Posted on 08/28/2007 12:44:58 PM PDT by mngran
His future in doubt, with allies denouncing his behavior and former staffers voicing disbelief at his arrest, Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, is expected to hold a press conference this afternoon that may answer questions about his political future.
Long dogged by rumors about his sexuality, the married and conservative three-term senator is expected to address the June 11 incident at Minneapolis Airport in which an undercover officer arrested him on charges of lewd conduct in a men's room.
Craig will give a statement this afternoon concerning his arrest at 2 p.m. Mountain Time in downtown Boise, a spokesman said. Craig's staff said he would not take questions.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
=== Topless bar? ===
Bust stop. LOL.
Read the transcript from the 40-year-old man who says he had sex with Craig (with audio)
“If he’s lying, it surely will come out now. No way one of his former “partners” misses a chance for fifteen minutes of fame.”
Could not agree more. If he’s lying, his “partners” will come out of the woodwork. This story will either go away or get much worse.
“If he is innocent, he is still incompetent. A U S Senator doesn’t get a lawyer?”
He was trying to hide it. A lawyer would likely bring it public.
No clue. Given the topic, I can guess, tho.
But his boyfriend is.
Does anyone know the lesser charge he pleaded guilty to?
Carville is on gloating on CNN and I have to agree with him.
Unintentionally hilarious.
If he were a Dem he’d get a standing ovation when he showed up on the Senate floor...
Disorderly.
That is a point. He's on probation for a criminal conviction now and for the next ten months. I have no doubt he regrets pleading guilty but he did plead guilty. What on earth did he imagine he was pleading guilty to?
Why aren't they out defending Larry Craig tooth-and-nail? He's more conservative than AG has ever been.
Acccckkkkk!
Now the GOP is going to have to do everything in their power to alienate Craig and make him reconsider his choices. He’s going to drag us through a redux of the Mark Foley scandal: one embarassing revelation after the other. Claiming he’s not gay is like Gary Hart daring the media to follow him around. For those who say there’s no proof...well, I DO NOT BELIEVE a man who’s fought of gay allegations his entire life would JUST HAPPEN to find himself in a well known gay sex place, using signals that JUST HAPPEN to be used by gay solicitors. Gee, what a coincidence!
What a SELFISH pervert! Just how much damage to the party will be enough for him?
Yes, either the report is true in which he is a pervert, or it is false, in which the Senator is too stupid to be a Senator for pleading guilty to a false charge.
BOISE, IDAHO - Senator Craig made the following statement to Idaho at 2:30pm:
"First, please let me apologize to my family, friends, staff, and fellow Idahoans for the cloud placed over Idaho. I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport. I regret my decision to plead guilty and the sadness that decision has brought to my wife, family, friends, staff, and fellow Idahoans. For that I apologize.
"In June, I overreacted and made a poor decision. While I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct at the Minneapolis airport or anywhere else, I 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. Because of that, I have now retained counsel and I am asking my counsel to review this matter and to advise me on how to proceed.
"For a moment, I want to put my state of mind into context on June 11. For 8 months leading up to June, my family and I had been relentlessly and viciously harassed by the Idaho Statesman. If you’ve seen today’s paper, you know why. Let me be clear: I am not gay and never have been.
"Still, without a shred of truth or evidence to the contrary, the Statesman has engaged in this witch hunt. 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. Again, that overreaction was a mistake, and I apologize for my misjudgment. Furthermore, 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.
"I love my wife, family, friends, staff, and Idaho. I love serving Idaho in Congress. Over the years, I have accomplished a lot for Idaho, and I hope Idahoans will allow me to continue to do that. There are still goals I would like to accomplish, and I believe I can still be an effective leader for Idaho. Next month, I will announce, as planned, whether or not I will seek reelection.
"As an elected official, I fully realize that my life is open for public criticism and scrutiny, and I take full responsibility for the mistake in judgment I made in attempting to handle this matter myself.
"It is clear, though, that through my actions I have brought a cloud over Idaho. For that, I ask the people of Idaho for their forgiveness.
"As I mentioned earlier, I have now retained counsel to examine this matter and I will make no further comment."
I don’t buy that guys story at all. This very well could be a smear campaign by the left. I am just not calling on him to resign just yet.
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