Difference between revisions of "Larry Craig"

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Craig chaired the Senate Republican Policy Committee (1996-2003), the Special Committee on Aging (One Hundred Eighth Congress), and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (One Hundred Ninth Congress).  
 
Craig chaired the Senate Republican Policy Committee (1996-2003), the Special Committee on Aging (One Hundred Eighth Congress), and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (One Hundred Ninth Congress).  
  
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==Bathroom arrest and possible resignation==
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==Controversy==
  
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===Arrest and guilty plea===
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On September 1, 2007, Craig announced he intended to resign from the Senate (effective September 30, 2007) after reports surfaced about an incident in June which he was arrested on a [[misdemeanor]] charge in a Minneapolis police airport sting operation in which Craig claimed entrapment. <ref>[http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections/news/Craigtranscript.pdf Transcript of arrest interview]  [http://www.break.com/index/senator-craig-police-audio-tape.html Audio]</ref> Craig is a regular commuter through the Minneapolis airport.  Given a choice of immediately going to jail to process a plea of innocence, Craig pled guilty so he could finish his final flight home.{{fact}} He had hoped to keep the arrest quiet, didn’t consult a lawyer, and he never told family, friends, staff or colleagues about the incident. Craig has hired two Washington criminal defense lawyers, Stan Brand, who has defended lawmakers before, and Billy Martin, whose most recent client was NFL quarterback [[Michael Vick]].  Craig also retained one of the capital’s top public-relations experts, Judy Smith, who handled press for [[Monica Lewinsky]] and more recently for U.S. Rep. [[William Jefferson]]. <ref>[http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/149810.html Craig may not quit after all if he's cleared of charges, spokesman says], By GREGORY HAHN AND ERIKA BOLSTAD - ''Idaho Statesman'', 09/04/07.</ref>
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On June 11, 2007, Craig was arrested in a mens' room at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.  An undercover police officer was working a plainclothes detail in the restroom because the police had received citizen complaints about sexual activity there.<ref name="smokinggun1>[http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0828071craig1.html Report filed by  arresting officer, page 1.]</ref>  According to the officer's report, he was seated in a stall in the mens' room and observed Craig peering through a crack in the stall, then looking down at his fingers and fidgeting, a cycle that continued for two minutes.<!-- <ref name=smokinggun1/> -->  Craig then entered the stall to the officer's left and put his suitcase against the door of the stall, which the officer said in his experience was a typical stratagem used by persons engaged in what the officer calls "lewd conduct" to block the view from outside the stalls.<!-- <ref name=smokinggun1/> -->  Craig then tapped his right foot, a signal that the officer said was used by people who wish to engage in lewd conduct and then moved his right foot until it touched the officer's foot.<!-- <ref name=smokinggun1/> --> Craig then swiped his left hand, palm up, along the bottom of the divider between the two men's stalls.<!-- <ref name=smokinggun1/> --> The officer then showed Craig his badge under the stall divider, causing Craig to respond, "No."<ref name=smokinggun1/>  Upon arrest, Craig was taken to the police operations center at the airport where he handed the arresting officer a business card that identified him as a U.S. Senator and asked, "What do you think about that."<ref>[http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0828071craig2.html Report filed by arresting officer, page 2.]</ref> 
 
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On June 26, 2007, the arresting officer filed a criminal complaint with two separate charges against Craig,<ref>[http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0828071craig4.html Supplement to arresting officer's report.]</ref> one count of interference with privacy, related to Craig's peeping on the officer while the officer was sitting in the stall, and one count of disorderly conduct, related to Craig's signaling a desire to engage in sexual conduct with Craig in the stall.<ref>[http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0828071craig6.html Arresting officer's complaint, page 2.]</ref> On August 1, 2007, Craig entered a guilty plea by mail to the charge of disorderly conduct and the peeping charge was dropped.<ref>''[http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0828071craig8.html State of Minnesota v Larry Edward Craig]''</ref>
 
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===Aftermath===
 
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After the news of his arrest broke the Republican Party stripped Craig of his committee assignments. Craig resigned his position with [[Mitt Romney]]'s presidential campaign.<ref>http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/08/28/craig/?rsssource=1</ref>  This stands in stark contrast to the way the Democrats handled the [[Monica Lewinsky]] scandal.
 
