Larry Craig scandal
Encyclopedia
The Larry Craig scandal was an incident that began on June 11, 2007, with the arrest of Larry Craig
—who at the time was a Senator
from Idaho
—for lewd conduct
in a men's restroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Craig later entered a guilty plea to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct
on August 8. As a result of the controversy surrounding his arrest, subsequent guilty plea, and pressure from his fellow Republican
s, Senator Craig announced his intention to resign from the Senate at a news conference on September 1, which was to become effective on September 30. After failing to withdraw his guilty plea, on October 4, Craig released a statement refusing to resign as senator for Idaho.
on suspicion of lewd conduct. The nature of the alleged activity has been categorized by some as cottaging
. According to the police report, the police officer sat in a bathroom stall as part of an undercover operation investigating complaints of sexual activity in the restroom. After about 13 minutes of sitting in the stall, the police officer observed Craig lingering outside and frequently peeking through the crack of the door on the stall. Craig then entered the stall to the left of the officer's stall. The police officer made the following observations, which he recorded in his report of the incident, as to what happened next:
According to the incident report and criminal complaint filed in court, the officer showed Craig his police identification beneath the partition separating their stalls, and the officer then pointed his finger towards the restroom exit. Craig initially said no, but he ultimately complied with the officer's request to leave the restroom. After Craig and the officer left the restroom, Craig was reluctant to go with the officer and demanded the officer show his police identification a second time. Once the officer complied with the request, Craig, the arresting officer, and a police detective, who was stationed outside of the restroom, went to the airport police station.
After the arresting officer read Craig his Miranda
rights, the officer interviewed Craig about the restroom incident. At one point, Craig handed his business card to the arresting officer, which identified him as a U.S. Senator, and said to him, "What do you think about that?" Craig told the officer that he was worried about missing his flight, and the arresting officer asked the police detective to call the airline to hold the flight. The detective reported that no one answered the telephone for the airline, and the arresting officer proceeded with the interview.
According to the arrest report prepared by Sgt. Dave Karsnia, "Craig stated ... He has a wide stance when going to the bathroom and that his foot may have touched mine." Craig never used the term "wide stance" himself. According to the transcript of the police interrogation, Sgt. Karsnia asked: "Did you do anything with your feet?" and Craig replied: "Positioned them, I don't know. I don’t know at the time. I'm a fairly wide guy."
When the officer asked Craig about the use of his hands, Craig said that he reached down with his right hand to pick up a piece of paper that was on the floor. The officer disputed Craig's version by saying, "there was not a piece of paper on the bathroom floor, nor did Craig pick up a piece of paper." Craig also disputed the officer's assertion about the position of his hand, claiming that his right palm was faced down as he picked up the paper from the floor. The officer disputed Craig's version, alleging that Craig used his left hand because his thumb, "was positioned in a faceward motion." During the interview and in the incident report, the officer commented that Craig either disagreed with what happened in the restroom or could not recall the events as they happened.
Craig returned to the airport on June 22 to complain about how he had been treated by the police. According to the police report about Craig's return, Craig said he wanted information for his lawyer.
Craig pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor
charge of disorderly conduct
by signing and mailing a plea petition, dated August 1, 2007, to the Hennepin County District Court
in Minnesota
. He paid $575, including fines and fees. Senator Craig signed the petition to enter his guilty plea, which contained the provisions, "I understand that the court will not accept a plea of guilty from anyone who claims to be innocent... I now make no claim that I am innocent of the charge to which I am entering a plea of guilty." Craig mailed his signed petition to the court, and his petition to plead guilty to the misdemeanor charge was accepted and filed by the court on August 8, 2007.
