Craig’s Reversal Dismays Many Back Home in Idaho
By WILLIAM YARDLEY | October 6, 2007
MIDVALE, Idaho, Oct. 5 — Dismissing the wishes of the bigwigs in Washington often scores points for politicians here in the reluctant stretch of the Republic known as the state of Idaho.
Then there is the unresignation of Senator Larry E. Craig.
“A lot of Republicans in Idaho think they need to sit down on a good shrink’s couch right now,” said Tracy Lotz, a former vice chairman of the state Republican Party. “We’re in shock.”
Unaccustomed to political relevance, Idaho has endured more than a month of political parody. And that was before Mr. Craig provided new material on Thursday by saying he would stay in office after all, notwithstanding a court ruling forbidding him to withdraw his guilty plea in a restroom sex sting.
Some Idahoans profess a respect for Mr. Craig for showing an indigenous “moxie” in telling off the national Republicans who tried to force him out, and some insist he did nothing wrong in the first place. Yet it is also clear from interviews with people across the state that he has lost considerable support as he tries to finish out his term, which lasts until January 2009.
Many people say his repeated revision of his plans to serve and not serve has served only himself and ruined his credibility.
“He’s using politics, and that’s not really what his roots are,” said Jim Warren, superintendent here in the Midvale School District, where Mr. Craig was educated in a one-room schoolhouse until seventh grade. “People here really pride themselves on keeping their word.”
The news broke on Aug. 27 that Mr. Craig, 62, had pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge related to the undercover sex sting, conducted at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. On Sept. 1, under intense pressure from Senate Republican leaders worried about damage to the party, he announced that it was his “intent” to resign by Sept. 30.
But a few days later he suggested that he might stay on if he was able to withdraw his guilty plea. A judge ruled Thursday that he could not withdraw it, and a few hours later the senator said he would remain in office anyway. For some, that reversal was more than one too many.
“I think he should do the respectful thing and just step down,” said Maureen Flaherty, a Democrat who manages a restaurant in Boise. “He already pleaded guilty, and to take back your guilty plea for your own personal reasons, I don’t know.”
Yet while people interviewed on the street in downtown Boise were likely to say the senator was an embarrassment who should have resigned, here in rural Midvale, his birthplace, they were more circumspect. Mr. Warren, the school superintendent, said that townspeople were “disappointed” in Mr. Craig but that he would find them forgiving the next time he comes for a visit.
Mr. Craig has made rural issues a top priority in the 27 years he has served in Congress, fighting for the timber industry and farmers. Members of his extended family have ranched in Midvale, some 90 miles northwest of Boise, since the 1890s, and the Craig surname still appears on school rolls. Midvale has fewer than 200 people, according to the census, but the current school draws about 130 students, from preschool through the high school grades, who live in the town and the surrounding area. More than once the senator has spoken at graduation.
Some say Mr. Craig has been persecuted for what they view as a minor offense, given transgressions of other Washington politicians. If he can withstand the pressure, they say, let him stay in office, and just maybe he can be an effective senator again.
“He’s done a lot of good for Idaho,” said Rick Graham, who went to high school with Mr. Craig and whose family owns the Midvale Market, the main retail operation here, with an inventory that includes hunting rifles and Reese’s Cups. “I’m going to trust his judgment on this.”
And while top Republicans in the state may be surprised at Mr. Craig’s reversal, virtually none of them have joined national Republican leaders who called early on for him to resign. Idaho’s other senator, Michael D. Crapo, has said he supports Mr. Craig’s decision to stay in office, and Gov. C. L. Otter, who chose a replacement on the presumption that Mr. Craig was going to resign, has said he has a right to remain.
On Friday, J. Kirk Sullivan, chairman of the state Republican Party, issued a carefully phrased statement saying he was “confident Idaho’s Congressional delegation can continue to effectively represent the best interests of Idahoans.”
Bryan Fischer, executive director of the Idaho Values Alliance and one of the few leading conservatives to call for the senator to quit, said he did not share that confidence. “What Idaho families need is a senator who can be an unapologetic, vocal and visible leader on pro-family issues,” Mr. Fischer said. “And Senator Craig is simply not going to be able to do that for next 15 months.”
