Posted on 09/05/2007 7:42:05 AM PDT by Jeff Head
Craig chose his words carefully during his resignation speech Saturday in Boise, according to a voice mail message he mistakenly left on a stranger's phone.
In that message obtained by the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, Craig tells a man named "Billy" that his choice of language is deliberate because it leaves the door open for him to stay in office.
Craig made the call just minutes before his speech.
"We have reshaped my statement a little bit to say it is my intent to resign on Sept. 30," Craig said. "I think it is important for you to make as bold a statement as you are comfortable with this afternoon, and I would hope you could make it in front of the cameras. I think it would help drive the story that I'm willing to fight, that I've got quality people out there fighting in my defense, and that this thing could take a new turn or a new shape; it has that potential."
He said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., had encouraged him to fight.
The recording was offered for sale to the Idaho Statesman, which turned it down because the newspaper's ethics policy precludes it from paying for information from sources. A Roll Call editor said that publication wouldn't pay either, but it managed to obtain the recording without charge.
The voice is indeed Craig's, spokesman Dan Whiting said. Whiting would not say who "Billy" is. On Saturday, Craig announced that he had hired high-profile criminal defense lawyer Billy Martin to help him unravel the guilty plea he filed last month.
(Excerpt) Read more at idahostatesman.com ...
Both need to go. Ditto Bond, Grassley, Lugar, etc.
Voice-mail transcript
Here’s what Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, said in a voice-mail message he mistakenly left at an incorrect phone number Saturday morning:
Yes, Billy, this is Larry Craig calling. You can reach me on my cell. Arlen Specter is now willing to come out in my defense, arguing that it appears by all that he knows that I have been railroaded and all that. Having all of that, we have reshaped my statement a little bit to say it is my intent to resign on Sept. 30. I think it is important for you to make as bold a statement as you are comfortable with this afternoon, and I would hope you could make it in front of the cameras. I think it would help drive the story that I’m willing to fight, that I’ve got quality people out there fighting in my defense, and that this thing could take a new turn or a new shape; it has that potential. Anyway, give me a buzz or give Mike a buzz on that. We’re headed to my press conference now. Thank you. Bye.
Only immune (from detention) if traveling to attend a session of congress. He was headed home.
You’re headline? There is no ‘e’ in leaving. I thought we weren’t supposed to make up headlines......we were supposed to use the exact one in your link.
uh yeah. that’s what this is - POLITICS. You must listen carefully. It’s part of the game. ;)
FR allows the poster to make an editorial comment, following the headline, if he/she so wishes.
Kind of bizarre and disturbing how he was plotting to weasel out of a statement before he made it. He should be called Larry “The Weasel” Craig.
If he privately, legally, wants to challenge his guilty plea and get off on what amounts to a loop hole...then that is his business. But he is going to drag the whole country through it with him.
Senator Craig, Go away. You're an embarrassment and your continued presence in DC is a scandal. We are not democrats. We do not not tolerate deviancy and call it normal. We do not expect perversion and deceit from our elected officials and when we find it we expel it. Go away.
Great, he's still in it, but now everyone can see him in there.
Senator Craig is not a deviant nor is he gay. The dems set him up and he fell for the trap...
and then stumbled and tangled himself up... and we’re watching him try to stay standing but it’s inevitable that pretty soon he’s going to fall.
Otherwise, I totally agree with you.
Did you mean “Your headline?” instead of “You’re headline?”
;)
Thanks for the whole transcript.
LOL.
Stop it! He’s not gay!
If he were gay, or a propositioner, don’t you think every gay guy he fooled around with would be coming up from under the woodwork by now?
Sadly, it is so.
The fact that the Senator like to cruise men's rooms looking for anonymous sex has been an open secret for years. He was accused of soliciting sex by a gay man in DC several years ago. The only thing is that guy wasn't a cop. Larry Craig is a deviant and he is gay.
Not true, it's to and from a session.
Yes it is...and it is not lost on the people here. IMHO, he is digging his hole deeper and should just step aside and allow the Governor to appoint someone to fill out the term. In my estimation, it is shameful what is hapopening.
Yes.....you’re right. ;0 I hate to see headlines spelled incorrectly....it sends a bad image. I’m just a poster so it’s ok...lol
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.