telling you that I could see, so I know that's your left hand. Also I could see a gold ring on this finger, so that's obvious it was the left hand," Karsnia tells Craig.

"Well we can dispute that," Craig says. "I'm not going to fight you in court. I reached down with my right hand to pick up the paper."

Karsnia said in a police report that he recognized Craig's hand gesture as a signal aimed at initiating sex. "It should be noted that there was not a piece of paper on the bathroom floor, nor did Craig pick up a piece of paper," he said in the report.

Karsnia, 29, joined the airport police department just out of college in 2000 and was promoted to sergeant in 2005. Last year, he earned a master's degree in criminal justice, leadership and education.



Arrest Clouds Idaho Senator's Future
Idaho Senator's Future in Question After Arrest on Sex-Related Charge
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=3530912
A private watchdog group filed an ethics complaint against Sen. Larry Craig Tuesday following the Idaho Republican's guilty plea to misdemeanor charges stemming from complaints of lewd conduct in a men's room.

Craig arranged an afternoon appearance in Boise to address the issue. Aides said he would not answer questions.


The conservative three-term senator, who has represented Idaho in Congress for more than a quarter-century, is up for re-election next year. He hasn't said if he will run for a fourth term in 2008 and is expected to announce his plans this fall.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint with the Senate ethics committee seeking an investigation into whether Craig violated Senate rules by engaging in disorderly conduct.

Craig, who has voted against gay marriage, finds his political future in doubt in the wake of the charges, which have drawn national attention.

A spokesman, Sidney Smith, was uncertain late Monday if Craig's guilty plea in connection with an incident at the Minneapolis airport would affect his re-election plans.

"It's too early to talk about anything about that," Smith said.

A political science professor in Idaho said Craig's political future was in jeopardy. And a spokesman for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, Hannah August, said Craig's guilty plea "has given Americans another reason not to vote Republican" next year.

Craig said in a statement issued by his office Monday that he was not involved in any inappropriate conduct.

"At the time of this incident, I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my actions," he said. "I should have had the advice of counsel in resolving this matter. In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously."

The married Craig, 62, has faced rumors about his sexuality since the 1980s, but allegations that he has engaged in gay sex have never been substantiated. Craig has denied the assertions, which he calls ridiculous.


The arrest changes that dynamic, said Jasper LiCalzi, a political science professor at Albertson College of Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho. He cited the House page scandal that drove Florida Rep. Mark Foley from office.


"There's a chance that he'll resign over this," LiCalzi said. "With the pressure on the Republican Party, he could be pressured to resign. If they think this is going to be something that's the same as Mark Foley the sort of 'drip, drip, drip, there's more information that's going to come out' they may try to push him out."

Already Craig has stepped down from a prominent role with Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. He had been one of Romney's top Senate supporters, serving as a Senate liaison for the campaign since February.

"He did not want to be a distraction and we accept his decision," said Matt Rhoades, a Romney campaign spokesman.

According to a Hennepin County, Minn., court docket, Craig pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge on Aug. 8, with the court dismissing a charge of gross misdemeanor interference to privacy.

The court docket said Craig paid $575 in fines and fees and was put on unsupervised probation for a year. A sentence of 10 days in the county workhouse was stayed.

According to the prosecutor's complaint, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, airport police Sgt. Dave Karsnia, who was investigating allegations of sexual conduct in airport restrooms, went into a stall shortly after noon on June 11 and closed the door.

Minutes later, the officer saw Craig gazing into his stall through the crack between the stall door and the frame, fidgeted with his fingers and returned to gazing through the stall for about another two minutes.

After a man in the adjacent stall left, Craig entered it and put his roller bag against the front of the stall door, "which Sgt. Karsnia's experience has indicated is used to attempt to conceal sexual conduct by blocking the view from the front of the stall," said the complaint, which was dated June 25.


The complaint said Craig then tapped his right foot several times and moved it closer to Karsnia's stall and then moved it into the area of the officer's stall to where it touched Karsnia's foot. Karsnia recognized that "as a signal often used by persons communicating a desire to engage in sexual conduct," the complaint said.


Craig then passed his left hand under the stall divider into Karsnia's stall with his palms up and guided it along the divider toward the front of the stall three times, the complaint said.

The officer then showed his police identification under the divider and pointed toward the exit "at which time the defendant exclaimed `No!'" the complaint said.

The Aug. 8 police report says that Craig had handed the arresting officer a business card that identified him as a member of the Senate.

"What do you think about that?" Craig is alleged to have said, according to the report.

Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper first reported the arrest and guilty plea.

Craig joins other GOP senators facing ethical and legal troubles.

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, is under scrutiny for his relationship with a contractor who helped oversee a renovation project that more than doubled the size of the senator's home.

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., acknowledged that his phone number appeared in records of a Washington-area business that prosecutors have said was a front for prostitution.