Patti Murphy contributed reporting from Boise.
Showing posts with label Larry Craig. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Larry Craig. Show all posts
The Hill : GOP uproar over Craig
Thursday, September 06, 2007
GOP uproar over Craig
By Elana Schor and Ian Swanson | September 6, 2007
Senate GOP leaders renewed their effort to force an absent Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) to resign on Wednesday, but that political pressure appeared to leave Craig unfazed and some Republicans fearing that the embattled conservative could hang on until 2008.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman John Ensign (R-Nev.) both urged Craig to continue with his announced plans to step down on Sept. 30, calling resignation the right thing to do.
Yet McConnell acknowledged that Craig intends to serve out his term if he can resolve his legal case this month, and sources close to the onetime leadership member suggested that Craig could remain no matter what — giving GOP leaders a headache.
If Craig can clear his name in Minnesota court quickly, McConnell told reporters, “it will be his intent to get back to the Senate, deal with whatever Ethics Committee case he knows he’ll have and serve out his term.”
McConnell, who spoke with Craig on Wednesday, appeared eager to change the subject from the Craig flap, which has become fodder for late-night talk shows and an albatross for Republicans. “My view remains [that Craig] made the difficult but correct decision to resign,” the GOP leader said.
During the conversation, McConnell added, Craig appeared set against running for reelection. That conclusion appeared reminiscent of the Kentuckian’s Tuesday comment that Craig’s intent to step down seemed “firm,” followed hours later by Craig’s announcement that he was reconsidering his resignation.
While noting that “there really is no clarity on what Sen. Craig intends to do,” NRSC spokeswoman Rebecca Fisher said: “Sen. Ensign believes Sen. Craig did the right thing in resigning and takes him at his word.”
One GOP aide summed up the party’s sentiment: “Craig is the only person who doesn’t know he’s done.”
Current and former Craig staffers, however, feel that Craig has been treated atrociously by GOP leadership, particularly given his loyalty to his party, according to sources close to the senator.
“Sen. Craig has been someone who’s been a tremendous asset to the caucus for his talent and loyalty to other members,” said one former staffer. “I think there was a surprise that he was thrown under the bus.”
Craig supported Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.) during his 2002 struggle after controversial comments on segregation and backed Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) in his battle with conservative activists over the Judiciary Committee chairmanship. In 2004, Craig relinquished his seat on the committee so GOP leaders could add conservative Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.).
Lott has refrained from calling for Craig’s resignation and Specter has become the Idahoan’s most ardent backer, urging Craig to fight for his seat and speaking about the scandal during Wednesday’s policy luncheon.
Craig allies also are stung by what they see as the hypocrisy of the GOP leadership. For example, a former Craig staffer noted that Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) was met with applause when he attended the weekly GOP Senate lunch after he admitted to seeing a prostitute.
“There absolutely is a double standard,” said one former staffer who spoke with Craig shortly before the press conference where he announced his intent to resign. McConnell has said Craig’s guilty plea necessitated the strong leadership response, but Craig’s supporters are not buying the argument.
One source close to Craig said the charge of homosexuality was the reason for the different treatment. “If what Larry was accused of doing was tawdry, so was the treatment of him by leadership,” this source said.
Vitter said on Wednesday that resigning was “a decision for [Craig] to make, it seems like.” But when asked about the perceived double standard, Vitter abruptly departed without a response.
Several senators refused to comment on their missing colleague, including Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who is grappling with a federal investigation, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who directed questions on Craig to the Republicans.
“There’s a court of law and a court of public opinion,” Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) said. “I fully understand his plans to clear his name in the court of law, but I fear for him in … the court of public opinion.”
Added Smith, who faces a tough campaign in 2008: “If this story doesn’t get smaller, it will get bigger.”
The next chapter of the story may be derived in the Ethics Committee, where members confirmed their preliminary inquiry into Craig’s June arrest in a letter sent to GOP leaders this week. Craig pleaded guilty in August to disorderly conduct after the arresting officer alleged that the senator used signals to solicit sexual contact in a Minneapolis airport bathroom.
