gay men describe encounters with U.S. Sen. Craig

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Sen. Craig's record on gay and lesbian issues

http://mediamatters.org/items/200708280013?f=h_latest

NY Times, networks ignored Sen. Craig's record on gay and lesbian issues

Summary: In reporting on Sen. Larry Craig's guilty plea on disorderly conduct charges, the nightly network news broadcasts and The New York Times all ignored Craig's positions on legislation concerning gay and lesbian rights, including voting against legislation to ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

In reporting on Sen. Larry Craig's (R-ID) August 8 guilty plea on misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges following his June 11 arrest during an investigation of "lewd conduct in the main men's public restroom" at a Minnesota airport, the nightly network news broadcasts and The New York Times all ignored Craig's record on legislation concerning gay and lesbian rights. Craig voted for the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and, in 2006, voted to cut off debate on a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. He also voted against a 1996 bill prohibiting employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, which failed by one vote in the Senate.

Roll Call first reported Craig's arrest on August 27. According to the article: "On Aug. 8, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in the Hennepin County District Court. He paid more than $500 in fines and fees, and a 10-day jail sentence was stayed. He also was given one year of probation with the court that began on Aug. 8." Roll Call also provided details of the arrest report:

According to the incident report, Sgt. Dave Karsnia was working as a plainclothes officer on June 11 investigating civilian complaints regarding sexual activity in the men's public restroom in which Craig was arrested.

Airport police previously had made numerous arrests in the men's restroom of the Northstar Crossing in the Lindbergh Terminal in connection with sexual activity.

Karsnia entered the bathroom at noon that day and about 13 minutes after taking a seat in a stall, he stated he could see "an older white male with grey hair standing outside my stall."

The man, who lingered in front of the stall for two minutes, was later identified as Craig.

"I could see Craig look through the crack in the door from his position. Craig would look down at his hands, 'fidget' with his fingers, and then look through the crack into my stall again. Craig would repeat this cycle for about two minutes," the report states.

Craig then entered the stall next to Karsnia's and placed his roller bag against the front of the stall door.

"My experience has shown that individuals engaging in lewd conduct use their bags to block the view from the front of their stall," Karsnia stated in his report. "From my seated position, I could observe the shoes and ankles of Craig seated to the left of me."

Craig was wearing dress pants with black dress shoes.

"At 1216 hours, Craig tapped his right foot. I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct. Craig tapped his toes several times and moved his foot closer to my foot. I moved my foot up and down slowly. While this was occurring, the male in the stall to my right was still present. I could hear several unknown persons in the restroom that appeared to use the restroom for its intended use. The presence of others did not seem to deter Craig as he moved his right foot so that it touched the side of my left foot which was within my stall area," the report states.

Craig then proceeded to swipe his hand under the stall divider several times, and Karsnia noted in his report that "I could ... see Craig had a gold ring on his ring finger as his hand was on my side of the stall divider."

However, The New York Times did not note Craig's record on gay rights issues in its August 28 article on Craig's arrest. Similarly, Craig's anti-gay positions went unmentioned on the August 27 broadcasts of ABC's World News with Charles Gibson, NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams, and the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.

By contrast, an August 28 CNN.com article noted his votes on gay and lesbian issues and reported that "Craig's voting record has earned him top ratings from social conservative groups." According to the article:

In recent years, Craig's voting record has earned him top ratings from social conservative groups such as the American Family Association, Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council.

He has supported a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, telling his colleagues that it was "important for us to stand up now and protect traditional marriage, which is under attack by a few unelected judges and litigious activists."

In 1996, Craig also voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition to same-sex marriages and prevents states from being forced to recognize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples legally performed in other states.

Craig also has opposed expanding the federal hate crimes law to cover offenses motivated by anti-gay bias and, in 1996, voted against a bill that would have outlawed employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, which failed by a single vote in the Senate.

The Los Angeles Times reported on August 28:

But the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force issued a statement calling attention to Craig's support for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and his opposition to legislation that would expand the federal hate crime law to cover violent acts based on a victim's sex, sexual orientation, sexual identity or disability.

From the August 27 broadcast of ABC's World News with Charles Gibson:

KATE SNOW (guest anchor): We learned today that a Republican member of the Senate, Larry Craig of Idaho, was arrested back in June and has now pled guilty to a disorderly conduct charge. The newspaper Roll Call reports Craig was arrested at the Minneapolis airport and accused of lewd conduct. His office calls it a misunderstanding, and late today, Craig said he should not have pled guilty.

From the August 27 broadcast of NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams:

BRIAN WILLIAMS (anchor): There is late world today that Senator Larry Craig, a Republican from Idaho, was arrested in June by a plainclothes police officer in Minnesota for what's being called lewd conduct in the presence of a plainclothes police officer in a men's room. That was at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call obtained the arrest report. The senator later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct. He paid more than $500 in fines and was given one year of probation.