broke the story to reveal details about Craig's arrest at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport and his subsequent guilty plea in that case. After the conviction came to light, the Idaho Statesman
published a story on August 28, 2007, about three allegations involving Craig's sexual conduct. A college student, who was considering pledging
at Craig's fraternity at the University of Idaho in 1967, told a reporter for the Idaho Statesman that Craig led the student to his bedroom and, "made what the man said he took to be an invitation to sex." In the second reported incident, a man, who identified himself as gay
, told a reporter that Craig cruised
him at the REI
store in Boise
in November 1994, following him around the store for half an hour. The last reported incident to the Idaho Statesman about Craig's conduct came from a 40-year-old man with close ties to Republican officials. According to the man's story about the encounter with Craig, the man "reported having oral sex
with Craig at Washington's Union Station
, probably in 2004." A reporter for the Idaho Statesman interviewed Craig on August 28, 2007, regarding the allegations about his conduct, and in response to the reporter's questions, Craig said, "I'm not gay, and I don't cruise, and I don't hit on men. [...] I don't go around anywhere hitting on men, and by God, if I did, I wouldn't do it in Boise, Idaho! Jiminy!"
Craig's denial echoed that of a man who had been caught up in a gay scandal that broke in Idaho in 1955
. Craig's arrest provoked a small flurry of attention to that earlier scandal, and it was suggested that Craig had absorbed a lesson from it: "sexual misconduct — or even the mere perception that one is gay — could ruin a man’s reputation. But steadfast, straight-in-the-eye denial just might get him off the hook."
Craig claimed that his state of mind was troubled at the time of the guilty plea because he and his family "[had] been relentlessly and viciously harassed" by the Idaho Statesman in the course of its investigation into allegations of Craig's homosexuality and its August 28 article. On August 30, the Statesman called for Craig's resignation. In response to questions about the arrest, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Police Department released an audiotape of Craig's interview with Sergeant
Dave Karsnia, the arresting officer. In that interview, Craig denied wrongdoing and claimed that he was a victim of entrapment
.
Craig was one of two Senate liaisons for Mitt Romney
's presidential campaign
, but removed himself from that campaign role after the conviction became public. Romney said of Craig, "He's disappointed the American people." Craig later expressed bitterness about Romney's handling of the incident, saying in an interview with Matt Lauer
, "And [Romney] not only threw me under his campaign bus
, he backed up and ran over me again."
A Washington
watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
, filed a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee
requesting an investigation into whether Craig violated Senate Rules of Conduct. Members of the Republican Party
in Congress began calling for Craig to resign, including Representative Pete Hoekstra
(MI
), Senator John McCain
(AZ),, Senator Norm Coleman
(MN
) and Senator John Ensign
(NV
). Coleman and Senator Susan Collins
(R-ME
) announced that they would donate campaign contributions received from Craig's political action committee
to charity. Senator Patrick Leahy
(D-VT
), and sitting chair of the Judiciary Committee
, criticized the Republicans for holding to a double standard, for not having called likewise for the resignation of Senator David Vitter
(R-LA
), accused in a call girl
scandal. Leahy said further that the Republicans were motivated by politics, in that Craig would be replaced by a Republican governor while Vitter would be replaced by a Democratic governor. Ensign, for the Republicans, denied the double standard, saying on ABC
that Craig had pled guilty to a crime while Vitter was only accused. Senator Arlen Specter
, then (R-PA
), encouraged Craig to fight to withdraw his guilty plea, concluding on Fox News Sunday "I think he could be vindicated."
Senate GOP leaders including Mitch McConnell
(R-KY
) and Trent Lott
(R-MS
) asked Craig to "temporarily step down as the top Republican on the Veterans Affairs Committee
, Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior and Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests
." Craig subsequently agreed to step down from those posts as the ranking Minority member. Patrick Sammon, president of the Log Cabin Republicans
, issued a statement condemning the senator's actions.
On September 10, 2007, Craig's attorneys filed a motion
to withdraw his guilty plea, arguing that it "was not knowing and intelligent and therefore was in violation of his constitutional rights." His lawyers further argued that Craig "felt compelled to grasp the lifeline," hoping that if he were to submit to an interview and plead guilty that none of the allegations would be made public. The motion argued that Craig had entered the plea under stress caused by media inquiries into his sexuality
. The American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU) filed an amicus curiae
brief
stating that the secret sting operation
used by the police was not "carefully crafted" to avoid ensnaring innocent speech and that "the defendant should be permitted to withdraw his plea, and, should the state recharge him, to contest the constitutional validity of any prosecution."