Former House Democratic ethics counsel Stan Brand, who represents Craig on Ethics Committee issues, wrote to the panel on Wednesday seeking the dismissal of a complaint filed against the Idahoan by his own party leaders. Brand and partner Andrew Herman argued that the Ethics panel lacks jurisdiction over misdemeanors, such as Craig’s, without a direct connection to official duties.
Nonetheless, the Minnesota charging document states that Craig flashed his Senate business card to the arresting officer, and Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) suggested that the Ethics Committee might examine whether Craig’s behavior amounted to “acting in a way that brings discredit to the institution.”
“Any reconsideration [from Craig] would be a mistake,” Bennett added. “Once you announce you’re resigning, you can’t take it back.”
Brand challenged the invocation of any standard of discredit to the Senate.
“The Senate has never disciplined someone under that provision of the code without an independent basis for violation of some standard for egregious conduct, like treason, bribery, financial mismanagement, et cetera,” Brand said. “I don’t think [it] should start now.”
Yet in their letter sent to GOP leaders this week, Ethics Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Vice Chairman John Cornyn (R-Texas) effectively confirmed their jurisdiction over Craig’s case, while noting that the inquiry would close if he resigns.
“The Senate ‘may discipline a member for any misconduct, including conduct or activity which does not relate to official duties …’” Boxer and Cornyn wrote.
Despite the outcome of Craig’s Minnesota court challenge, most agreed that the Capitol ethics probe is unlikely to resolve itself by Sept. 30.
“It’s usually more deliberative than that,” said Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), a former Ethics Committee chairman. “It’s a process.”
The committee may have ample time to do its work. Some Craig staffers say they believe he regrets caving to the intense pressure from GOP leaders last week that led to his resignation announcement Saturday.
Staffers also say they believe the wording was intentional, and think Craig will fight to remain in the Senate at least as long as he fights his legal battle.
“He’s smart and tenacious. He’s not one to back down from a fight,” a former staffer said.
Still, even those sympathetic to Craig think it will be tough for him to survive.
“I can’t fathom how he can stay in the Senate,” said one friend ofthe senator’s.
Aaron Blake contributed to this report.
By Elana Schor and Ian Swanson | September 6, 2007
Senate GOP leaders renewed their effort to force an absent Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) to resign on Wednesday, but that political pressure appeared to leave Craig unfazed and some Republicans fearing that the embattled conservative could hang on until 2008.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman John Ensign (R-Nev.) both urged Craig to continue with his announced plans to step down on Sept. 30, calling resignation the right thing to do.
Yet McConnell acknowledged that Craig intends to serve out his term if he can resolve his legal case this month, and sources close to the onetime leadership member suggested that Craig could remain no matter what — giving GOP leaders a headache.
If Craig can clear his name in Minnesota court quickly, McConnell told reporters, “it will be his intent to get back to the Senate, deal with whatever Ethics Committee case he knows he’ll have and serve out his term.”
McConnell, who spoke with Craig on Wednesday, appeared eager to change the subject from the Craig flap, which has become fodder for late-night talk shows and an albatross for Republicans. “My view remains [that Craig] made the difficult but correct decision to resign,” the GOP leader said.
During the conversation, McConnell added, Craig appeared set against running for reelection. That conclusion appeared reminiscent of the Kentuckian’s Tuesday comment that Craig’s intent to step down seemed “firm,” followed hours later by Craig’s announcement that he was reconsidering his resignation.
While noting that “there really is no clarity on what Sen. Craig intends to do,” NRSC spokeswoman Rebecca Fisher said: “Sen. Ensign believes Sen. Craig did the right thing in resigning and takes him at his word.”
One GOP aide summed up the party’s sentiment: “Craig is the only person who doesn’t know he’s done.”
Current and former Craig staffers, however, feel that Craig has been treated atrociously by GOP leadership, particularly given his loyalty to his party, according to sources close to the senator.
“Sen. Craig has been someone who’s been a tremendous asset to the caucus for his talent and loyalty to other members,” said one former staffer. “I think there was a surprise that he was thrown under the bus.”
Craig supported Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.) during his 2002 struggle after controversial comments on segregation and backed Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) in his battle with conservative activists over the Judiciary Committee chairmanship. In 2004, Craig relinquished his seat on the committee so GOP leaders could add conservative Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.).
