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<div>Spokane</div><h2>Prosecutor: Craig 'playing games'</h2><p><span>Betsy Z. Russell and Jim Camden</span><br>Staff writers<br>September 25, 2007</p><p>Prosecutors
in Minnesota say Idaho Sen. Larry Craig is seeking special treatment by
trying to withdraw his guilty plea in a sex solicitation sting, and
"playing games" with the state's court system by first pleading guilty,
then trying to withdraw the plea because of political fallout.</p>
<p>In arguments filed Monday in Hennepin County, Minn., prosecutors
called on the court to deny Craig's bid to withdraw his guilty plea.
"Denial of the defendant's motion prevents further politicking and game
playing on the part of the defendant in relation to his plea," they
wrote.</p>
<p>Craig faces a court hearing in Minnesota on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Craig was arrested June 11 in a men's room at the Minneapolis-St.
Paul Airport as part of an undercover investigation into complaints of
lewd conduct there. About 40 men were ensnared in the same
investigation in a four-month period.</p>
<p>Craig pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct, a
misdemeanor. As part of his plea agreement, a more serious gross
misdemeanor charge of interference with privacy was dropped.</p>
<p>After news surfaced about the incident in late August, Craig said an
undercover officer had misconstrued his actions and his guilty plea was
a mistake. He argued in court documents that his "fear" and "panic"
over a months-long Idaho Statesman newspaper investigation into his
sexual past had prompted him to plead guilty.</p>
<p>But Prosecutor Christopher Renz, prosecuting attorney for the
Metropolitan Airports Commission, said in court documents filed Monday
that Craig spoke with him by telephone three times between his arrest
in June and the submission of his guilty plea in August. "The
defendant's manner was calm and collected, and the defendant's
questions intelligent and methodical," the prosecution arguments state.
"Mr. Renz did not observe signs of urgency, panic or overt emotion in
any of his interactions with the defendant."</p>
<p>Furthermore, the prosecutors said many defendants face outside
pressures regarding their criminal cases, "including family pressures,
financial strain, employment concerns and addiction, among others."</p>
<p>They argued, "Were the court to allow the defendant to withdraw his
plea on the questionable basis that he felt pressure from an
investigation by a local newspaper, the court would be determining …
that the defendant's pressures as a United States senator trump the
pressures felt by ordinary citizens who similarly make the decision to
plead guilty."</p>
<p>Either that, they said, or the court should be prepared to dismiss
numerous other guilty pleas in cases where defendants felt other
pressures in their lives that affected their decisions to plead guilty.</p>
<p>Craig's legal team had no immediate comment Monday on the prosecution's filing.</p>
<p>The court documents also note that Craig was specifically informed,
in a letter from Renz that was sent with his plea agreement, that
pleading guilty would result in a criminal charge appearing on his
record. Craig's attorneys had argued that the arresting officer's
statements to Craig that he wouldn't call the media about the case led
Craig to believe that if he'd just plead guilty, the whole thing would
stay quiet.</p>
<p>"It is clear from this sequence of events that the defendant had
hoped that he could plead guilty and that the plea would not be
discovered by the media or public," the prosecutors wrote. "The
defendant chose to plead guilty and consciously took that risk. The
defendant's current pursuit of withdrawal of his guilty plea is
reactionary, calculated and political."</p>
<p>Prosecutors said Craig, who served in Congress for 27 years, is "an
obviously educated and knowledgeable individual," and therefore had to
know what he was signing, which included multiple statements that he
was acknowledging his guilt to the crime of disorderly conduct.</p>
<p>Craig's defense attorneys also have argued that the senator's
actions in the restroom, including foot-tapping and hand gestures,
weren't criminal in themselves. The prosecutors disagreed.</p>
<p>"The defendant did not move his foot only once as a result of his
'wide stance,'" they wrote. After detailing the various gestures, they
said, "Clearly, a person using the restroom for its intended purpose
would be angered, alarmed or have resentment were the person in the
adjacent stall to move their foot over until it was on top of the
innocent user's foot only to be followed by the left hand of the
offender stroking the bottom-side of the stall divider with increasing
amounts of the offender's hand intruding into the stall of the innocent
user."</p>
<p>Acting to cause that alarm or resentment is the definition of
disorderly conduct, the prosecutors wrote. "The conduct of the
defendant constitutes the crime of disorderly conduct."</p>
<p>They argued that Craig was merely attempting "to avoid any responsibility for his own actions."</p>
<p>Boise State University political scientist emeritus Jim Weatherby
said Monday that the new revelations – including Craig's three
businesslike conversations with prosecutors before he pleaded guilty –
continue to raise questions about the longtime politician's judgment.
"There are a lot of people who are very disappointed with the way he
has handled this," Weatherby said.</p>
<p>Weatherby noted that if the court agrees to let Craig withdraw his
guilty plea on Wednesday, "The whole circus will start again," as Craig
goes to trial to fight the original charges.</p>
<p>Craig announced earlier that he would resign from the Senate on
Sept. 30, but then hinted he might finish out his term if he could
clear his name by that date. The uncertainty has stopped Idaho Gov.
Butch Otter from naming a replacement for Craig, though he's
interviewed several candidates.</p>
<p>"In many respects this judicial procedure in Minnesota is
irrelevant," Weatherby said. "I don't know that it has any major impact
upon his political career. I think the damage has been done."</p>
<p>Stephen Simon, who teaches at the University of Minnesota School of
Law and operates a legal clinic, said he thought Craig's attorneys
failed to make some of the strongest arguments in their earlier filing.
The court record does not show that Craig was specifically informed of
his right to an attorney, he said, and the plea document has an error
in spelling and syntax when it tries to describe the crime. Neither of
those were listed as a reason for letting him withdraw the plea.</p>
<p>Even though Craig was read his Miranda rights by the arresting
officer, which include the right to an attorney, judges routinely ask a
defendant who is not represented by an attorney in court if they are
aware of that right, to have that on the record, Simon said. As a U.S.
senator, Craig obviously knew he had the right to an attorney, Simon
said, but that's not the point. The standard for notification is the
same for all defendants.</p>
<p>The standard form used by clients who plead guilty by mail
specifically includes that language, although the form Craig signed
does not, said Ted Sampsell-Jones, a professor of criminal law and
evidence at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul. </p>
<p>"It's bizarre to me" that Craig's attorney's don't make that
argument, Sampsell-Jones said. "I don't think that Sen. Craig really
wants to win."</p>
<p>By winning the motion to withdraw his guilty plea, he added, Craig
would face a trial on two charges, the disorderly conduct and invasion
of privacy. The latter was dropped in the plea bargain.</p>
<p>Even though Craig's attorneys didn't raise questions about his right
to counsel, Simon said, documents filed by prosecutors Monday do
address it. In a sworn statement, Renz told Craig "it was a situation
regarding which he should seek advice from an attorney" when they were
discussing his plea agreement.</p>
<p>Simon said Craig's lawyers are arguing that he was panicked into
making the guilty plea. He said he knows of no cases where that's been
ruled a valid reason for withdrawing a guilty plea, and Craig could
have a problem proving it.</p>
<p>"He was thousands of miles away, and there's no hint of any pressure" from the prosecutor, Simon said.</p>
<p>The prosecutor did make a key point in his argument that would
undercut Craig's claim that his actions were innocent, Simon added. As
pointed out in the documents filed Monday, Craig told the undercover
officer when he was arrested, "You solicited me," rather than denying
any knowledge of how his actions could be interpreted. "Craig knew what
that action means," Simon said. </p><br clear="all"><br>Submitted by: <br>Gray Tree Crab aka "Big Bertha"