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On September 1, 2007, Craig announced he intended to resign from the Senate (effective September 30, 2007) after reports surfaced about an incident in June which he was arrested on a [[misdemeanor]] charge in a Minneapolis police airport sting operation in which Craig claimed entrapment. <ref>[http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections/news/Craigtranscript.pdf Transcript of arrest interview]  [http://www.break.com/index/senator-craig-police-audio-tape.html Audio]</ref> Craig is a regular commuter through the Minneapolis airport.  He had hoped to keep the arrest quiet, didn’t consult a lawyer, and he never told family, friends, staff or colleagues about the incident. Craig has hired two Washington criminal defense lawyers, Stan Brand, who has defended lawmakers before, and Billy Martin, whose most recent client was NFL quarterback [[Michael Vick]].  Craig also retained one of the capital’s top public-relations experts, Judy Smith, who handled press for [[Monica Lewinsky]] and more recently for U.S. Rep. [[William Jefferson]]. <ref>[http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/149810.html Craig may not quit after all if he's cleared of charges, spokesman says], By GREGORY HAHN AND ERIKA BOLSTAD - ''Idaho Statesman'', 09/04/07.</ref>
 
  
 
Former President [[Bill Clinton]] said on [[CNN]]'s ''Larry King Live'',  
 
Former President [[Bill Clinton]] said on [[CNN]]'s ''Larry King Live'',  
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Craig has also received support from Senator [[Arlen Specter]], and Sidney Smith, a spokesman for Larry Craig, has stated that the decision to resign may not be final.<ref>http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8RF0EGO0&show_article=1</ref> Interestingly a poll one week after the news became a public, Liberals rated Craig the highest of groups classed by ideology in response to the question "How much respect do you have for Larry Craig?" <ref>[http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=6b5c7c9c-9b96-4c80-ad91-090eb7869c8f Results of SurveyUSA News Poll #12589].</ref>
 
Craig has also received support from Senator [[Arlen Specter]], and Sidney Smith, a spokesman for Larry Craig, has stated that the decision to resign may not be final.<ref>http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8RF0EGO0&show_article=1</ref> Interestingly a poll one week after the news became a public, Liberals rated Craig the highest of groups classed by ideology in response to the question "How much respect do you have for Larry Craig?" <ref>[http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=6b5c7c9c-9b96-4c80-ad91-090eb7869c8f Results of SurveyUSA News Poll #12589].</ref>
  
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Should Craig choose not to resign, his third Senate term will expire in January 2009.<ref> [http://www.idahostatesman.com/eyepiece/story/143801.html (Idaho Statesman)] </ref>
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Should Craig choose not to resign, his third Senate term will expire in January 2009.<ref> [http://www.idahostatesman.com/eyepiece/story/143801.html (Idaho Statesman)] </ref>  Craig earlier resigned as an adviser to [[Republican]] [[Mitt Romney]]'s presidential campaign.<ref>http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/08/28/craig/?rsssource=1</ref>
  
 
==References==
 
==References==

Revision as of 03:14, September 10, 2007

Larry Craig (b. July 20, 1945) has been a Republican United States Senator from the state of Idaho since 1991. From 1981 to 1991 he represented Idaho in the United States House of Representatives. He is generally considered to be a social conservative and is also a strong advocate of the proposed Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution.

Early years

Senator Craig was born on the family ranch near Midvale, Idaho, which was homesteaded in 1899 by his grandfather. He later served as the Idaho State President and National Vice-President of the Future Farmers of America. Craig earned his B.A. at the University of Idaho in 1969 and did graduate work at George Washington University 1970. Craig has worked as a farmer and rancher and served in the Idaho senate from 1974-1980.

