Sen. Larry E. Craig of Idaho yesterday said he is not “gay” and that in a panic fueled by a local newspaper’s investigation into his sexuality he pleaded guilty to conduct in a men’s room that he didn’t commit.
VIDEO: Senator Craig: ‘I Am Not Gay’
“Let me be clear: I am not gay and never have been,” the three-term Republican said during a short press conference from Boise yesterday afternoon. “I love my wife, family, friends, staff and Idaho.”
Mr. Craig said he should not have pleaded guilty earlier this month to two misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges related to a police complaint filed in June of lewd conduct in a public restroom at a Minnesota airport.
“I overreacted and made a poor decision,” Mr. Craig said. “While I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct at the Minneapolis airport or anywhere else, I chose to plead guilty to a lesser charge in the hope of making it go away.”
Mr. Craig said he didn’t seek advice from attorneys or his staff before entering his pleas.
The senator blamed the Idaho Statesman for leading a “witch hunt” against him. The newspaper in recent months has published articles addressing — though not confirming — accusations that Mr. Craig had engaged in homosexual sex.
“My family and I had been relentlessly and viciously harassed by the Idaho Statesman,” said Mr. Craig, who has hired legal counsel for the fallout, and said next month he will address his re-election plans for 2008.
Senate Republican leaders yesterday called the incident a “serious matter” and said they will recommend a review by the Senate Select Committee on Ethics.
“In the meantime, [Republican] leadership is examining other aspects of the case to determine if additional action is required,” said a joint statement by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Minority Whip Trent Lott of Mississippi and other Senate Republican leaders.
A former senior aide of Mr. Craig said he doesn’t believe the accusations.
“It’s a feeding frenzy right now and the national press is just really happy to jump all over this because he is a Republican,” the former aide said. “I’ve spent a lot of time with the man, 10 years, and I never saw any indication of anything like that, ever.
“Larry tried to handle it as expeditiously as possible, but that was not the right thing to do, especially when you have the media champing at the bit on this.”
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a private watchdog group, filed a complaint with the Senate’s ethics committee, asking for an investigation into whether Mr. Craig violated Senate rules by engaging in disorderly conduct.
Patrick Sammon, president of the Log Cabin Republicans, a pro-homosexual group, said Mr. Craig’s arrest and guilty pleas have compromised his ability to serve in the Senate.
“Innocent people don’t plead guilty,” Mr. Sammon said. “The time to contest these allegations would’ve been before his guilty plea.”
Democrats remained mostly silent on the issue.
“This matter is between Larry Craig, his family, the police investigators and other people around the senator,” the Idaho Democratic Party said on its Web site.
“This is not a partisan battle. Therefore, the Idaho Democratic Party has nothing to add to the public conversation at this time.”
c Audrey Hudson contributed to this article.
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