[Vision2020] Judge rejects Craig's bid

[Mark Solomon]

Breaking News
Judge rejects Craig's bid to withdraw guilty plea

Updated at: 11:10 am


Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS - A Minnesota judge today rejected Idaho Sen. Larry 
Craig's bid to withdraw his guilty plea in an airport sex sting, a 
major setback in Craig's effort to clear his name and hang on to his 
Senate seat.

"Because the defendant's plea was accurate, voluntary and 
intelligent, and because the conviction is supported by the evidence 
... the defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea is denied," 
Hennepin County Judge Charles Porter wrote.

Craig can appeal Porter's ruling, but it wasn't immediately clear if 
he would. Telephone calls and e-mails seeking comment from Craig 
spokesmen Sid Smith in Boise, and Dan Whiting in Washington, D.C., 
weren't immediately returned.

When the charges first surfaced, Craig said he would resign by Sept. 
30. But he later decided to attempt to reopen his legal case, and 
said he would stay at least until he found out whether he could 
withdraw his plea.

Craig has maintained his innocence and said his actions in the 
airport bathroom were misconstrued by the airport police officer who 
arrested him.

Craig was arrested June 11 in a bathroom sex sting. The officer said 
Craig had looked into his bathroom stall, and tapped his foot and 
moved his hand under the divider in a way that suggested he was 
looking for a sexual partner.

Craig denied that in an interview with the officer after his arrest. 
But he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct on Aug. 8. He later said 
he "panicked" in entering his plea, believing that it would keep the 
matter quiet. The Idaho Statesman had been holding back an article on 
rumors about his sexuality, and Craig said in court papers that he 
feared the arrest would trigger the story.

For updates, visit DNews.com or see today's edition of the 
Moscow-Pullman Daily News
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20071004/806f0bb7/attachment.html