I will care about Craig when the senate investigates Harry Reid for the millions he got in shady land deals.

But of course, bribing Democrats is not really "news" since "news" implies it was something that did not happen before.

This fool should resign and save the State of Idaho and his family any further humilation.

This is so embarrassing. I wish the contents of the tape were not posted on the Trib web site.

But, yes, he should resign. "Guilty before proven" it seems.

How many times have you been in a restroom with stalls? How many times have your feet made contact with the feet in an adjacent stall? How many times have you picked up a fallen object on the ground that was possibly in the adjacent stall's area? The answer is probably that you've been in a still 1000 times, and never has anything like this happened. And Craig wants us to believe he did all this in an innocent manner, and just *happened* to do it in a public bathroom that has received so many complaints about lewd homosexual behavior/solicitation that they had to staff it with undercover police.

He either must think the public is extraordinarily stupid or he simply is unable to admit what he did because of shame.

One more God-fearing hypocrite shot down in flames. Is anyone counting the number of such instances among the GOP faithful since "family values" became a meaningless buzz word?

A smart person would have kept his mouth shut until his lawyer was on hand. From the excerpts, I would saw that the officer was leading the accused. If Senator Craig had nothing to hide, then he shouldn't have been afraid to wait for a lawyer. This also shows the tactics some police will resort to get their job done. It is a shame that a few bad ones can make the job so difficult for the rest. This is true in any profession. At the very least, the Senator is guilty of not thinking to clearly. I guess time will tell for the rest.

His motto apparently is "Who you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes."

I have zero sympathy for this toad. He has made a career out of destroying the lives of those with a different sexual preference than ... he pretended to have. And all that stuff about his "children"? They aren't his, he married into that, probably to gain cover.

He's a lying scumbag, and he's going down. I hope he fights like hell, though. It's more fun to drown somebody when they are fighting back.

Stupid is as stupid does.
It's the hypocrisy...stupid!

I have been in many of these interviews as a police officer.

Mr. Craig was classically admitting to certain actions, but denying the most damaging. His not admitting to the crime in the interview allows him to more effectively fight the charges in a court of law.

I agree with any attorney that says Mr. Craig could have probably gotten all charges dismissed - had he pursued this option. This would have taken time, money and further exposure... but Mr. Craig certainly had this option well explained to him with plenty of time to think about it.

I'm sure Senator Craig took this situation very seriously and consulted with counsel during the several months between his arrest and court date. Yet Mr. Craig chose to return to court and plead guilty to what I suspect is a standard plea down to the lesser charge customarily offered by the local prosecutor for similar situations.

A judge customarily asked Mr. Craig if the U.S. Senator, a man used to dealing with the intricacies of U.S. law, was fully aware of his rights and options before accepting his plea of guilt to the charges of bad bathroom behavior.

Let's be real here people ... the U.S. Senator is a politician that is posturing for himself, his family and his public persona - but his guilt is not in dispute.

he should hold himself to the same morality he feels compelled to thrust upon for others. resign his post.he making a mockery of the people of idaho

How many times is Craig going to say "I'm not gay"? He's acting as though that's what he was arrested for & now he's defending his reputation based solely on "I'm not gay".

On a different note, how suprising is it that Rush Limbaugh, the self-proclaimed American anchorman, hasn't talked about Craig on his website? No bias there, huh?

Unbelievable. It's more likely that the cop was out of line than the senator. The senator's mistake was not to solicit but to plead guilty.

It would be a real tragedy if this guy was actually innocent. I think a little investigation is called for. How many documented complaints from the public have there been about such activities in that rest room? How wide is the stall? How many times has this officer made a similar arrest? It's all very strange.

I'm not particularly concerned about the senator's behavior in the bathroom...it's tacky and annoying, but I'm actually surprised he could be arrested when there's no genital contact or display, or spoken request for sexual activity.

I'm concerned about two things: first, the cop's behavior, which after listening to the tape I DO think was entrapping, and second, the senator's past record and the effect it has had on others' lives.