Lott has refrained from calling for Craig’s resignation and Specter has become the Idahoan’s most ardent backer, urging Craig to fight for his seat and speaking about the scandal during Wednesday’s policy luncheon.
Craig allies also are stung by what they see as the hypocrisy of the GOP leadership. For example, a former Craig staffer noted that Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) was met with applause when he attended the weekly GOP Senate lunch after he admitted to seeing a prostitute.
“There absolutely is a double standard,” said one former staffer who spoke with Craig shortly before the press conference where he announced his intent to resign. McConnell has said Craig’s guilty plea necessitated the strong leadership response, but Craig’s supporters are not buying the argument.
One source close to Craig said the charge of homosexuality was the reason for the different treatment. “If what Larry was accused of doing was tawdry, so was the treatment of him by leadership,” this source said.
Vitter said on Wednesday that resigning was “a decision for [Craig] to make, it seems like.” But when asked about the perceived double standard, Vitter abruptly departed without a response.
Several senators refused to comment on their missing colleague, including Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who is grappling with a federal investigation, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who directed questions on Craig to the Republicans.
“There’s a court of law and a court of public opinion,” Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) said. “I fully understand his plans to clear his name in the court of law, but I fear for him in … the court of public opinion.”
Added Smith, who faces a tough campaign in 2008: “If this story doesn’t get smaller, it will get bigger.”
The next chapter of the story may be derived in the Ethics Committee, where members confirmed their preliminary inquiry into Craig’s June arrest in a letter sent to GOP leaders this week. Craig pleaded guilty in August to disorderly conduct after the arresting officer alleged that the senator used signals to solicit sexual contact in a Minneapolis airport bathroom.
Former House Democratic ethics counsel Stan Brand, who represents Craig on Ethics Committee issues, wrote to the panel on Wednesday seeking the dismissal of a complaint filed against the Idahoan by his own party leaders. Brand and partner Andrew Herman argued that the Ethics panel lacks jurisdiction over misdemeanors, such as Craig’s, without a direct connection to official duties.
Nonetheless, the Minnesota charging document states that Craig flashed his Senate business card to the arresting officer, and Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) suggested that the Ethics Committee might examine whether Craig’s behavior amounted to “acting in a way that brings discredit to the institution.”
“Any reconsideration [from Craig] would be a mistake,” Bennett added. “Once you announce you’re resigning, you can’t take it back.”
Brand challenged the invocation of any standard of discredit to the Senate.
“The Senate has never disciplined someone under that provision of the code without an independent basis for violation of some standard for egregious conduct, like treason, bribery, financial mismanagement, et cetera,” Brand said. “I don’t think [it] should start now.”
Yet in their letter sent to GOP leaders this week, Ethics Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Vice Chairman John Cornyn (R-Texas) effectively confirmed their jurisdiction over Craig’s case, while noting that the inquiry would close if he resigns.
“The Senate ‘may discipline a member for any misconduct, including conduct or activity which does not relate to official duties …’” Boxer and Cornyn wrote.
Despite the outcome of Craig’s Minnesota court challenge, most agreed that the Capitol ethics probe is unlikely to resolve itself by Sept. 30.
“It’s usually more deliberative than that,” said Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), a former Ethics Committee chairman. “It’s a process.”
The committee may have ample time to do its work. Some Craig staffers say they believe he regrets caving to the intense pressure from GOP leaders last week that led to his resignation announcement Saturday.
Staffers also say they believe the wording was intentional, and think Craig will fight to remain in the Senate at least as long as he fights his legal battle.
“He’s smart and tenacious. He’s not one to back down from a fight,” a former staffer said.
Still, even those sympathetic to Craig think it will be tough for him to survive.
“I can’t fathom how he can stay in the Senate,” said one friend ofthe senator’s.
Aaron Blake contributed to this report.
NYT : Craig Goes on Offensive, Angering G.O.P. Leaders
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Craig Goes on Offensive, Angering G.O.P. Leaders
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN and DUFF WILSON | September 6, 2007
WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 — Senator Larry E. Craig of Idaho on Wednesday took new steps to clear his name in Washington and in Minnesota, where he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after being arrested in a sex sting. Mr. Craig’s efforts, including the suggestion that he might not resign at the end of the month as he had announced, infuriated Republican Senate leaders who thought they had contained the political damage from his case.
