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Craig Decides to Stay on as GOP Senator

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October 04, 2007 2:12 PM

ABC News' Jake Tapper Reports: Disgraced Republican Senator Larry Craig announced Thursday he will continue to serve as an Idaho senator despite the fact a judge denied his request to withdraw his guilty plea in connection with a bathroom sex sting.

"I am extremely disappointed with the ruling today," read Craig's statement released Thursday afternoon. "I am innocent of the charges against me."

Craig's statement went on to read: "I will continue to serve Idaho in the United States Senate, and there are several reasons for that. As I continued to work for Idaho over the past three weeks here in the Senate, I have seen that it is possible for me to work here effectively."

However Craig said he will retire and not seek reelection when his term expires in 2008.

Craig's decision to stay through 2008 is not going over well among Republicans on Capitol Hill who have made it clear they want Craig to go.

In his statement Craig also cites his committee assignments below as a reason for him to stay.

"I have accumulated seniority and important committee assignments that are valuable to Idaho," he writes. The statement is especially odd since one month ago the Senate Leadership stripped him of his committee assignments while he's being investigated by the Ethics Committee.

"He'll have an awful lot of distraction," said a Senior GOP Senate leadership aide, saying he doesn't think it possible for Craig to serve effectively.

Craig's senate office released the statement hours after a judge handed down a scathing denial to Craig's request to have his guilty plea withdrawn in connection with a bathroom sex sting.

In a 27-page order, Judge Charles A Porter, Jr, hammers down every explanation Craig had offered to justify withdrawing his August plea of guilty.

Porter finds Craig's plea accurate, voluntary, and intelligent. He rules the conviction for disorderly conduct was supported by the evidence and the charge itself is a legitimate one for society to prosecute.

The Judge suggests that Craig's motion was politically motivated -- which is not a valid legal reason.

He notes that Craig "has not expressed dissatisfaction with the actual terms of his sentence, which consists solely of a financial penalty of $575 provided that he does not commit any same or similar violations for one year. Likewise (Craig) does not challenge the actual validity of the conviction of the fairness or appropriateness of the negotiation. The timing of the motion relative to the social and political events that began when the case became publicized ... makes the motion untimely as it is politically, rather than legally, motivated."

He also notes "the Defendant's relative diligence in seeking withdrawal …,The two month lapse in time between the arrest and the plea negates any reasonable conclusion that the questioning by Sgt. Karsnia in June overrode the Defendant's free will in such a way that he was forced by events in June, to plead guilty in August."

He calls "illogical" Craig's argument that he was confused and "was not admitting to have engaged in that conduct" for which he was charged.

"This Court believes that the Defendant's plea had a more than sufficient factual basis on the face of the petition."

Craig's office did not return requests for comment.

October 4, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (61)

User Comments

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LOL Sorry, Larry. You can run, but you can't hide. Come out, come out, wherever you are!!! You'll be a happier man when you just come clean to your wife, kids and the world that you're a middle-aged gay man. It's not that hard. Just say it. "I'm gay." See how easy that was? Now find yourself a nice man to settle down with, and stop cruising public men's rooms, ok?

Posted by: Scott | Oct 4, 2007 2:33:43 PM

Just another of those clean-vesseled,up-standing religious republicans...

Posted by: Lowell Browning | Oct 4, 2007 2:36:27 PM

I liked that,lol...thanx for the humor Scott...heehaw

Posted by: Lowell Browning | Oct 4, 2007 2:38:08 PM

You are CAUGHT!! just face it, admit to it and be done with it. No one in their right mind would agree to a charge like that, unless they were actually doing it. That's like me stealing a car, being cuaght driving the car, admit to it, but then say oh I change my mind because I didn't know what I was admitting to!!. . I did

Just come clean . .it's out now!

Posted by: LaToya | Oct 4, 2007 2:39:59 PM

whew. glad that's over.
now we can move on...
NEXT!!!

Posted by: 4EYES | Oct 4, 2007 2:42:05 PM

Wonder what the next Republican scandal will be? It's been a whole week since the last one...we're due again.

Posted by: wilder5121 | Oct 4, 2007 2:42:28 PM

Nice job of "Photoshopping" him in over the pic of the bathroom stalls, LOL. ABC does it again! Can you say professional?