Here's one of the "family values" crowd who repeatedly has used gay and lesbian folks as the whipping boys to gain power for himself and his party, who has repeatedly blocked justice for gays and lesbians, who is in fact HIMSELF a gay man--though I'll grant he might be bisexual. How many more of these self-hating homophobic politicians need to be exposed before people finally realize that we're EVERYWHERE, and that it is unjust to deny us full rights as citizens??

And by the way, it's these closeted, self-hating types who tend to frequent the mens' rooms of the world, because they're too ashamed of their feelings to live honestly and with integrity...they give the rest of us a bad name.

Last I looked, most of our politicos ARE attorneys. If this is so, then I wager Sen. Craig holds a JD. If that is so, then Sen. Craig had an attorney present when he was questioned...himself! As for his lame claim of not knowing the rules, the Senate as a body runs on Robert's Rules of Order, not to mention legal precedent. For Christ sakes, this guy is surrounded by attorneys. If you ask me, Idaho should demand Craig's resignation for sheer stupidity. He got caught! What a drag....

That smell? Larry Craig just soiled himself.

No. He should get a good lawyer, and fight this thing. The behavior of the police office in this case was appalling.

I little answer: YES

I wabnt him to remai. The longer the better. He is a pinata for the Dems. The hypocrisy of the GOP in general is going to keep many of the rank and file social conservatives at home in Nov. 2008, which will just enhance the Democratic Party landslide.

I feel bad for this guy. The police officer was just leading him into a confession, whether or not he did it. The officer was being a real jerk. I'm assuming there must be a history of activity in that bathroom, because I have never seen anything saying why the police were there to begin with. I could care less what a senator does in his spare time. If he's a good politician, what else really matters? He gets things for the people he represents and makes a positive difference. What he does on his own time is his own business, especially if it's outside Washington or his home state. People are just out to get each other in any way they possibly can. There are simply more important matters to be taken care of and this isn't one of them. People call for resignation for setting a bad example, but we elect these officials from the general public. He's no different than we are and most certainly many of us have done worse or will do worse, without consequences or people calling to resign our job. Let him live his life. If he's married, I'm sure his wife will take matters into her own hands. That's punishment enough for whatever he's done.

What a poster child Larry Craig represents for the self-righteous, closeted bi/homosexuals who cloak themselves in public homophobia to prove themselves worthy of the twisted agenda they support while secretly seeking out surreptitious sex wherever they can find it. I hope that law enforcement can snare even more of this societal scum if, for no other reason, than to prove how rampant this hypocrisy is on the part of the right wing, and at least force the more intelligent members of that bunch to think a bit about who their agenda does affect.

Larry, you need to do your state, your nation, and your family a favor by following the one good example set by your colleague Mark Foley and quietly and quickly leave. Your vehement on-air and on-tape protests of "I'm Not Gay!!" coupled with the circumstances of your guilty plea delivered in writing three weeks prior to your press conference and two months after the incident betray a deeply troubled and conflicted personality no longer able to effectively serve your constituency.

The shame you should feel should not be related to your sexuality (we all know what it is now), but in how you have chosen to express it and defend yourself after being caught by a legitimate enforcer of the law. The fact that you flashed your US Senate credentials in an effort to intimidate him makes you appear especially arrogant and crafty, in spite of your obvious stupidity.

Poeple will put up with alot from politicians. They will accept a liar, an adulterer, even a thief; but what they will never put up with is a hypocrit. That's why it was easy for most of the country to overlook what Clinton did. That's how a guy like Rudy can still be a frontrunner. On the Reublican side, at that. They never waived a Bible around and claimed to be holier than thou. And that's why guys like Craig are quickly thrown overboard.

We have opened up liberally in the last 30 or so years and tolerate gays, not considering them mentally ill, not persecuting them as in days of old. Yet we pounce on any public person when we learn they are gay.

How about all the other politicians that openly admit that they are GAY? Give me a break. If you are a democrat, you can get away with being GAY. A republican get's hung by his you know what.

"How about all the other politicians that openly admit that they are GAY?"