But a short time ago this evening, Senator Craig issued a statement saying, "At the time of this incident, I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my actions. I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct." Craig's statement goes on to say, quote, "I should have had the advice of counsel in resolving this matter. In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty." Close quote.

From the August 27 broadcast of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric:

KATIE COURIC (anchor): Meanwhile, there is word tonight that Republican Senator Larry Craig of Idaho pleaded guilty this month to disorderly conduct charges. The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call says Craig was arrested at the Minneapolis airport by police investigating complaints of lewd conduct. But tonight, the senator says he told the police his actions were misconstrued, and he denies doing anything wrong. Craig was fined $1,000.

— S.S.M.

Craig says he made 'mistake' in guilty plea

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-08-28-craig-fallout_N.htm

Craig says he made 'mistake' in guilty plea
By Kathy Kiely, USA TODAY

Sen. Larry Craig said Tuesday he "made a mistake" in pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge involving a June 11 arrest in a Minneapolis airport restroom, saying he made the plea "in hopes it would go away."

"Let me be clear. I am not gay. I never have been gay," Craig, an Idaho Republican, said in a brief appearance with his wife in Boise. He entered the guilty plea earlier this month, several weeks after an undercover officer arrested him at the airport and filed a complaint that said the three-term senator had engaged in actions "often used by persons communicating a desire to engage in sexual conduct." The plea first became widely known Monday.

The senator also disclosed that he hid the guilty plea from his wife and friends, and said he had retained counsel to advise him on legal options. He said he would decide by next month whether to seek re-election to his seat.

Craig made the statement minutes after Senate Republican leaders called for an ethics review of the events surrounding his guilty plea. Republican leaders also are "examining other aspects of the case to see if additional action is required," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and other top GOP lawmakers said in a written statement.

Craig, 62, a three-term senator up for re-election in 2008, first denied any improper behavior in a statement released by his office on Monday.

Earlier Tuesday, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee seeking an investigation into whether Craig violated Senate rules by engaging in disorderly conduct.

Craig has stepped down as Senate liaison for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, according to Matt Rhoades, communication director for the Romney campaign.

"This definitely makes the race more competitive," Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokeswoman Hannah August said.

Craig's seat was considered among the safest of 20 Republican Senate seats up in next year's election.

Craig's likely Democratic opponent, Larry LaRocco, a former member of Congress, said Monday he wouldn't comment on Craig's troubles but insisted he can beat the senator based on issues such as veterans' assistance, immigration and Iraq.

"There are a lot of vulnerabilities regardless of what happened," LaRocco told USA TODAY in a phone interview from Coeur d'Alene.

The Idaho Statesman reported that Mike Crapo, Idaho's other Republican senator, told reporters he spoke to Craig on Monday and takes Craig at his word that he did nothing inappropriate.

"I was very concerned," Crapo said. "I made a phone call and visited with Larry, and he explained to me as he has to everyone. I take him at his word."

When asked whether Craig should run for re-election, Crapo said: "That is really Larry's decision. He has been deciding whether to run already. This is a very tough decision to make under any circumstance. Whatever Larry decides, I will support."

The Statesman, the biggest newspaper in Idaho, carried a lengthy story Tuesday describing its investigation of alleged homosexual activity by Craig. In the story, which the newspaper said was inconclusive, Craig vigorously denied engaging in homosexual activity.

In the hour-long interview with the newspaper, conducted on May 14, Craig was accompanied by his wife, Suzanne.

The Statesman article said its reporter played Craig an audiotape of a man claiming that he and Craig had sex in the Union Station restroom in Washington, D.C. Like the Minnesota airport restroom, the Union Station restroom is known as a place where men can find anonymous sex.

Craig denied the man's account. "I am not gay and I have never been in a restroom in Union Station having sex with anybody," he said. "There's a very clear bottom line here. I don't do that kind of thing. I am not gay, and I never have been."

Likewise, Craig, in his statement Monday, also denied any inappropriate behavior connected with the arrest in Minneapolis.

"At the time of this incident, I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my actions," he said in the statement. "I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct."

Craig said he regrets his guilty plea. "I should have had the advice of counsel in resolving this matter," he said. "In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously."

Although the police report of the incident is titled "lewd conduct," a Hennepin County court docket showed Craig pleaded guilty only to a charge of disorderly conduct, and the court dismissed a charge of gross misdemeanor interference to privacy, according to the Associated Press.

The docket said Craig paid $575 in fines and fees and was put on unsupervised probation for a year. A sentence of 10 days in the "county workhouse" was stayed.

The report, filed by Sgt. Dave Karsnia, said he was working a "plainclothes detail involving lewd conduct" in the airport restroom when the incident occurred. Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper, broke the story Monday.

Karsnia said he made the arrest after an encounter in which he was seated in a stall next to a stall occupied by Craig. He described Craig tapping his foot, which the officer said he "recognized as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct."