Craig, a rancher and a member of the National Rifle Association, lives in Eagle, Idaho, near the capital of Boise. He was a member of the House for 10 years before winning election to the Senate in 1990. He was re-elected in 1996 and 2002.

Last fall, Craig called allegations from a gay-rights activist that he's had homosexual relationships "completely ridiculous."

Mike Rogers, who bills himself as a gay activist blogger, published the allegations on his Web site, http://www.blogactive.com, in October 2006.

The Idaho Statesman, citing an anonymous source, reported Monday night that a man with close ties to Republican officials said he had a sexual encounter with Craig in the men's room of Washington's Union Station, a few blocks from the Capitol. Craig denied the incident in a May interview with the newspaper, and no arrests were made.

Sen. Craig is considering resigning
Quiet efforts under way to persuade lawmaker to give up his seat
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20467347/
WASHINGTON - Idaho Sen. Larry Craig is considering resigning, Republican activists said Friday, after days of public and private pressure stemming from his arrest in June in a police undercover operation at an airport men's room.

Craig pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct on Aug. 1, and while he has since said he did nothing wrong, the episode has roiled the Republican party and produced numerous calls for him to step down.

As a measure of the pressure Craig faces, party officials said a statement had been drafted at Republican Party headquarters calling for the third-term senator to resign. It was not issued, these officials said, in response to concerns that it might complicate quiet efforts under way to persuade the 62-year-old lawmaker to give up his seat.

Waiting in the wings
Any resignation would clear the way for Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, a Republican, to name a replacement who would serve until the end of Craig's current term in 2009. Lt. Gov. James Risch and Rep. Mike Simpson were among the possible replacements, according to the GOP activists, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Craig has not made any public statements about his case since an appearance earlier this week in Boise, Idaho, in which he said he had done nothing wrong. "I am not gay. I never have been gay," he added emphatically.

He said any additional comment would be posted on his official Web site, where the only reference to the incident as of Friday morning was a text of the statement he read before the television cameras.

Craig served in the House before winning his first Senate term in 1990, and compiled a strongly conservative voting record.

He was arrested on June 11 by an undercover police officer in a Minneapolis airport men's room who said the senator had engaged in conduct "often used by persons communicating a desire to engage in sexual conduct."

Audio tape released
Thursday, it was revealed the officer who arrested Craig accused the senator of lying to him during an interrogation afterward, according to an audiotape of the arrest.

On the tape, released by the Minneapolis Airport Police, the senator, in turn, accuses the officer of soliciting him for sex.

“I’m not gay. I don’t do these kinds of things,” Craig told Sgt. Dave Karsnia minutes after the two men met in a men’s room.

“You shouldn’t be out to entrap people,” Craig told the officer. “I don’t want you to take me to jail.”

Karsnia replied that Craig wouldn’t be going to jail as long as he cooperated.

The two men disagreed over virtually everything that had occurred minutes earlier, including whether there was a piece of paper on the floor of the stall and the meaning of the senator’s hand gestures. At no time did Craig admit doing anything wrong, although weeks later he pleaded guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.

“You’re not being truthful with me. I’m kind of disappointed in you, Senator,” Karsnia told Craig during the interrogation.

GOP lawmakers distance themselves
Meanwhile, more of Craig’s Republican colleagues moved away from him Thursday in the wake of his guilty plea.

Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, who chairs the GOP’s senatorial campaign committee, stopped short of calling on Craig to resign but suggested strongly that he should.

“I wouldn’t put myself hopefully in that kind of position, but if I was in a position like that, that’s what I would do,” Ensign told The Associated Press in his home state. “He’s going to have to answer that for himself.”

Sens. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, each turned over to charity $2,500 campaign donations they had received from Craig’s political action committee. Coleman and Collins both face potentially tough races for re-election next year.

Coleman and several other Republicans — including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. — have called for Craig to resign his seat in the Senate. Craig already has agreed to a request by Republican leaders to give up his ranking status on the Veterans Affairs Committee and appropriations subcommittees.

Vague ethics standard
Craig said Tuesday he had committed no wrongdoing and shouldn’t have pleaded guilty. He said he had only recently retained a lawyer to advise him in the case.

GOP Senate leaders said they did not act lightly in asking Craig to give up his leadership posts temporarily. But they said their decision was “in the best interest of the Senate until this situation is resolved by the ethics committee.”

The ethics committee must judge Craig on an intentionally vague standard.

In the mid-1960s, when the Senate approved the current language on improper conduct, the drafters “did not attempt to delineate all the types of conduct” that would be improper, the code explains. The three Democrats and three Republicans on the current ethics committee will have to figure that out.

Barney and Bill on larry Craig and gay Republicans

Republican Sex Perverts (Sen. Larry Craig edition)



Roll Call's John McArdle: News tip led to Craig arrest story

Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) Chastises Bill Clinton

Hannity And Prager Defend Craig

Senator Larry Craig - Bathroom Sex Tape EXCLUSIVE VIDEO

Senator Craig - Tap Three Times


The Singing Senators