Craig's motion hearing
to withdraw his guilty plea was held on September 26, 2007, before Judge Charles A. Porter, Jr. Craig’s Washington D.C. attorney, William Martin
, argued that Craig’s actions could not be considered disorderly conduct because "you should have either touching, or words, or a combination of the two." The other main argument was made by Craig’s Minneapolis attorney, Thomas Kelly, who argued that the mail-in petition used by Craig was "defective" because it lacked a judge’s signature. On September 26, 2007, Craig released a statement that he would remain in office until the Hennepin County District Court judge ruled on his motion to withdraw his guilty plea.
On October 4, 2007, Porter denied Craig's motion to withdraw his guilty plea, ruling that Craig's plea was accurate, voluntary, and intelligent, and that evidence
supported the conviction. As part of Craig's appeal of this ruling, the ACLU filed a brief that cited a Minnesota Supreme Court ruling from 38 years earlier finding that those engaging in sexual encounters in closed stalls in otherwise public restrooms "have a reasonable expectation of privacy," a finding that the ACLU argued would contradict the state's claim that Craig was inviting the undercover officer to have sex "in public."
After Judge Porter's ruling, Craig announced that despite his pledge to the contrary, he would serve out his Senate term. He stated that he intended to "continue my effort to clear my name in the Senate Ethics Committee — something that is not possible if I am not serving in the Senate." Craig did not seek reelection in 2008 and left office on January 3, 2009.
In September 2008, Craig's attorney argued before a three-judge panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals that there was insufficient evidence to find Craig guilty of a misdemeanor. In December 2008, the appellate court rejected this attempt to have the guilty plea tossed out and rejected the constitutional challenge to the charges.
On January 8, 2009, Craig dropped his appeal to the Minnesota State Supreme Court after his attorney determined that the Court would be unlikely to accept a petition for further review of the case, ending the legal challenge to his guilty plea.
newspaper alleging either sexual encounters with Craig, or attempts by Craig to engage in sexual encounters. Four of the men gave the newspaper graphic, recorded details of their alleged sexual encounters. One of the four was Mike Jones
, the male escort who in November 2006 had been involved in a sex and methamphetamine scandal with Ted Haggard
. Jones claimed that Craig had paid him $200 for a massage and oral sex. A Craig spokesman responded, "Mike Jones is lying in order to sell his book [about Ted Haggard] — plain and simple. Larry has never met Mike Jones."
's June 7, 2010 issue's BACK STORY listed Craig as one of several prominent conservative politicians who had a record of anti-gay legislation and later caught in a gay
sex scandal.
The stall (second from right) at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport bathroom in which the incident occurred has gained notoriety.
Larry Craig
Larry Edwin Craig is a former Republican politician from the U.S. state of Idaho. He served 18 years in the U.S. Senate , preceded by 10 years in the U.S. House, representing Idaho's first district . His 28 years in the Congress rank as the second-longest in Idaho history, trailing only William...
—who at the time was a Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
—for lewd conduct
Lascivious
"Lascivious" is a word synonymous with lustful or lewd or unruly .- Legal usage :In American legal jargon, lascivious is a semi-technical term indicating immoral sexual thoughts or actions. It is often used in the legal description of criminal acts in which some sort of sexual activity is...
in a men's restroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Craig later entered a guilty plea to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct
Disorderly conduct
Disorderly conduct is a criminal charge in most jurisdictions in the United States. Typically, disorderly conduct makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to "disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain areas. Many types of unruly conduct may fit the definition of disorderly conduct, as such...
on August 8. As a result of the controversy surrounding his arrest, subsequent guilty plea, and pressure from his fellow Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
s, Senator Craig announced his intention to resign from the Senate at a news conference on September 1, which was to become effective on September 30. After failing to withdraw his guilty plea, on October 4, Craig released a statement refusing to resign as senator for Idaho.