No Ray, the question is "How about all the other politicians who deny that they are gay, but who have pled guilty to disorderly conduct and kept it secret."

I'll be glad when someone catches James Dobson, PhD in something like this. He's another guy who likes to point fingers at people.

Basicly what this man
said was:

I pleaded guilty because I did'nt do it. What fools he must believe the American people are.

After reading the transcript released by the police, this guy needs to get a lawyer and fight this thing. I didn't read anything that indicated he had solicited the police officer. Bumping feet in the bathroom stall (those things are pretty narrow in most airports)or picking up a piece of paper is not solicitation. This is a waste of taxpayer money.

This isn't about whether he's gay, it's about his lack of honesty and whether he's a hypocrite.

He might've been able to survive this if he had come clean on the charges right away.

Instaed, he admitted his guilt in court but later recanted (no doubt the judge will have something to say about that).

Whether he's really guilty or not is almost a side issue; he tried to cover up something and changed his story.

Republicans don't like gays and the rest of us don't like lying hypocrites.

Penelope - Oh my God, I don't believe it.

Winthorpe - Ah, there you are.

Penelope - I think I'm going to be sick.

Todd - Don't worry, I'll handle this, Pookums.

Winthorpe - Todd, Harry, Andrew, Philip. I realise this looks completely awful
but I just wanted to assure you, my friends, that I am completely innocent. I'm going to fight this. Someone is out to get me and I know who.
The important thing is
that I can rely on you, my friends, as character witnesses. I'm going to be defending myself and I wondered if you could see your way clear to perhaps advance me a small loan until the hearing.

Todd - Frankly, Winthorpe,
and I think I speak for all of us, I think it shows incredibly bad taste
for you to embarrass us like this.

Winthorpe - I believe I'm still a member of this club.

Penelope - Nobody wants to buy your drugs, Louis.
Why don't you just go away?

Brian - Don't you just love it when they eat their own?

It might not have gotten to court, but the story would have gotten out and on top of that some would have said Craig received favoritism for being a Senator.

Given the nature of the charges, it is also likely that the Republican Moralists would still have cut and run on their comrade and hung him out to dry.

Whatever Craig did or didn't do, or whatever he apologized for is now a done deal.

The problem is the conservative right will use this as an example of how "gay behavior" is sick, twisted & perveted. They are going beyond whatever Craig's perversions are & not making any distinction between normal homosexual behavior & perverted behavior. To them it's all one and the same.

To them, if you're gay, you're right-up there with rapists & child molesters & would sooner commit homosexuals to mental institutions until they go straight. That's what all conservatives believe, but won't use that in their campaign slogans.

If Craig had a heterosexual indiscretion, no conservative would ask him to resign. Think they wouldn't? Rudy Guliani had a mistress, what conservative was calling for him to disapear?

I bet the police officer is gay. Give a person a badge and they will push the limits well over what they are capable of handling. Very few officers are actually out to help someone now a days. Whether or not Craig is right or wrong, the officer was pushing his weight around. " I am trained in this"?! In what? Handling gays? He is friggin airport security. Less bathroom time and more security making sure our flights are safe!

If the Republicans are the party of family values, I want out of the family - first Mark Foley the pedophile and Dennis Hastert his enabler and now Larry Craig. Next we'll find out that there are people in the party who solicited hookers and took bribes.

[quote]
I will care about Craig when the senate investigates Harry Reid for the millions he got in shady land deals.

Posted by: Baldy | August 31, 2007 7:17 AM
[/quote]

And they can do that right after the investigate Hastert and his Kendall County land deal. You do care about corruption on BOTH sides of the political spectrum, right?

If Craig resigns he could always pick up a job as George Michael's road manager.

I heard the same interview as everyone else and find it amazing that anyone thinks the officer is leading. To me, it looks like the officer's trained eyes saw a specific behaviour and the person that did that behaviour is lying about it. How many of you would pick up ANYTHING on the floor of a public toilet - much less rub the bottom of the stall. That, by itself, is disgusting. Also, how could you not notice a RING coming under the stall??? Come on now, if you were the officer, wouldn't you just want the respect to NOT be lied to??? Damn! Can't believe people are sticking up for this Senator who has spent his life condeming gays when he IS GAY!