In a sign of how quickly his colleagues have turned against him, the Senate Ethics Committee on Wednesday swiftly rejected a request by Mr. Craig’s lawyers to dismiss the complaints against him, and Republican leaders moved to fill his leadership positions on three committees.
Mr. Craig, through a lawyer, said that he would try to have his guilty plea withdrawn in Minnesota and that if he could do so by the end of the month he might remain in office.
But a close friend and confidant of Mr. Craig, his former chief of staff, Gregory S. Casey, said that the senator was far more concerned about clearing his name and restoring his reputation than staying in office for the remaining 16 months of his term.
“What he is trying to do is to get the maximum leverage to clear his name for himself and his family, as a human being, and that’s the plan he has,” Mr. Casey said after speaking with Mr. Craig on Wednesday.
“I think it’s relatively simple, but looks a lot more complicated,” said Mr. Casey, who spent part of last week with Mr. Craig in Idaho. “I mean, here’s a man whose focus now is on attempting to do the best he can about clearing his name. Not to hold on to his job as a senator — that’s not what this is about.”
“He’s attempting to balance that with being run out of town on a rail,” Mr. Casey added. “He knows he can never be back to where he was before this scandal broke. He knows he made a mistake by pleading guilty.”
Politically and legally, Mr. Craig faces uphill battles. “Pending Senator Craig’s resignation, the committee will continue to review this matter,” Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, and Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, the leaders of the Ethics Committee, wrote in a letter to Senate Republicans.
Legal experts said vacating Mr. Craig guilty plea would be tough, but not impossible.
But even if he is vindicated, several of Mr. Craig’s Republican colleagues, while speaking in the Senate’s customarily decorous tones, made clear that they would not welcome his return. “Any reconsideration would be a mistake,” said Senator Robert F. Bennett of Utah. “Once you announce you are resigning, you don’t take it back.”
Mr. Craig, in Boise on Saturday, said he intended to resign on Sept. 30 because he could not pursue his legal options while representing the people of Idaho. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after an undercover police officer accused him of soliciting sex in a Minneapolis airport men’s room.
But with powerful lawyers now defending him in Minneapolis and in Washington, it is clear that Mr. Craig intends to wage a fierce fight, if not to salvage his political career — re-election seems out of the question — then to defend his honor and that of his family, which has stood by him.
Mr. Craig has insisted that he is not gay — to a Boise newspaper in an interview this spring before the airport incident and again to the police officer who arrested him. “I’m not gay; I don’t do these kinds of things,” he told the officer. He repeated the denial in statements to his family after his arrest became public.
At the end of June, Mr. Craig’s campaign committee reported having more than $549,000 on hand, which could be spent on his legal battles.
The announcement that he was reconsidering his resignation was the latest in a series of conflicting statements that have perplexed even some of his closest political supporters.
Mr. Craig met on Wednesday with Gov. C. L. Otter of Idaho, and an aide to the governor said the conversation had centered on the senator’s resignation and the governor’s naming of his successor.
“We are working toward a replacement," the governor’s spokesman, Jon Hanian, said after the meeting. “We are working with the senator’s staff toward what we assume is a Sept. 30 date. What Larry has got going on outside of that, you’re going to have to talk to Larry about, but we are proceeding based on what he said at his Saturday event.”
Mr. Craig’s lawyers in Washington, Stanley M. Brand and Andrew D. Herman of the Brand Group, wrote to the Ethics Committee saying there was no precedent for it to investigate “purely personal conduct unrelated to the performance of official Senate duties.”
But in its letter to Republicans, the Ethics Committee said it clearly had authority to investigate, and according to the Senate ethics manual “may discipline a member for any misconduct, including conduct or activity which does not directly relate to official duties, when such conduct unfavorably reflects on the institution as a whole.”
Mr. Craig responded in a statement that the committee had not addressed his lawyers’ points. "It is my intent to fight the case before the Ethics Committee while I am a sitting senator," he said. "I would prefer to have that case resolved on its merits."