Arrest
On June 11, 2007, Craig was arrested at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International AirportMinneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport
Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in the five-state upper Midwest region of Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.-Overview:...
on suspicion of lewd conduct. The nature of the alleged activity has been categorized by some as cottaging
Cottaging
Cottaging is a British gay slang term referring to anonymous sex between men in a public lavatory , or cruising for sexual partners with the intention of having sex elsewhere...
. According to the police report, the police officer sat in a bathroom stall as part of an undercover operation investigating complaints of sexual activity in the restroom. After about 13 minutes of sitting in the stall, the police officer observed Craig lingering outside and frequently peeking through the crack of the door on the stall. Craig then entered the stall to the left of the officer's stall. The police officer made the following observations, which he recorded in his report of the incident, as to what happened next:
At 1216 hours, Craig tapped his right foot. I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct. Craig tapped his toes several times and moves his foot closer to my foot. ... The presence of others did not seem to deter Craig as he moved his right foot so that it touched the side of my left foot which was within my stall area. Craig then proceeded to swipe his left hand under the stall divider several times, with the palm of his hand facing upward.
According to the incident report and criminal complaint filed in court, the officer showed Craig his police identification beneath the partition separating their stalls, and the officer then pointed his finger towards the restroom exit. Craig initially said no, but he ultimately complied with the officer's request to leave the restroom. After Craig and the officer left the restroom, Craig was reluctant to go with the officer and demanded the officer show his police identification a second time. Once the officer complied with the request, Craig, the arresting officer, and a police detective, who was stationed outside of the restroom, went to the airport police station.
After the arresting officer read Craig his Miranda
Miranda warning
The Miranda warning is a warning given by police in the United States to criminal suspects in police custody before they are interrogated to preserve the admissibility of their statements against them in criminal proceedings. In Miranda v...
rights, the officer interviewed Craig about the restroom incident. At one point, Craig handed his business card to the arresting officer, which identified him as a U.S. Senator, and said to him, "What do you think about that?" Craig told the officer that he was worried about missing his flight, and the arresting officer asked the police detective to call the airline to hold the flight. The detective reported that no one answered the telephone for the airline, and the arresting officer proceeded with the interview.
According to the arrest report prepared by Sgt. Dave Karsnia, "Craig stated ... He has a wide stance when going to the bathroom and that his foot may have touched mine." Craig never used the term "wide stance" himself. According to the transcript of the police interrogation, Sgt. Karsnia asked: "Did you do anything with your feet?" and Craig replied: "Positioned them, I don't know. I don’t know at the time. I'm a fairly wide guy."
When the officer asked Craig about the use of his hands, Craig said that he reached down with his right hand to pick up a piece of paper that was on the floor. The officer disputed Craig's version by saying, "there was not a piece of paper on the bathroom floor, nor did Craig pick up a piece of paper." Craig also disputed the officer's assertion about the position of his hand, claiming that his right palm was faced down as he picked up the paper from the floor. The officer disputed Craig's version, alleging that Craig used his left hand because his thumb, "was positioned in a faceward motion." During the interview and in the incident report, the officer commented that Craig either disagreed with what happened in the restroom or could not recall the events as they happened.
Craig returned to the airport on June 22 to complain about how he had been treated by the police. According to the police report about Craig's return, Craig said he wanted information for his lawyer.
Craig pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
charge of disorderly conduct
Disorderly conduct
Disorderly conduct is a criminal charge in most jurisdictions in the United States. Typically, disorderly conduct makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to "disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain areas. Many types of unruly conduct may fit the definition of disorderly conduct, as such...
by signing and mailing a plea petition, dated August 1, 2007, to the Hennepin County District Court
Hennepin County Government Center
The Hennepin County Government Center is the courthouse and primary county government administration building for Hennepin County in the State of Minnesota. It is located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, the county seat of Hennepin County...
in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. He paid $575, including fines and fees. Senator Craig signed the petition to enter his guilty plea, which contained the provisions, "I understand that the court will not accept a plea of guilty from anyone who claims to be innocent... I now make no claim that I am innocent of the charge to which I am entering a plea of guilty." Craig mailed his signed petition to the court, and his petition to plead guilty to the misdemeanor charge was accepted and filed by the court on August 8, 2007.
