CovenantNews.com

Prosecutor scoffs at Queer GOP Senator

Megan Boldt / The Pioneer Press:
Idaho Sen. Larry Craig knew exactly what he was doing when he entered a guilty plea after being arrested in a Twin Cities airport sex sting and is attempting to manipulate the court system by asking the court to withdraw the plea, a prosecutor argued in court documents filed Monday. Labeling the senator's behavior "ludicrous," Metropolitan Airports Commission attorney Christopher Renz argued "buyer's remorse" isn't a valid reason to request a plea be thrown out. Although Craig entered his guilty plea Aug. 1, it wasn't reported in the media until Aug. 27. Craig then announced he would resign effective Sept. 30. "It is clear from this sequence of events that the defendant had hoped that he could plead guilty and that plea would not be discovered by the media or public," Renz wrote. "The defendant chose to plead guilty and consciously took that risk."

Related:
Prosecutor: Don't allow Craig to withdraw guilty plea
KSTP TV-5 Eyewitness News Minneapolis
WATCH LOCAL VIDEO NEWS REPORT - Craig says he panicked and pleaded guilty to a crime he didn't commit. But prosecutor Christopher Renz argued in a motion filed Monday that Craig was calm in several telephone conversations leading up to his plea. He says the circumstances of the case don't meet the state's standard to allow a plea withdrawal.

Craig won't attend hearing on guilty plea
CNN.com
WASHINGTON -- A Minnesota judge will be hearing Sen. Larry Craig's petition to overturn his guilty plea on a disorderly conduct charge in Minneapolis on Wednesday, but the Idaho Republican will not be at the hearing. "I have been advised not to. I will not be attending," Craig said.

Craig coy on resignation
By Manu Raju and Elana Schor / The Hill
Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig declined to say Tuesday whether he would resign his seat as planned if his guilty plea stemming from a Minneapolis bathroom sex sting is not overturned this week. "We are waiting for the legal determinations and I have nothing more to say," Craig told reporters Tuesday. The senator would not comment on what he would do if the court case were not decided by Sunday, the original date of his planned resignation from the Senate.

Posted by Editor at September 25, 2007 10:03 AM