At the Capitol, Senator Gordon H. Smith, Republican of Oregon, said a legal victory might prove hollow. “I fear for him, the response of the court of public opinion,” Mr. Smith said. “If this story doesn’t get smaller, it gets bigger.”
And Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate Republican leader, told reporters Wednesday that Mr. Craig had called to update him about his plans.
“My view remains what I said last Saturday,” Mr. McConnell said. “I thought he made the correct decision, the difficult but correct decision to resign. That would still be my view today.”
Mr. McConnell, growing weary of repeated questions about Mr. Craig, asked: “Anything on any other subject? I really have covered this.” And then, to his noticeable relief, came a question about the war in Iraq.
David M. Herszenhorn reported from Washington, and Duff Wilson from New York. Carl Hulse contributed reporting from Washington, and William Yardley from Seattle.
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN and DUFF WILSON | September 6, 2007
WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 — Senator Larry E. Craig of Idaho on Wednesday took new steps to clear his name in Washington and in Minnesota, where he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after being arrested in a sex sting. Mr. Craig’s efforts, including the suggestion that he might not resign at the end of the month as he had announced, infuriated Republican Senate leaders who thought they had contained the political damage from his case.
In a sign of how quickly his colleagues have turned against him, the Senate Ethics Committee on Wednesday swiftly rejected a request by Mr. Craig’s lawyers to dismiss the complaints against him, and Republican leaders moved to fill his leadership positions on three committees.
Mr. Craig, through a lawyer, said that he would try to have his guilty plea withdrawn in Minnesota and that if he could do so by the end of the month he might remain in office.
But a close friend and confidant of Mr. Craig, his former chief of staff, Gregory S. Casey, said that the senator was far more concerned about clearing his name and restoring his reputation than staying in office for the remaining 16 months of his term.
“What he is trying to do is to get the maximum leverage to clear his name for himself and his family, as a human being, and that’s the plan he has,” Mr. Casey said after speaking with Mr. Craig on Wednesday.
“I think it’s relatively simple, but looks a lot more complicated,” said Mr. Casey, who spent part of last week with Mr. Craig in Idaho. “I mean, here’s a man whose focus now is on attempting to do the best he can about clearing his name. Not to hold on to his job as a senator — that’s not what this is about.”
“He’s attempting to balance that with being run out of town on a rail,” Mr. Casey added. “He knows he can never be back to where he was before this scandal broke. He knows he made a mistake by pleading guilty.”
Politically and legally, Mr. Craig faces uphill battles. “Pending Senator Craig’s resignation, the committee will continue to review this matter,” Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, and Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, the leaders of the Ethics Committee, wrote in a letter to Senate Republicans.
Legal experts said vacating Mr. Craig guilty plea would be tough, but not impossible.
But even if he is vindicated, several of Mr. Craig’s Republican colleagues, while speaking in the Senate’s customarily decorous tones, made clear that they would not welcome his return. “Any reconsideration would be a mistake,” said Senator Robert F. Bennett of Utah. “Once you announce you are resigning, you don’t take it back.”
Mr. Craig, in Boise on Saturday, said he intended to resign on Sept. 30 because he could not pursue his legal options while representing the people of Idaho. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after an undercover police officer accused him of soliciting sex in a Minneapolis airport men’s room.
But with powerful lawyers now defending him in Minneapolis and in Washington, it is clear that Mr. Craig intends to wage a fierce fight, if not to salvage his political career — re-election seems out of the question — then to defend his honor and that of his family, which has stood by him.
Mr. Craig has insisted that he is not gay — to a Boise newspaper in an interview this spring before the airport incident and again to the police officer who arrested him. “I’m not gay; I don’t do these kinds of things,” he told the officer. He repeated the denial in statements to his family after his arrest became public.
At the end of June, Mr. Craig’s campaign committee reported having more than $549,000 on hand, which could be spent on his legal battles.
The announcement that he was reconsidering his resignation was the latest in a series of conflicting statements that have perplexed even some of his closest political supporters.
Mr. Craig met on Wednesday with Gov. C. L. Otter of Idaho, and an aide to the governor said the conversation had centered on the senator’s resignation and the governor’s naming of his successor.
