Republican toilet cruiser Craig denied

October 4, 2007

Minneapolis, Minnesota - A Minnesota judge has rejected disgraced Idaho senator Larry Craig's bid to withdraw his guilty plea stemming from a men's room sex sting arrest.

Craig, arrested in an airport bathroom while cruising for gay sex, said he wouldn't resign from the Senate while awaiting a judge's ruling on his effort to get his guilty plea withdrawn.

In a 27-page order, Judge Charles Porter found Craig had entered the guilty plea "accurately, voluntarily and intelligently" and it was too late to withdraw his admission.

Craig, who claims he is not gay, argued that he entered the plea without legal advice, fearing that the allegations would be made public.

Once his plea became public, the Idaho Republican announced he would resign at the end of September -- but then said he would await Porter's ruling before deciding whether to leave the Senate.

"The defendant argues he pled in haste to prevent the allegation in this case from being publicized, thus doing damage to his political reputation. This pressure was entirely perceived by the defendant and was not a result of any action by the police, the prosecutor, or the court."

The judge also scolded Craig for his argument that his plea was "not intelligently made."

"The Defendant, a career politician with a college education, is of, at least, above-average intelligence. He knew what he was saying, reading, and signing," Porter wrote.

The Idaho Republican was arrested June 11 during a police sting in a Minneapolis airport men's room for making sexual overtures to an undercover male police officer. He entered a written guilty plea to a disorderly conduct charge in August.

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