Allegations about prior conduct become public
On August 27, 2007, Roll CallRoll Call
Roll Call is a newspaper published in Washington, D.C., United States, from Monday to Thursday when the United States Congress is in session and on Mondays only during recess. Roll Call reports news of legislative and political maneuverings on Capitol Hill, as well as political coverage of...
broke the story to reveal details about Craig's arrest at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport and his subsequent guilty plea in that case. After the conviction came to light, the Idaho Statesman
Idaho Statesman
The Idaho Statesman is a U.S. daily newspaper serving the Boise, Idaho metropolitan area. The paper has a circulation of 61,000 daily, 83,038 Sunday, and employs about 300 people. It is owned by The McClatchy Company....
published a story on August 28, 2007, about three allegations involving Craig's sexual conduct. A college student, who was considering pledging
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
at Craig's fraternity at the University of Idaho in 1967, told a reporter for the Idaho Statesman that Craig led the student to his bedroom and, "made what the man said he took to be an invitation to sex." In the second reported incident, a man, who identified himself as gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, told a reporter that Craig cruised
Cruising for sex
Cruising for sex, or cruising is the act of walking or driving about a locality in search of a sex partner, usually of the anonymous, casual, one-time variety...
him at the REI
Rei
-People:*Rei, the Biblical term for those who retained their allegiance to King David when Adonijah rebelled, as mentioned in 1 Kings 1:8*Rei Hiroe*Rei Igarashi*Rei Kawakubo*Rei Kikukawa*Rei Mikamoto*Rei Munakata*Rei Okamoto*Rei Omishi...
store in Boise
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
in November 1994, following him around the store for half an hour. The last reported incident to the Idaho Statesman about Craig's conduct came from a 40-year-old man with close ties to Republican officials. According to the man's story about the encounter with Craig, the man "reported having oral sex
Oral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
with Craig at Washington's Union Station
Union Station (Washington, D.C.)
Washington Union Station is a train station and leisure destination visited by 32 million people each year in the center of Washington, D.C. The train station is served by Amtrak, MARC and Virginia Railway Express commuter rail services as well as by Washington Metro subway trains and local buses...
, probably in 2004." A reporter for the Idaho Statesman interviewed Craig on August 28, 2007, regarding the allegations about his conduct, and in response to the reporter's questions, Craig said, "I'm not gay, and I don't cruise, and I don't hit on men. [...] I don't go around anywhere hitting on men, and by God, if I did, I wouldn't do it in Boise, Idaho! Jiminy!"
Responses to the arrest
Craig told the public that the officer misconstrued his actions, that he was not involved in any inappropriate conduct, and had failed to seek legal counsel: "In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously." In an August 28, 2007, press conference in Boise, Idaho, Craig said:
I am not gay. I never have been gay.... In June, I overreacted and made a poor decision. I chose to plead guilty to a lesser charge in hopes of making it go away.... Please let me apologize to my family, friends and staff and fellow Idahoans for the cloud placed over Idaho. I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport. I did nothing wrong, and I regret the decision to plead guilty and the sadness that decision has brought on my wife, on my family, friends, staff and fellow Idahoans.
Craig's denial echoed that of a man who had been caught up in a gay scandal that broke in Idaho in 1955
Boise homosexuality scandal
The Boise homosexuality scandal refers to a sweeping investigation of a supposed "homosexual underground" in Boise, Idaho that started in 1955. Beginning with the arrest of three men in October 1955, the investigation broadened to encompass allegations that over 100 young men and teenage boys had...
. Craig's arrest provoked a small flurry of attention to that earlier scandal, and it was suggested that Craig had absorbed a lesson from it: "sexual misconduct — or even the mere perception that one is gay — could ruin a man’s reputation. But steadfast, straight-in-the-eye denial just might get him off the hook."
