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</a></td><td align="right"><font face="tahoma, sans-serif" size="2">Thursday, September 27, 2007</font></td></tr></tbody></table><br>
<div class="label">Spokane</div><h2>Craig's not quitting - at least not yet</h2><p class="byline"><span class="name">Betsy Z. Russell</span><br>Staff writer<br>September 27, 2007</p><p>Idaho Sen. Larry Craig now says he's not quitting the
U.S. Senate – at least not yet.</p>
<p>Craig had pledged to step down Sept. 30 – Sunday – unless he could
clear his name by that date, after being caught up in a restroom
sex-solicitation sting over the summer.</p>
<p>But after a Minnesota judge said Wednesday he wouldn't rule in
Craig's case before the end of next week, Craig issued a statement
saying, "Today was a major step in the legal effort to clear my name.
The court has not issued a ruling on my motion to withdraw my guilty
plea. For now, I will continue my work in the United States Senate for
Idaho."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The indefinite delay in Craig's plans comes a month into Idaho
residents' wait to learn what's next at the top of the state's
political hierarchy.</p>
<p>Craig, a Republican, has served Idaho in the Senate for 17 years. He
served 10 years in the House before that, as well as six years in the
state Senate. Gov. Butch Otter had cleared much of his calendar Tuesday
and Wednesday to finish interviewing candidates to replace Craig.</p>
<p>"If and when we receive a letter of resignation, I think the
governor will be prepared to act," Otter's press secretary, Jon Hanian,
said Wednesday. "That hasn't happened, obviously – it doesn't look like
it's going to happen today."</p>
<p>Jim Weatherby, political scientist emeritus at Boise State
University, said, "It leaves us all puzzling over the future of our
senior senator, and leaves Idaho politics in general disarray as to who
will be serving in the United States Senate in that position over the
next several months."</p>
<p>Top candidates include Lt. Gov. Jim Risch and Attorney General
Lawrence Wasden. Otter has put out a list of nearly 30 possible
contenders, and hinted he may be considering others.</p>
<p>Democrat Larry LaRocco, who has been running for the seat for
months, has reported an uptick in fundraising and attention since
Craig's scandal began dominating political news.</p>
<p>Senate GOP leaders have made no secret of their desire to push Craig
out, stripping him of his leadership posts on several key committees
and launching an ethics investigation into his conduct.</p>
<p>Greg Smith, an Idaho pollster and political consultant who once
served as Craig's regional director, said, "He technically is not
breaking his word, but it is kind of strange that Sept. 30 will have
come and gone and he's going to stay put. I'm a little surprised by
that."</p>
<p>Craig – and Idaho – have become the butt of jokes since news
surfaced of the GOP senator's arrest in a men's room at the
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in June. He pleaded guilty
to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct in August, after an
undercover officer said Craig stared at him through a gap and then made
foot and hand gestures under the stall walls that signaled an attempt
to solicit sex. When news of the conviction came out nearly a month
later, Craig said he'd done nothing wrong and that the guilty plea was
a mistake.</p>
<p>He then hired a top-notch legal defense team, headed by Washington,
D.C., lawyer Billy Martin, who also represents suspended Atlanta
Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and previously represented White House
intern Monica Lewinsky. Martin argued in a Minnesota courtroom
Wednesday that Craig should be permitted to withdraw his guilty plea in
part because his gestures weren't in themselves criminal. Prosecutors
countered that, saying such a rare legal move was unjustified and the
guilty plea should stand.</p>
<p>The court hearing lasted about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, Craig was in
Washington, D.C., where he attended part of a Senate committee hearing
on geothermal energy and took part in several meetings with staffers
and constituents.</p>
<p>Craig's communications director, Dan Whiting, said Craig decided to
skip the hearing "just on the advice of his counsel – I think he's
learned that lesson, to take the advice of counsel."</p>
<p>One of Craig's arguments for withdrawing his guilty plea was that he
hadn't consulted with an attorney. Arrested June 11, Craig signed a
plea agreement Aug. 1 in which he admitted to disorderly conduct, and a
more serious gross misdemeanor charge of interference with privacy was
dismissed. He paid a fine and received a stayed jail term and
unsupervised probation.</p>
<p>Patrick Hogan, spokesman for the Metropolitan Airports Commission,
joined the prosecutors to give a brief statement to reporters after the
court hearing. Hogan said Craig knowingly pleaded guilty to a
misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct, and that prosecutors'
arguments showed there's no legal basis for reversing the plea.</p>
<p>"The defendant received due process under the law and had more than
eight weeks … in which to consider his legal options," Hogan said.
"After careful consideration, the defendant calculatingly entered a
plea of guilty."</p>
<p>Martin, Craig's lead attorney, told reporters outside the hearing
that he hopes District Judge Charles Porter will rule that what Craig
did in the airport bathroom wasn't a crime, even though an undercover
police officer said it was consistent with actions soliciting sex.</p>
<p>"He had no purpose other than to go to the bathroom," Martin said.</p>
<p>Martin also said he wasn't concerned that the judge closely questioned defense attorneys as they made their arguments.</p>
<p>"He's a very experienced judge, he knows the law in Minnesota, and
he was very engaged," he said. Martin added, "The facts of this case
are very confusing as to whether they constitute a crime."</p>
<p>That call, he said, is up to the judge.</p>
<p>Martin said if his client is permitted to withdraw his guilty plea,
he'll plead innocent and go to trial on the original charges.</p><br>Submitted by:<br>Gray Tree Crab aka "Big Bertha"