U.S. Senate

In 1974, the people of Payette and Washington counties sent Craig to the Idaho State Senate, where he served three terms before winning the 1980 race for Idaho's First District Congressional Seat. He was re-elected four times before winning the U.S. Senate election in 1990 and was re-elected to the Senate in 1996 and 2002. Senator Craig served as chairman of the Steering Committee, a legislative "think tank" and action group for Senate conservatives. He was the youngest senator ever elected to that position.

Craig quickly rose in the Senate leadership in his first term, when his colleagues elected him Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee. He was re-elected to that position in the 106th and 107th Congresses. The Committee is responsible for developing policy positions for Senate Republicans.

Craig has emerged as a leader for a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution, limited taxation, private property rights, and greater accountability in government. He has been recognized by national groups including Citizens for a Sound Economy, Citizens Against Government Waste, Watchdogs of the Treasury, and the National Taxpayers Union Foundation,

With his appointment to the Senate Appropriations Committee, Craig oversees funding on the following subcommittees: Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies; Energy and Water Development; Homeland Security; Labor, HHS, and Education; Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; and Interior and Related Agencies, where he serves as the Ranking Member. He is also a member of the Special Committee on Aging, which he chaired during the 107th and 108th Congresses, and the Committee on Environment and Public Works, where he serves on the Public Sector Solutions to Global Warming, Oversight, and Children's Health Protection Subcommittee and the Superfund and Environmental Health Subcommittee.

In addition to his committee memberships, Craig sits on a number of caucuses including: Air Force; Diabetes; Congressional Sportsmen's; Senate Sweetener; WTO for Farmers and Ranchers; Congressional Potato; National Congressional Award Board of Directors; Idaho Safe Kids Coalition (Honorary Co-Chair); the Western States Senate Coalition; Education Advisory Committee to the National Youth Leadership Conference. He serves as Co-Chairman of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption and helped to found and lead the CCAI, an institute working on adoption issues.

Craig is also on the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association, the Alliance to Save Energy, and he co-founded and co-chairs the Congressional Property Rights Coalition.

Craig chaired the Senate Republican Policy Committee (1996-2003), the Special Committee on Aging (One Hundred Eighth Congress), and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (One Hundred Ninth Congress).

Controversy

On September 1, 2007, Craig announced he intended to resign from the Senate (effective September 30, 2007) after reports surfaced about an incident in June which he was arrested on a misdemeanor charge in a Minneapolis police airport sting operation in which Craig claimed entrapment. [1] Craig is a regular commuter through the Minneapolis airport. Given a choice of immediately going to jail to process a plea of innocence, Craig pled guilty so he could finish his final flight home.[Citation Needed] He had hoped to keep the arrest quiet, didn’t consult a lawyer, and he never told family, friends, staff or colleagues about the incident. Craig has hired two Washington criminal defense lawyers, Stan Brand, who has defended lawmakers before, and Billy Martin, whose most recent client was NFL quarterback Michael Vick. Craig also retained one of the capital’s top public-relations experts, Judy Smith, who handled press for Monica Lewinsky and more recently for U.S. Rep. William Jefferson. [2]

Former President Bill Clinton said on CNN's Larry King Live,

"Well, first of all, I think we ought to recognize that this is a very traumatic time for him and his family.... we should be hoping that he and his family can work through this ...I think that that is more important than the politics of this. The politics of this will have to be resolved by him and the Republicans in the Senate."

Craig has also received support from Senator Arlen Specter, and Sidney Smith, a spokesman for Larry Craig, has stated that the decision to resign may not be final.[3] Interestingly a poll one week after the news became a public, Liberals rated Craig the highest of groups classed by ideology in response to the question "How much respect do you have for Larry Craig?" [4]

Should Craig choose not to resign, his third Senate term will expire in January 2009.[5] Craig earlier resigned as an adviser to Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Transcript of arrest interview Audio
  2. ↑ Craig may not quit after all if he's cleared of charges, spokesman says, By GREGORY HAHN AND ERIKA BOLSTAD - Idaho Statesman, 09/04/07.
  3. ↑ http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8RF0EGO0&show_article=1
  4. ↑ Results of SurveyUSA News Poll #12589.
  5. ↑ (Idaho Statesman)
  6. ↑ http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/08/28/craig/?rsssource=1
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