Craig claimed that his state of mind was troubled at the time of the guilty plea because he and his family "[had] been relentlessly and viciously harassed" by the Idaho Statesman in the course of its investigation into allegations of Craig's homosexuality and its August 28 article. On August 30, the Statesman called for Craig's resignation. In response to questions about the arrest, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Police Department released an audiotape of Craig's interview with Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Dave Karsnia, the arresting officer. In that interview, Craig denied wrongdoing and claimed that he was a victim of entrapment
Entrapment
In criminal law, entrapment is conduct by a law enforcement agent inducing a person to commit an offense that the person would otherwise have been unlikely to commit. In many jurisdictions, entrapment is a possible defense against criminal liability...
.
Craig was one of two Senate liaisons for Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
's presidential campaign
Mitt Romney presidential campaign, 2008
Mitt Romney was a Republican Party primary candidate in the 2008 United States presidential election. On January 3, 2007, two days before he stepped down as governor of Massachusetts, Romney filed to form a presidential exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission...
, but removed himself from that campaign role after the conviction became public. Romney said of Craig, "He's disappointed the American people." Craig later expressed bitterness about Romney's handling of the incident, saying in an interview with Matt Lauer
Matt Lauer
Matthew Todd "Matt" Lauer . is an American television journalist best known as the host of NBC's The Today Show since 1997. He was previously a news anchor in New York and a local talk-show host in Boston, Philadelphia, Providence and Richmond...
, "And [Romney] not only threw me under his campaign bus
Throw under the bus
To throw under the bus is an idiomatic phrase meaning to sacrifice another person , who is usually not deserving of such treatment, out of malice or for personal gain....
, he backed up and ran over me again."
A Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is a nonprofit 501 organization that describes itself as "dedicated to promoting ethics and accountability in government and public life by targeting government officials – regardless of party affiliation – who sacrifice the common good to...
, filed a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee
United States Senate Select Committee on Ethics
The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics is a select committee of the United States Senate charged with dealing with matters related to senatorial ethics. It is also commonly referred to as the Senate Ethics Committee...
requesting an investigation into whether Craig violated Senate Rules of Conduct. Members of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
in Congress began calling for Craig to resign, including Representative Pete Hoekstra
Pete Hoekstra
Peter "Pete" Hoekstra is a former Republican U.S. Representative for who served in the House from 1993 until 2011. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Michigan in 2010 and is expected to run for the United States Senate against Debbie Stabenow in 2012.-Early life and education:Born...
(MI
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
), Senator John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
(AZ),, Senator Norm Coleman
Norm Coleman
Norman Bertram Coleman, Jr. is an American attorney and politician. He was a United States senator from Minnesota from 2003 to 2009. Coleman was elected in 2002 and served in the 108th, 109th, and 110th Congresses. Before becoming a senator, he was mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota, from 1994 to 2002...
(MN
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
) and Senator John Ensign
John Ensign
John Eric Ensign is a former United States Senator from Nevada, serving from January 2001 until he resigned amid an investigation of an ethics violation in May 2011...
(NV
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
). Coleman and Senator Susan Collins
Susan Collins
Susan Margaret Collins is the junior United States Senator from Maine and a member of the Republican Party. First elected to the Senate in 1996, she is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs...
(R-ME
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
) announced that they would donate campaign contributions received from Craig's political action committee
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
to charity. Senator Patrick Leahy
Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph Leahy is the senior United States Senator from Vermont and member of the Democratic Party. He is the first and only elected Democratic United States Senator in Vermont's history. He is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leahy is the second most senior U.S. Senator,...
(D-VT
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
), and sitting chair of the Judiciary Committee
Judiciary Committee
Judiciary Committee may refer to:* United States House Committee on the Judiciary* United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary...
, criticized the Republicans for holding to a double standard, for not having called likewise for the resignation of Senator David Vitter
David Vitter
David Vitter is the junior United States Senator from Louisiana and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he served in the United States House of Representatives, representing the suburban Louisiana's 1st congressional district. He served as a member of the Louisiana House of...
