Apparently, it involves a Republican Senator from Idaho:
Sen. Larry E. Craig pleaded guilty earlier this month to misdemeanor disorderly-conduct charges stemming from his June arrest by an undercover police officer in a men’s restroom at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, a court spokeswoman and the senator’s office said yesterday.
Craig issued a statement confirming his arrest and guilty plea, which were reported in the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call. But the Idaho Republican maintained that he had not engaged in any “inappropriate conduct” and that the airport police misunderstood his behavior.
“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 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.
A mistake ? Maybe, but considering the “evidence” that the police had against him one wonders why Craig plead guilty to begin with:
Roll Call, citing a copy of a report by airport police, said that officers had been conducting a sting operation inside the men’s room because of complaints of sexual activity there. The police report gives this account of the arrest:
The undercover officer was monitoring the restroom at noon on June 11. A few minutes later, Craig entered and sat in the stall next to him. Craig began tapping his right foot, touched his right foot to the left foot of the officer in the stall next to him and brushed his hand beneath the partition between them. He was then arrested.
The implication, of course, is that Craig is gay and closeted, at least until now. Which is why keeping this interaction, which clearly doesn’t seem to rise to the level of criminal conduct, under the rug would have been so important.