Posted by: Mitch | Oct 4, 2007 2:45:12 PM

Despite what the religious-right has brainwashed you into believing, there is actually nothing wrong with being gay. Be who you are, you'll be happier that way and maybe you won't have to resort to cruising public restrooms for sex anymore.

Posted by: TG | Oct 4, 2007 2:49:16 PM

What a jerk - Craig, so he wanted some man sex at a stay over, big deal. We all do things we do not get caught for! To deny it is simply stupid, and unfair to everyone involved. You are an elected official for freak sake! The facts are undeniable that he was crusing, so what! Stop giving gay people a bad name!

Posted by: bush | Oct 4, 2007 2:49:20 PM

Damn activist judges legislating from the bench. Don't judges know their place. When a good christian politician (is that an oximoron?) says he's innocent the judge must see it that way. A good christian politician would never lie. (-;

Posted by: BooMan | Oct 4, 2007 2:49:57 PM

good ... i'm glad he is having to face the consequences of his actions .. but to those of you referring "religious, reblicans that just need to come out", stop stereotyping & putting everyone into the same category ... not all religious republicans are closet gays ... Thank God!

Posted by: beheard70 | Oct 4, 2007 2:56:00 PM

Larry Craig is not gay. He was forced into confessing by the socialist police in Minneapolis. This was a set up by the newspaper who was on a witch hunt. He didn't do anything wrong. He was in a narrow stall and his feet accidentally collided. And there is no crime in picking toilet paper off the floor.

Larry Craig should continue serving in the Senate and win reelection next year. He should continue with his crusade against homosexuality. He shouldn't give up just because he's being pressured to quit.

I would even go so far as to say he should run for president. That would really shake up the race.

Posted by: | Oct 4, 2007 3:03:35 PM

Yeah.. LCING.... great idea! A president who caves to "socialist pressure"! That'll shake things up alright.

I was waiting to hear your bit about the Easter Bunny but i guess it got cut off by some glitch.

Posted by: Nina Nealon | Oct 4, 2007 3:06:39 PM

He was in a rush to catch his flight. He just wanted to put this all behind him. He thought the police would keep their word and not make this public.

Posted by: LarryCraigIsNotGay | Oct 4, 2007 3:08:16 PM

So what says Senator Craig? Didn't he have a comment?

Posted by: Sean O'Brien | Oct 4, 2007 3:09:46 PM

Congress should pass an amendment to condemn the Minneapolis police for playing politics.

Posted by: LarryCraigIsNotGay | Oct 4, 2007 3:11:33 PM

Well, if his career is over, he can always try out on broadway as a tap dancer! I'm sure he'd be great with that. Larry, Larry, Larry, you may have fooled your family in thinking you'r the victim of a witch hunt, but the we males both gay and straight, know that wide guy or skinny guy, you don't stick your foot into the other stall and and touch the other guys foot and start tappin'. Just face it, you're a hypocrit and a queen! Just come out already so we can move on.

Posted by: Andy | Oct 4, 2007 3:14:37 PM

For last time: LARRY CRAIG IS NOT GAY!!! Stop spreading lies about this great man!

Posted by: LarryCraigIsNotGay | Oct 4, 2007 3:17:40 PM

Who cares if he's gay or not? None of the gay people I know cruise airport bathrooms for anonymous sex. If he were looking for a female prostitute it would be just as illegal. The whole "gay" thing is just a red herring.

The real issue is that this man shows no signs of leadership, was caught in an illegal act, knowingly pled guilty to it (two months later, so no "late for my flight" defense is plausible), and lied about it to police, his family, and his constituents.

And for anyone who thinks it's normal or explainable to peek between the cracks into occupied stalls in a men's restroom, rub up against your neighbors feet, or lean down underneath the stalls-- please don't sit in the next stall to me.

Posted by: Sam | Oct 4, 2007 3:19:30 PM

Gay is gay is gay is gay... once you admit to it, you cannot decide you are not just because it suits you. Sorry Larry-Boy, but everyone has known you were gay for a long time. Now that you've been CAUGHT wide-stanced, you're still gay. Why can't you just come on out and admit your are gay? Ellen did and look what it did for her! She got a television talk show and everyone (except bible-thumpers) loves her. You're GAY Larry.

Posted by: Stimpson J. Katt | Oct 4, 2007 3:23:05 PM

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