(R-LA
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
), accused in a call girl
Call girl
A call girl or female escort is a sex worker who is not visible to the general public; nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by an escort agency...
scandal. Leahy said further that the Republicans were motivated by politics, in that Craig would be replaced by a Republican governor while Vitter would be replaced by a Democratic governor. Ensign, for the Republicans, denied the double standard, saying on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
that Craig had pled guilty to a crime while Vitter was only accused. Senator Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter is a former United States Senator from Pennsylvania. Specter is a Democrat, but was a Republican from 1965 until switching to the Democratic Party in 2009...
, then (R-PA
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
), encouraged Craig to fight to withdraw his guilty plea, concluding on Fox News Sunday "I think he could be vindicated."
Senate GOP leaders including Mitch McConnell
Mitch McConnell
Addison Mitchell "Mitch" McConnell, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Kentucky and the Republican Minority Leader.- Early life, education, and military service :...
(R-KY
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
) and Trent Lott
Trent Lott
Chester Trent Lott, Sr. , is a former United States Senator from Mississippi and has served in numerous leadership positions in the House of Representatives and the Senate....
(R-MS
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
) asked Craig to "temporarily step down as the top Republican on the Veterans Affairs Committee
United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
The United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs deals with oversight of United States veterans issues.-Members, 112th Congress:The Committee is chaired by Democrat Patty Murray of Washington, and the Ranking Member is Republican Richard Burr of North Carolina.Source: -Chairmen of the Senate...
, Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior and Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests
United States Senate Energy Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests is one of four subcommittees of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.-Jurisdiction:...
." Craig subsequently agreed to step down from those posts as the ranking Minority member. Patrick Sammon, president of the Log Cabin Republicans
Log Cabin Republicans
The Log Cabin Republicans is an organization that works within the Republican Party to advocate equal rights for all Americans, including gays and lesbians in the United States with state chapters and a national office in Washington, D.C...
, issued a statement condemning the senator's actions.
Resignation announcement/reversal, and motion to withdraw plea
At a news conference on September 1, 2007, Craig announced his intent to resign, "with sadness and deep regret", effective September 30, 2007. On September 4, 2007, a spokesperson for Craig indicated that he was reconsidering his decision to resign, if his conviction was rapidly overturned and his committee assignments were restored.On September 10, 2007, Craig's attorneys filed a motion
Motion (legal)
In law, a motion is a procedural device to bring a limited, contested issue before a court for decision. A motion may be thought of as a request to the judge to make a decision about the case. Motions may be made at any point in administrative, criminal or civil proceedings, although that right is...
to withdraw his guilty plea, arguing that it "was not knowing and intelligent and therefore was in violation of his constitutional rights." His lawyers further argued that Craig "felt compelled to grasp the lifeline," hoping that if he were to submit to an interview and plead guilty that none of the allegations would be made public. The motion argued that Craig had entered the plea under stress caused by media inquiries into his sexuality
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
. The American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
(ACLU) filed an amicus curiae
Amicus curiae
An amicus curiae is someone, not a party to a case, who volunteers to offer information to assist a court in deciding a matter before it...
brief
Brief (law)
A brief is a written legal document used in various legal adversarial systems that is presented to a court arguing why the party to the case should prevail....
stating that the secret sting operation
Sting operation
In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person committing a crime. A typical sting will have a law-enforcement officer or cooperative member of the public play a role as criminal partner or potential victim and go along with a suspect's actions to gather...
used by the police was not "carefully crafted" to avoid ensnaring innocent speech and that "the defendant should be permitted to withdraw his plea, and, should the state recharge him, to contest the constitutional validity of any prosecution."
Craig's motion hearing
Hearing (law)
In law, a hearing is a proceeding before a court or other decision-making body or officer, such as a government agency.A hearing is generally distinguished from a trial in that it is usually shorter and often less formal...
to withdraw his guilty plea was held on September 26, 2007, before Judge Charles A. Porter, Jr. Craig’s Washington D.C. attorney, William Martin
Billy Martin (lawyer)
William R. "Billy" Martin is an attorney with Dorsey & Whitney in the Washington, D.C. office . Martin joined the firm in 2011. His notable past clients have included NBA stars Allen Iverson and Jayson Williams, Monica Lewinsky's mother, and Chandra Levy's parents...