“We are working toward a replacement," the governor’s spokesman, Jon Hanian, said after the meeting. “We are working with the senator’s staff toward what we assume is a Sept. 30 date. What Larry has got going on outside of that, you’re going to have to talk to Larry about, but we are proceeding based on what he said at his Saturday event.”
Mr. Craig’s lawyers in Washington, Stanley M. Brand and Andrew D. Herman of the Brand Group, wrote to the Ethics Committee saying there was no precedent for it to investigate “purely personal conduct unrelated to the performance of official Senate duties.”
But in its letter to Republicans, the Ethics Committee said it clearly had authority to investigate, and according to the Senate ethics manual “may discipline a member for any misconduct, including conduct or activity which does not directly relate to official duties, when such conduct unfavorably reflects on the institution as a whole.”
Mr. Craig responded in a statement that the committee had not addressed his lawyers’ points. "It is my intent to fight the case before the Ethics Committee while I am a sitting senator," he said. "I would prefer to have that case resolved on its merits."
At the Capitol, Senator Gordon H. Smith, Republican of Oregon, said a legal victory might prove hollow. “I fear for him, the response of the court of public opinion,” Mr. Smith said. “If this story doesn’t get smaller, it gets bigger.”
And Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate Republican leader, told reporters Wednesday that Mr. Craig had called to update him about his plans.
“My view remains what I said last Saturday,” Mr. McConnell said. “I thought he made the correct decision, the difficult but correct decision to resign. That would still be my view today.”
Mr. McConnell, growing weary of repeated questions about Mr. Craig, asked: “Anything on any other subject? I really have covered this.” And then, to his noticeable relief, came a question about the war in Iraq.
David M. Herszenhorn reported from Washington, and Duff Wilson from New York. Carl Hulse contributed reporting from Washington, and William Yardley from Seattle.
Reuters : Senator caught in scandal tries to keep his job
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Senator caught in scandal tries to keep his job
By Thomas Ferraro | September 5, 2007
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Despite a surprise new bid by U.S. Sen. Larry Craig to keep his job, many fellow Republicans said on Wednesday they believe he's finished after being snared in an undercover gay-sex probe.
"Larry Craig seems to be the only person who doesn't understand he's done," a Senate Republican leadership aide said. "It may not be fair. But politics isn't fair."
The Idaho senator informed colleagues that he will drop his plans to resign if he can get his conviction on a disorderly conduct charge withdrawn and clear his name by the end of this month, said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
But several Republicans voiced doubt that Craig could clear himself so quickly, given he had already pleaded guilty to the charge stemming from a police investigation into lewd conduct in an airport men's room.
"There's no way he can get that done in 25 calendar days," another Republican aide said. "It takes longer than that to get a speeding ticket handled in court."
McConnell said Craig had told him that he is trying to clear himself by September 30, the date that the three-term senator set last week to step down.
If Craig fails in court, McConnell said, he will proceed with previously announced plans to leave the Senate. But if Craig prevails, he will return to the Senate and face a possible ethics probe.
"He (Craig) called me to give me an update on where he is in order to dispel, as he put it, any confusion that might exist with regard to his intentions," McConnell told reporters after discussing the matter with other Senate Republicans in a closed-door meeting.
Craig has claimed he was "railroaded," and that his actions in the public toilet at a Minnesota airport were misread as a sexual advance by an undercover policeman in the adjoining stall.
Craig said he did nothing wrong but panicked and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly misconduct. He said he now wants his day in court to win vindication.
Craig was arrested in June but his guilty plea did not become public until last week, triggering a political firestorm.
Democrats have remained out of the fray though some have accused Republicans of unfairly ganging up on Craig who had been a conservative stalwarts.
Under pressure from Republicans, who lost control of Congress last year in the wake of a string of scandals, Craig announced on Saturday his intention to resign, effective September 30.
But on Tuesday, with Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania urging him to fight the matter in court, Craig's aides said he might change course.
McConnell said: "My view remains what I said last Saturday. I thought he made the correct decision -- the difficult but correct decision to resign. That would still be my view today."
"I was surprised and a little concerned," said Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, who will appoint a replacement for Craig if the senator steps down.