Barney Frank, Jerry Studs and Bill Clinton all got off without pleading guilty. Larry Craig was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, if we would have been a Democrat he would have been running for re-election. Impeached Judge Alcyee Hastings ran for Congress and got elected. William $90,000 in freezer Jefferson is still walking around free.Crime pays if your a Jackass. Jerry White, Springfield, IL

To Jeff who said "guilty until proven..." He didn't dispute it. He addmitted doing it. Therefore he is guilty. Because he admitted doing the actions he accused of. Which is guilt. Think before you post.

How many times have any of you picked up a piece of toilet paper off the floor in a public bathroom?

The Republicans are doing this to themselves as they are the self-proclaimed "Family Values", "Moral High Road" party. They should practice what they preach!

I used to vote Republican but just simply could not stand the ilk of them any longer!

My, my, my, look at all the Republics who are attacking the police officer. How can you buy Sen. Craig's "wide stance" story? Would any of you pick up anything from the floor of a public restroom? I cringe just from touching the door handles with my bare hands.

Jerry White,

Bill Clinton engaged in consensual sex with another adult. While incredibly stupid and immoral of him it did not constitute a crime. William "Cold Cash" Jefferson should go to prison just like Duke Cunningham (R-Slam) did.

Larry Craig wasn't in "the wrong place at the wrong" you moron. All that moron had to do was keep his hands and feet to himself and he wouldn't be about to resign humiliated and disgraced.

He wasn't entrapped, he pled guilty to disorderly conduct to escape going to trial.

Jerry, if its true that "Crime pays if your a Jackass", you must be raking it in!

To those who say that what Craig does on his own time is no one else's concern, yes. However, what he does in PUBLIC - in a public restroom where CHILDREN may come in at any time - IS our concern.

And the signals he was using are classic solicitations for gay sex.

Besides, he pled guilty. Case closed.

Do you recall exactly what you did the last time you used a public restroom? I may have sat, stood, picked up a piece of paper, smoked, played tiddly winks, read, drank, ate, or whatever. That's my problem! And if I just so happened to be a little larger than average in a smaller than average restroom stall then I might have moved my feet under the divider. This whole thing has been blown out of proportion. I am a secretary and I wouldn't get fired for what I do in a public restroom. Neither should Sen. Craig. I think he's suffered enough. Just leave him alone and let him get on with his job as a senator. There's a reason we elected him to office and it has nothing to do with his private life (including what he does in a closed restroom stall). Clinton did alot worse than pick up a piece of paper on the floor of a bathroom and he never got in trouble (maybe because he's a democrat). Just leave the poor guy alone! Cops are always looking more into things and trying to make more out of something than it actually is. It's really sad that we actually pay our police officers to sit in restrooms at airports to catch people going potty. Personally, I think the cop should be fired for falsely accusing someone. And what's wrong with wearing a ring on your right hand?

The police officer is right on. I'm sure Craig was read his rights before being questioned, otherwise the charges would have been through out.
And I agree w the other poster who said how many among us (who use public restrooms and don't solicit for sex) have ever bumped feet with a person in an adjoining stall, or even had a foot move across the divider, I certainly haven't, and I've been in a lot of bathrooms.
He pleaded guilty because he knew he was guilty, and feels ashamed of who he is, a gay man. I feel sorry for him, and for the way his supposed 'friends' have deserted him. But I don't think he was mistreated here, and cops are expert in reading faces, I have no doubt he could tell Craig was lying.

Hey Baldy,

You're the one who called attention to Harry Reid. May I call you attention to your use of the logical fallacy of ad hominem.

Harry Reid's presumed wrong has nothing to do with Senator Craig's admission of a wrong.

Put simply, one wrong does not excuse another.

CRAIG: I, I, I ... [am a peter pumping republican scumbag and am afraid to admit it]...

I love the first pic up top lololol! A friggin' family values wagon train!! Yippee! Ride 'em up move 'em out rawhide!!!