After the arrest, the report said, Craig handed the officer a business card that identified him as a member of the Senate. "What do you think about that?" Craig said, according to the report.

Eleven days later, according to a second police report, Craig returned to the airport police center in Minneapolis to find out the status of his case.

The officer on duty, Adam Snedker, said Craig appeared "agitated and demeaning" and explained that he had been involved in an incident where he was "drug down to this office" and was handcuffed, fingerprinted and interviewed. Craig was directed to call Karsnia, the arresting officer.

In a subsequent report, Karsnia said he gave Craig an update on the case and provided contact information on the attorney assigned to the case. Karsnia also said that "contrary to what Craig stated" he had not handcuffed Craig during the initial incident, even though he was under arrest.

Contributing: Douglas Stanglin and Randy Lilleston in McLean, Va.; Associated Press.

Arrest Clouds Idaho Senator's Future

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/28/AR2007082800122.html

Arrest Clouds Idaho Senator's Future
By MATTHEW DALY
The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 28, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Idaho Sen. Larry Craig is a conservative Republican who has voted against gay marriage and opposes hate crimes legislation that would extend special protections to gay and lesbian crime victims.

In the wake of Craig's guilty plea on misdemeanor charges stemming from complaints of lewd conduct in a men's restroom at the Minneapolis airport, his political future is in question.

The three-term senator, who has represented Idaho in Congress for more than a quarter-century, is up for re-election next year. He hasn't said if he will run for a fourth term in 2008 and was expected to announce his plans this fall.

A spokesman, Sidney Smith, was uncertain late Monday if Craig's guilty plea would affect his re-election plans.

"It's too early to talk about anything about that," Smith said.

A political science professor in Idaho said Craig's political future was in jeopardy. And a spokesman for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, Hannah August, said Craig's guilty plea "has given Americans another reason not to vote Republican" next year.

The married Craig, 62, has faced rumors about his sexuality since the 1980s, but allegations that he has engaged in gay sex have never been substantiated. Craig has denied the assertions, which he calls ridiculous.

The arrest changes that dynamic, said Jasper LiCalzi, a political science professor at Albertson College of Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho. He cited the House page scandal that drove Florida Rep. Mark Foley from office.

"There's a chance that he'll resign over this," LiCalzi said. "With the pressure on the Republican Party, he could be pressured to resign. If they think this is going to be something that's the same as Mark Foley _ the sort of 'drip, drip, drip, there's more information that's going to come out' _ they may try to push him out."

Already Craig has stepped down from a prominent role with Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. He had been one of Romney's top Senate supporters, serving as a Senate liaison for the campaign since February.

"He did not want to be a distraction and we accept his decision," said Matt Rhoades, a Romney campaign spokesman.

According to a Hennepin County, Minn., court docket, Craig pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge on Aug. 8, with the court dismissing a charge of gross misdemeanor interference to privacy.

The court docket said Craig paid $575 in fines and fees and was put on unsupervised probation for a year. A sentence of 10 days in the county workhouse was stayed.

Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper, which first reported the case, said on its Web site Monday that Craig was arrested June 11 by a plainclothes officer investigating complaints of lewd conduct in a men's restroom at the airport.

Minneapolis airport police declined to provide a copy of the arrest report after business hours Monday.

Roll Call, citing the report, said Sgt. Dave Karsnia made the arrest after an encounter in which he was seated in a stall next to a stall occupied by Craig. Karsnia described Craig tapping his foot, which Karsnia said he "recognized as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct."

Roll Call quoted the Aug. 8 police report as saying that Craig had handed the arresting officer a business card that identified him as a member of the Senate.

"What do you think about that?" Craig is alleged to have said, according to the report.

Craig said in a statement issued by his office Monday that he was not involved in any inappropriate conduct.

"At the time of this incident, I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my actions," he said. "I should have had the advice of counsel in resolving this matter. In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously."

Craig joins other GOP senators facing ethical and legal troubles.

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, is under scrutiny for his relationship with a contractor who helped oversee a renovation project that more than doubled the size of the senator's home.

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., acknowledged that his phone number appeared in records of a Washington-area business that prosecutors have said was a front for prostitution.

Craig, a rancher and a member of the National Rifle Association, lives in Eagle, Idaho, near the capital of Boise. He was a member of the House for 10 years before winning election to the Senate in 1990. He was re-elected in 1996 and 2002.

Last fall, Craig called allegations from a gay-rights activist that he's had homosexual relationships "completely ridiculous."

Mike Rogers, who bills himself as a gay activist blogger, published the allegations on his Web site, http://www.blogactive.com/, in October 2006.

Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, an advocacy group, on Monday called Craig a hypocrite.

"What's up with elected officials like Senator Craig? They stand for so-called family values and fight basic protections for gay people while furtively seeking other men for sex," Foreman said.
___
Associated Press writers Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis and John Miller in Boise contributed to this story.