Sen. Larry Craig,
who has voted against same-sex marriage and opposes
extending hate-crimes law to cover gay and lesbian 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
reelection next year. He has not 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 reelection 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.
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
court docket, Craig pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct
charge on August 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 August 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
Republican senators facing ethical and legal troubles.
Sen. Ted Stevens
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
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 state capital, Boise. He was a member
of the House for 10 years before winning election to
the Senate in 1990. He was reelected in 1996 and 2002.
Last fall Craig
called allegations from a gay rights activist that he has
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. (Matthew Daly, AP)