Jon Hanian, a spokesman for Otter, said in a telephone interview that Craig came to the governor's office to discuss "the process. We are continuing to work under the assumption that there will be a transition at the end of this month."
© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved.
By Thomas Ferraro | September 5, 2007
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Despite a surprise new bid by U.S. Sen. Larry Craig to keep his job, many fellow Republicans said on Wednesday they believe he's finished after being snared in an undercover gay-sex probe.
"Larry Craig seems to be the only person who doesn't understand he's done," a Senate Republican leadership aide said. "It may not be fair. But politics isn't fair."
The Idaho senator informed colleagues that he will drop his plans to resign if he can get his conviction on a disorderly conduct charge withdrawn and clear his name by the end of this month, said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
But several Republicans voiced doubt that Craig could clear himself so quickly, given he had already pleaded guilty to the charge stemming from a police investigation into lewd conduct in an airport men's room.
"There's no way he can get that done in 25 calendar days," another Republican aide said. "It takes longer than that to get a speeding ticket handled in court."
McConnell said Craig had told him that he is trying to clear himself by September 30, the date that the three-term senator set last week to step down.
If Craig fails in court, McConnell said, he will proceed with previously announced plans to leave the Senate. But if Craig prevails, he will return to the Senate and face a possible ethics probe.
"He (Craig) called me to give me an update on where he is in order to dispel, as he put it, any confusion that might exist with regard to his intentions," McConnell told reporters after discussing the matter with other Senate Republicans in a closed-door meeting.
Craig has claimed he was "railroaded," and that his actions in the public toilet at a Minnesota airport were misread as a sexual advance by an undercover policeman in the adjoining stall.
Craig said he did nothing wrong but panicked and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly misconduct. He said he now wants his day in court to win vindication.
Craig was arrested in June but his guilty plea did not become public until last week, triggering a political firestorm.
Democrats have remained out of the fray though some have accused Republicans of unfairly ganging up on Craig who had been a conservative stalwarts.
Under pressure from Republicans, who lost control of Congress last year in the wake of a string of scandals, Craig announced on Saturday his intention to resign, effective September 30.
But on Tuesday, with Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania urging him to fight the matter in court, Craig's aides said he might change course.
McConnell said: "My view remains what I said last Saturday. I thought he made the correct decision -- the difficult but correct decision to resign. That would still be my view today."
"I was surprised and a little concerned," said Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, who will appoint a replacement for Craig if the senator steps down.
Jon Hanian, a spokesman for Otter, said in a telephone interview that Craig came to the governor's office to discuss "the process. We are continuing to work under the assumption that there will be a transition at the end of this month."
© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved.
WaPo : Arrest Clouds Idaho Senator's Future
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Arrest Clouds Idaho Senator's Future
By MATTHEW DALY | The Associated Press | 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.
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 Karsniam, 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 flushed the toilet and 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 towards the exit "at which time the defendant exclaimed `No!,' " the complaint said.
Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper which first reported the case, 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 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.
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.
By MATTHEW DALY | The Associated Press | 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.
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 Karsniam, 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 flushed the toilet and 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 towards the exit "at which time the defendant exclaimed `No!,' " the complaint said.
Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper which first reported the case, 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 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.
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.
WaPo : Idaho Senator Arrested in Airport
Monday, August 27, 2007
Idaho Senator Arrested in Airport
The Associated Press | Monday, August 27, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS -- Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho pleaded guilty this month to misdemeanor disorderly conduct after being arrested at the Minneapolis airport.
A Hennepin County court docket showed Craig pleading guilty to the disorderly conduct charge Aug. 8, with the court dismissing a charge of gross misdemeanor interference to privacy.
The court docket said the Republican senator was fined $1,000, plus $575 in fees. He 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.
Craig said in a statement issued by his office 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 Associated Press | Monday, August 27, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS -- Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho pleaded guilty this month to misdemeanor disorderly conduct after being arrested at the Minneapolis airport.
A Hennepin County court docket showed Craig pleading guilty to the disorderly conduct charge Aug. 8, with the court dismissing a charge of gross misdemeanor interference to privacy.
The court docket said the Republican senator was fined $1,000, plus $575 in fees. He 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.
Craig said in a statement issued by his office 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."
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