, argued that Craig’s actions could not be considered disorderly conduct because "you should have either touching, or words, or a combination of the two." The other main argument was made by Craig’s Minneapolis attorney, Thomas Kelly, who argued that the mail-in petition used by Craig was "defective" because it lacked a judge’s signature. On September 26, 2007, Craig released a statement that he would remain in office until the Hennepin County District Court judge ruled on his motion to withdraw his guilty plea.
On October 4, 2007, Porter denied Craig's motion to withdraw his guilty plea, ruling that Craig's plea was accurate, voluntary, and intelligent, and that evidence
Evidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
supported the conviction. As part of Craig's appeal of this ruling, the ACLU filed a brief that cited a Minnesota Supreme Court ruling from 38 years earlier finding that those engaging in sexual encounters in closed stalls in otherwise public restrooms "have a reasonable expectation of privacy," a finding that the ACLU argued would contradict the state's claim that Craig was inviting the undercover officer to have sex "in public."
After Judge Porter's ruling, Craig announced that despite his pledge to the contrary, he would serve out his Senate term. He stated that he intended to "continue my effort to clear my name in the Senate Ethics Committee — something that is not possible if I am not serving in the Senate." Craig did not seek reelection in 2008 and left office on January 3, 2009.
In September 2008, Craig's attorney argued before a three-judge panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals that there was insufficient evidence to find Craig guilty of a misdemeanor. In December 2008, the appellate court rejected this attempt to have the guilty plea tossed out and rejected the constitutional challenge to the charges.
On January 8, 2009, Craig dropped his appeal to the Minnesota State Supreme Court after his attorney determined that the Court would be unlikely to accept a petition for further review of the case, ending the legal challenge to his guilty plea.
Gay men allege sexual contact with Craig
In December 2007, eight gay men came forward to the Idaho StatesmanIdaho Statesman
The Idaho Statesman is a U.S. daily newspaper serving the Boise, Idaho metropolitan area. The paper has a circulation of 61,000 daily, 83,038 Sunday, and employs about 300 people. It is owned by The McClatchy Company....
newspaper alleging either sexual encounters with Craig, or attempts by Craig to engage in sexual encounters. Four of the men gave the newspaper graphic, recorded details of their alleged sexual encounters. One of the four was Mike Jones
Mike Jones (personal trainer)
Michael F. "Mike" Jones is an author, personal trainer and a former escort and masseur who gained world wide notice when he went public with allegations that he had had a three-year affair with Ted Haggard, an American evangelical preacher and founder of the New Life Church.-Private life:Jones...
, the male escort who in November 2006 had been involved in a sex and methamphetamine scandal with Ted Haggard
Ted Haggard
Ted Arthur Haggard is an American evangelical pastor. Known as Pastor Ted to the congregation he served, he was the founder and former pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado; a founder of the Association of Life-Giving Churches; and was leader of the National Association of...
. Jones claimed that Craig had paid him $200 for a massage and oral sex. A Craig spokesman responded, "Mike Jones is lying in order to sell his book [about Ted Haggard] — plain and simple. Larry has never met Mike Jones."
February 2008 Senate Ethics Committee letter
On February 13, 2008, the Senate Ethics Committee sent a letter of admonition to Craig, stating that his "improper conduct" reflected "discreditably" on the United States Senate. The Committee held that Craig had indeed committed the actions for which he had pleaded guilty, and that his efforts to withdraw his guilty plea were intended to evade the repercussions of his actions. Noting that Craig had tapped campaign funds to spend $213,000 for legal fees and public relations fees on the case, the Committee argued that this showed his disregard of ethics. Campaign funds may only pay legal bills when they are related to the Senator's official duties.Aftermath
Both the 2009 documentary Outrage and NewsweekNewsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
's June 7, 2010 issue's BACK STORY listed Craig as one of several prominent conservative politicians who had a record of anti-gay legislation and later caught in a gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
sex scandal.
The stall (second from right) at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport bathroom in which the incident occurred has gained notoriety.