Darn the bad luck. Curse the coincidence! How can it be that Sen. Craig just happens to engage in activities - one after the other, mind you - that suggest that he would like to have a tryst in a public restroom? Just bad luck is all. In fact, if more people would take Craig's lead and just pick up litter that they see laying on the floor in public bathrooms, then our public rest areas could become bastions of cleanliness.

What amazes me the most is that Senator Craig continues to insist he's not gay. Funny thing is, this is the same line I used when I was in the closet in grade school, in fear of what the label "gay" would do to me. Regardless at the time, if I believed I was gay or not.

Senator Craig, I believe you are not gay... not yet. One does not have to identify as gay to act on homosexual tendencies. We are human beings, we have sexual desires that supersede what might be considered "natural." Your actions in that public men's room are desires that can be explained. Unfortunately, homosexual acts have gotten completely out of hand in public men's restrooms across the country, to the point that undercover officers must keep the peace. You broke the law Senator Craig.

You think it's shameful to be identified as "gay." The truth is, it is not! Ask any openly gay person if they feel shamed, chances are you will not find one. What is shameful is being dishonest, to yourself and to others that surround you. Cody, Chicago, IL

Posted by: PJ | August 31, 2007 8:09 AM

"One more God-fearing hypocrite shot down in flames. Is anyone counting the number of such instances among the GOP faithful since "family values" became a meaningless buzz word?"

A reply to PJ:

To me "family values" is not a meaningless buzz word. I'm sure many of my family and friends would agree. While there have been few instances of this sort of behavior in the GOP, any instance is a cause for concern.

Senator Craig brings a dark cloud over our political system; however, there is plenty of wrong doing on either side of the aisle. There is an old and very appropriate adage about judging others. Something like: "People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."

In America, a person is innocent until proven guilty; however, a person in the situation Senator Craig is in now should do the honorable thing - resign!

However, HONOR is a rare commodity in this country today - especially in politics.

I say fire all of congress and elect people who have never been there before. The media loves to burn conservatives, but shys away from liberals (we can't hurt our own!) so let's fire the media too! While we're at it, let's get rid of labels, elect some human beings and spend money on the crumbling infrastructure!

If he wasn't guilty, but pleaded guilty, he lied. Otherwise, he's just a hypocrite.

The guy is a senator??? - hmmm, he should be shoved out of his office by his constituients. Pre-teen gangbangers KNOW the first words out of ones mouth are: Talk to my lawyer

He might be able to suck the chrome off a trailer hitch. He might be able to suck start a Harley-Davidson.

But: HE IS NOT GAY!!!!!!!!!

On second thought, three older conservative republican guys dressed flamboyantly, singing together.....

Nahh, no way, right?

"Clinton did alot worse than pick up a piece of paper on the floor of a bathroom and he never got in trouble (maybe because he's a democrat)."

This is a two-fer for the absolute dumbest statement of the day (but I'll admit the day is still young).

1) Both Clinton and Craig cheated on their spouses, so there's no differentiation there. Yet Clinton's was consensual and Craig's was sexual solicitation. In the hierarchy of rights and wrongs, I'll rank consensual sex as being more legitimate than solicitation of a stranger.

2) Clinton never got in trouble!??!!?!?! Surely you weren't asleep through all of 1998-2000, were you? If I remember correctly, he was impeached, but not convicted. He lost his license to practice law. I'd say being impeached and losing your legal license would constitute "getting in trouble" here on planet Earth.

Focus people- this is not about whether or not Larry Craig is gay. Further to that, I don't believe any openly gay politician should resign because he/she is gay.

This is about Larry Craig's inappropriate behavior and his defense/explanation IS NOT CREDIBLE. I did not believe the officer was leading in any way and certainly don't see entrapment either. I've been in many an airport stall and although they are typically narrow I have never bumped feet with anyone and can't even fathom touching the stalls unnecessarily or picking up garbage from the floor.

This is an example of the Republican ilk I mentioned before- hypocrisy!

