Craig's lawyers: Guilty plea was product of panic (Senator Larry Craig)

Minneapolis Star and Tribune ^ | 11 September 2007 | Rochelle Olson

[shrinkermd]

Under pressure from a newspaper investigation, Sen. Larry Craig "panicked" and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in a Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport men's room, according to court papers filed Monday. The plea constitutes a "manifest injustice" and should be set aside, his lawyers say.

The 50-page filing in Hennepin County District Court said Craig feared his arrest in the airport sting would prompt the Idaho Statesman to publish a story examining his sexual orientation. The Republican, who has represented Idaho in the U.S. Senate for 17 years, "felt compelled to grasp the lifeline offered to him by the police officer, namely that if he were to submit to an interview and plead guilty, then none of the officer's allegations would be made public," the filing said.

Craig pleaded guilty by mail to disorderly conduct in August following his arrest in June. A police report alleged that Craig had solicited sex from police Sgt. Dave Karsnia, which the senator has denied.

If a judge had spoken with Craig, "the court would have quickly concluded that, faced with the pressure of an aggressive interrogation and the consequences of public embarrassment, Senator Craig panicked," the petition said.

Craig's lawyers also argued that the evidence is insufficient to support a guilty plea to disorderly conduct, defined by state law as "offensive, obscene, abusive, boisterous, or noisy conduct or ... offensive, obscene, or abusive language tending reasonably to arouse alarm, anger or resentment in others."

Karsnia merely observed "several ambiguous -- but legal -- hand and foot gestures," the petition said.

[shrinkermd]

This may be a precedent setting case if it comes to trial. Legalisms aside, the St. Paul newspaper has pointed out that Senator Craig was charged with a law that was meant to protect young girls from cameras. Before this Summer, this law and never been used in prosecuting homosexuals.

[tennmountainman]

That kind of mental thought has no place in the U.S. Senate.

[Mr. K]

CRAIG’S A ‘MO
WE ALL KNOW
GO AWAY GO

(is that a haiku?)

[Night Hides Not]

Larry...please...go...away...

[MissMagnolia]

Sen. Larry Craig "panicked" ...... Craig feared his arrest in the airport sting would prompt the Idaho Statesman to publish a story examining his sexual orientation.

Regardless of ANYTHING else (did, didn't, illegal, not illegal, thrown under the bus or not, etc.), such poor judgement (allowing himself to be stampeded) and seeming ease with which he could have been subject to blackmail, makes him unfit for duty as a member of our government. That being said, there are plenty of other Congresscritters/Senators with poor judgement and bad/criminal behavior who are unfit for office and who need to GO.

[dmz]

Was it gay panic?

[expatpat]

So what. Craig is done — and we don’t want him back.

[napscoordinator]

Not only is he guilty but a liar too. His kids are worthless too. The whole family should just disappear and make our 2008 election better.

[napscoordinator]

Your right...when is that pathetic phone sex maniac who love whores, Vetter leaving Senate? He will be used against us next year too. I wish he would quietly go away.

[samm1148]

One thing I have to get in before Larry Craig goes away (hopefully). The left argued for gays in the military. One of their popular rants was: It’s not like gay guys are going to attack their fellow soldiers in the bathroom...hello calling Larry Craig.

Just something us commonsensniks always knew. Gays are disturbed in some way.

[Sig Sauer P220]

Craig didn’t do anything wrong, but he was fixin to.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Watta pansy.

[Xenalyte]

Haiku are five syllables to the first line, seven to the second, five to the third.

So no, it’s not. :)

[LibLieSlayer]

He’s a poofter... of course he panicked!

[Badeye]

This ego maniac would rather see another loss of seats to leftwingnuts, at a moment when the leftwingnuts proposals echo bin Laden and company, almost exactly, rather than resign.

He should be ejected from the GOP immediately for that alone.

We can’t afford this closet queens bullshit much longer.

[goldstategop]

Larry Craig really is an idiot. That's why he shouldn't be in the Senate. Heaven knows what he might have done had he say - been blackmailed.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[CholeraJoe]

A person who doesn’t have sense enough to hire an attorney has no business writing this nations laws.

[what's up]

Statesman editor and vice president Vicki Gowler defended the newspaper's investigation. "From the start, it was important to us to do a thorough and responsible investigation, outside of deadline pressures. We did that," Gowler said.

The newspapers witch-hunt was atrocious.

Full of innuendo and "allegation".

Ridiculous. If I was Craig, I would have pled guilty to disorderly too in order to keep the newspaper from having their celebrations.

Unfortunately, this is what happened anyway...due to a cop leaking info which he promised he wouldn't.

[ChurtleDawg]

this guy is a complete moron. if he just shut up and retired people would just forget about him. He is keeping himself on the news, in the papers, as the punchline of jokes on David Letterman etc etc

[ChurtleDawg]

this guy is a complete moron. if he just shut up and retired people would just forget about him. He is keeping himself on the news, in the papers, as the punchline of jokes on David Letterman etc etc