ISU Bengal

Issue date: 9/5/07 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Joe Jaszewski U.S. Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho)

BOISE, Idaho _ Sen. Larry Craig insisted Tuesday "I am not gay" and lashed out at the Idaho Statesman newspaper for a "witchhunt" that he said led him to plead guilty to a disorderly conduct charge _ a plea he hoped would make the charge go away.
Craig was arrested June 11 by an undercover police officer who said Craig made a sexual advance toward him in an airport men's room near Minneapolis.
He held a nationally televised news conference Tuesday in Boise, but did not talk specifically about what happened in the men's room and did not take questions.
"I overreacted and made a poor decision," Craig said.
Craig said he still planned to announce next month his decision on whether to run again in 2008.
"I chose to plead guilty to a lesser charge in hopes of making it go away," he said. Not seeking counsel was "a mistake and I deeply regret it."
Craig said his state of mind was troubled then because of an Idaho Statesman investigation into rumors circulated by a blogger and published by many other papers in the state. The newspaper, which is owned by The McClatchy Company, printed nothing until news of Craig's arrest became public Monday.
Craig said he and his family "have been relentlessly and viciously harassed by the Idaho Statesman." He called the Statesman investigation a "witch hunt."
"Let me be clear," he said. "I am not gay, I never have been gay."
"I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct," he said.
In response to Craig's remarks, Bill Manny, the Statesman's managing editor, released the following statement:
``As our story today demonstrated, we followed leads and asked questions. We worked hard and behaved responsibly, not publishing a story until it was ready. We didn't print anything until the senator pleaded guilty. Our story outlined what we've done and it speaks for itself.''
After his June 11 arrest, Craig revisited the Minneapolis airport June 22 to complain about how he had been treated by police. His spokesman said he was on his way to Idaho from Washington D.C., a trip he takes through the Minneapolis airport most Fridays when Congress is in session.
He stopped at the police operations center and told the on-duty officer, Adam Snedker, that it had been over a week since his arrest and no one had contacted him. According to the police, the senator told the officer that `he was involved in an incident where he was "drug down to this office" where he was handcuffed, fingerprinted and interviewed."

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools