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The New York Times
Arrest Clouds Idaho
Senator's Future
By AP from
nytimes.com on the Web, August 28, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Idaho Sen. Larry
Craig, who has voted against gay marriage and opposes extending special
protections to gay and lesbian crime victims, finds his political future in
doubt after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges stemming from complaints of
lewd conduct in a men's room.
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 was expected to announce his
plans this fall.
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.
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.
Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper, which first reported the case, said on its
Web site Monday that Craig was arrested June 11 by a plainclothes officer
investigating complaints of lewd conduct in a men's restroom at the airport.
Minneapolis airport police declined to provide a copy of the arrest report after
business hours Monday.
Roll Call, citing the report, said Sgt. Dave Karsnia made the arrest after an
encounter in which he was seated in a stall next to a stall occupied by Craig.
Karsnia described Craig tapping his foot, which Karsnia said he ''recognized as
a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct.''
Roll Call quoted the Aug. 8 police report as saying 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.
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.''
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,
www.blogactive.com, in October 2006.
Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, an
advocacy group, on Monday called Craig a hypocrite.
''What's up with elected officials like Senator Craig? They stand for
so-called family values and fight basic protections for gay people while
furtively seeking other men for sex,'' Foreman said.
Associated Press writers Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis and
John Miller in Boise contributed to this story.
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