Wake up losers, this is the way a police interrogation is supposed to go. The cop is not there to hold your hand and get you some coffee. That's why Craig was Mirandized when he was arrested and warned that anything you say can and will be used against you.

The federal government may have been fully co-opted by the Republican National Committee but in the rest of the country our police do their job by arresting perverts like Craig.

Republicans need to quit your whining and support our police instead of always trying to undermine them.

The poster senator for family values is telling the truth. Well sort of telling the truth. Lets turn the clock back to a much simpler times, the era of that memorable war president Tricky Dick and the Watergate boys.

"I am not a homosexual" could mean, I just might mean he is a bisexual. The senator's stateemnt was a non denial denial. Note he did not say he was a heterosexual.

I'm tired of hearing about this story for three days straight. What happens in the men's room should stay in the men's room.

Sounds like a scene from the hubby in the movie Fargo...

WAAaaaaahhhhhh!!!!

If it's something he can go to jail for, he should go.

Do not pass go,
do not collect any more votes!

Hey, he isn't gay, he was just implementing the latest method of garnering votes for the Republican cause!

Wake up losers, this is the way a police interrogation is supposed to go. The cop is not there to hold your hand and get you some coffee. That's why Craig was Mirandized when he was arrested and warned that anything you say can and will be used against you.

...

Republicans need to quit your whining and support our police instead of always trying to undermine them.

Posted by: Patrick | August 31, 2007 11:45 AM

Thank you, Patrick! Police interrogation is not the same as being on on the Regis and Kelly show. The irony, of course, is that you can be sure beyond any doubt that the five or ten people who support Craig are "law and order" types in every other context. You don't mind a tough interrogation when someone gets caught selling a dime bag, but go after a Republican perve and all of a sudden the 5th Amendment gets back into the Constitution.

To all you defenders of Craig's "footsie": you're either clueless or disingenuous. The cop and Craig engaged in a reciprocal, escalating series of communications in a language understood by those who do these things. If a street prostitute points to her crotch and a guy nods "yes" in response, the crime is not the nod itself (btw: I have no idea how that actually happens either).

"I'M NO PSYCHIATRIST BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE SENATOR CRAIG TALKS AS THOUGH HE IS IN THE GROOMING STAGE WITH THIS OFFICER"

I'M NOT GOING TO FIGHT YOU.

SUBMISSION IS MY KEY.

DON'T TELL THE MEDIA.

TOO LATE! ITS JUST SICK AND NASTY FOR A GROWN MAN TO BE LURKING IN ANY RESTROOM MALE OR FEMALE, PEEPING THROUGH THE CRACKS.

GEORGE BUSH SHOULD TAKE ALL OF HIS BELONGINGSS, AS HE MAY HAVE JUST RUINED ANOTHER PUSH FOR HIS RECONCILIATION.

SENATOR CRAIG I WANT YOU AND YOUR STUFF OFF OF BUSH CAMP BY TUESDAY. COME ON, YOU FORGOT ABOUT THE DO NOT TELL RULE. YOU HAVE GOT TO GO.

HEY IT WILL BE A NICE BARBECUE WITH FOLEY, CRAIG, AND BOB ALLEN OF FLORIDA. MITT AND MCCAIN WERE INVITED BUT COULDN'T MAKE IT.

SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK, BUT HEY I'M A SENATOR, HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT?

It is always interesting when liberals call Republicans "hypocrites" when they are caught doing somethingdeemed wrong. While I agree that Senator Craig should resign, I wonder if liberals equate what Senator Craig did in an airport men's room with, say, driving your vehicle off a bridge, leaving the scene of an accident, oh and incidentally, leaving the young woman passenger in the car to drown. Yeah, that's right name-callers. He didn't resign. He's still there.

David Ehren,

hy·poc·ri·sy /hɪˈpɒkrəsi/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[hi-pok-ruh-see] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -sies. 1. a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess.
2. a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude.
3. an act or instance of hypocrisy.

Larry trashed Bill Clinon over Monica while (by most accounts) he was trolling for BJs in many a men's room.

That's hypocrisy.

But, yes, he should resign. "Guilty before proven" it seems.

