US senator in lewd conduct furore

28 Aug 2007 // Sen Craig says he only pleaded guilty to speed up his case
Questions are being asked about the future of US Republican Senator Larry Craig after he admitted pleading guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct.

The Idaho senator was arrested in June by a policeman investigating complaints of lewd conduct at airport toilets. He says his actions were misconstrued.

A watchdog group has asked the Senate ethics committee to investigate whether Mr Craig has broken Senate rules.

Mr Craig has already resigned from Mitt Romney's 2008 presidential campaign.

Mr Craig, a married father-of-three, has not yet confirmed whether he will run for re-election in 2008. He is in his third term as senator for the western state of Idaho.

Hindsight

In a statement issued on Monday, Mr Craig confirmed he had pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct three weeks ago.

But, the 62-year-old said, he should not have done so without taking legal advice.

"At the time of this incident, I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my actions," he said.

"In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously."

A charge of "gross misdemeanour interference to privacy" was dropped.

The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint with the Senate ethics committee on Tuesday.

Toilet 'signal'

According to a police report seen by the Associated Press news agency, Mr Craig entered a stall next to the undercover policeman's in the men's toilets at Minneapolis-St Paul airport.

According to the policeman, he tapped one foot several times and then moved it into the neighbouring stall to brush against the officer's foot.

The police officer recognised that "as a signal often used by persons communicating a desire to engage in sexual conduct", the official complaint said.

Mr Craig then gestured with his hand under the cubicle divider, AP quotes the document as saying, at which point the police officer identified himself.

Court papers show Mr Craig paid $575 in fines and fees and was put on unsupervised probation for a year, while a 10-day jail sentence was stayed, AP says.

The furore comes only weeks after fellow Republican David Vitter admitted he had committed a "very serious sin" after his phone number was linked to an alleged Washington prostitution ring.