Posted by: Jeff | August 31, 2007 7:34 AM

HE PLEAD GUILTY!!!

A person is innocent until proven guilty, yes.

Or until they PLEAD GUILTY!

Hello!

So I guess there are no burglaries, muggings or murders in the Twin Cities,,, the police have nothing better to do than troll for poor fools in the mens' rooms at the airport???

Bill Clanton:

Yes, Bill, his guilt of the stuff that earns him the title "hypocrite" is in dispute. A plea to Disorderly Conduct in violation of Minnesota Statutes section 609.72 does not admit any sexual behavior or any attempt to do the same. This is because one can violate that statute without engaging in any lewd, promiscuous or sexually motivated behavior. It’s just not in that law. Since a guilty plea only admits the necessary elements of the offense charged, and the necessary elements of the charge to which he plead guilty doesn’t contain any nasty bits, his plea leaves in dispute all the lurid stuff.

To all you defenders of Craig's "footsie": you're either clueless or disingenuous. The cop and Craig engaged in a reciprocal, escalating series of communications in a language understood by those who do these things. If a street prostitute points to her crotch and a guy nods "yes" in response, the crime is not the nod itself (btw: I have no idea how that actually happens either).

Posted by: Anonymous | August 31, 2007 1:18 PM

You mean, you were there? Gee, what a privilege. Oh, that’s right; you weren’t there. You’re just going on the tape, what little is there, and what the cop put in his report. That’s pretty thin.

There were no words exchanged between Craig and the cop. The only thing the cop had to go on was a foot tap and the protrusion of Craig’s fingers under the stall. But we’re supposed to believe, anyway, that these two actions equal a solicitation for sex. That’s a great deal of communication for two highly ambiguous acts, if you ask me. Of all the unwritten and unspoken communication methods we have, including semaphore, wig-wag or even Aldis lamp, none have been able to convey such a large amount of information, so unambiguously, and with so little effort.

Perhaps one should simply ask the officer: “What was the Senator thinking at the time?” It seems as though he should be able to answer the question because, if he can derive so much information from such little behavior, he must be a mind reader too. That would be a good thing to have in the criminal justice system. The officer could just read the defendant’s mind and then report directly to court. After all, who knows better about what’s going on than the defendant. This way, we could do away completely with courts and trials, if getting at the defendant’s actions and state of mind are needed.

It comes down to the question of whether Craig is one of the people “who do these things.” If he is, the cop might be right. If he isn’t, then the foot tap and hand gesture are perfectly ambiguous. But that, in itself, begs an evidentiary question that is not answered by the report, the tape, Senator Craig’s statements, or any other provable fact about Craig’s past behavior. Consequently, the facts and inferences needed to give the abbreviated, non-verbal conduct so much significance is absolutely missing. That being the case, you don’t have a case.

It seems to me that it is you who are clueless and disingenuous. We should add, at this point, hypocritical too. You, who are so rabid about fairness and justice, just seem to throw it all to the wind when you think you’ve got a big Republican on the hook. But that’s not the way it works, does it? Gravy for the goose is gravy for the gander. If crack dealers are entitled to a fairness, so are U.S. Senators.

And, no he did not plead guilty to any crime involving sexual misconduct or attempted sexual misconduct. He plead guilty to Disorderly Conduct which, under Minnesota Law, does not require proof of any sexual or deviant intent. A guilty plea only admits the necessary elements of a crime. As such, his guilty plea does not provide proof of any criminal sexual behavior, or that he went cruising in the bathroom for a score.

At least there is some good news for the Senator: He can move to Iowa now that they allow gay marriage.

At least there is some good news for the Senator: He can move to Iowa now that they allow gay marriage.

David:

You've repeated yourself.

You've repeated yourself.

The lesson is, when a police officer tells you "I want to talk to you" you say:

1) Am I under arrest, if not I am leaving.
2) I want an attorney. I want a writ of habeas corpus and to have bail set.
3) You are not telling the truth, however I will not discuss this with you without an attorney.

There is no winning with scumbag police.