Judge to rule next week in Craig case

[brooklynite]

Source: AP

MINNEAPOLIS - A judge considering Idaho Sen. Larry Craig's request to withdraw his guilty plea in an airport sex sting said Wednesday he probably wouldn't rule in the case until late next week, well past Craig's self-imposed deadline to resign from the Senate.

Hennepin County Judge Charles Porter heard arguments from Craig's attorneys and the prosecutor in the case, then said he wouldn't rule immediately.

Craig said earlier he planned to resign Sept. 30, then left the door open to remain on the job if he could successfully reverse his plea.

His attorney, Billy Martin, acknowledged the difficulty in getting the plea withdrawn, saying it is "near impossible, and it should be." But he said Craig's conduct was not criminal.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070926/ap_on_go_co/craig_senate_23

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Free the Larry Craig 10!

[shain from kane]

1. Time to wrap it up, rascal.

[Purveyor]

2. GOP Sen. Larry Craig to stay in office pending ruling in bathroom sex sting case

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Sen. Larry Craig said Wednesday he will remain in office while a Minnesota judge considers his bid to withdraw a guilty plea, overturning the senator's previous statements of intent to resign by Sunday.

The Idaho Republican said he will stay in office "for now," but people close to him said he will remain until the judge rules. Hennepin County Judge Charles Porter said he probably won't rule on the request until next month.

Craig, who originally had planned to seek a third term next year, pleaded guilty in August to disorderly conduct following a June 11 sting operation in a men's room at the Minneapolis airport.

Craig's comments Wednesday were greeted with chilly silence from Senate Republican leaders who have made clear they wish he would step down and let Idaho's GOP governor name a replacement. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters he had nothing to add to previous statements in which he said he thought Craig made the proper decision on Sept. 1, when he announced his intention to resign by the month's end.


Read more: http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2007/09/26/ap-state-id/d8rte2l00.txt

[BOSSHOG]

3. You Go Larry

don't let that evil McConnell run you off. You get up in the Senate every day and you give your speechs and pee on your space in the well of the Senate. Ain't no fat ass from Kaintuck gonna run your christian heteorosexual ass out of the senate.

[bluestateguy]

4. Good. That'll keep it in the news.

The Mark Foley story of 2007.

[0007]

5. Goody goody gander.

This will indeed piss Mitch!

[Frank Cannon]

6. Never give up, Larry!! Go get 'em, bwah!!

Restroom pervs everywhere are counting on you!!

[Xipe Totec]

7. I hope his colleagues don't mind sharing restrooms n/t

[saigon68]

8. As Long as he keeps his hands

To himself

[mitchum]

9. God save the tearoom queen!

[LiberalFighter]

10. Judge Porter do us a favor and put Craig in the pokey for 6 months.

Maybe he will learn some new signals to solicit sex in a public restroom.

[Zorro]

11. He's stalling

It had to be said.

[SecularMotion]

12. Craig Will Remain In Senate Until Judge Rules

Source: NY Times

EDINA, Minn., Sept. 26 — Senator Larry E. Craig of Idaho on Wednesday backed away from his earlier decision to resign on Sept. 30 and said he would await a judge’s ruling on a motion to reverse his guilty plea in an undercover sex sting. Mr. Craig, a Republican, made the announcement after a court hearing on the motion.

The senator, who had said he would step down on Sept. 30 if he was unable to clear his record, said in a statement that he would stay in the Senate while Judge Charles A. Porter Jr. weighed arguments made Wednesday in Hennepin County District Court.

“Today was a major step in the legal effort to clear my name,” Mr. Craig said in a statement after Judge Porter indicated he might not rule until late next week. “The court has not issued a ruling on my motion to withdraw my guilty plea. For now, I will continue my work in the United States Senate for Idaho.”

His announcement was a disappointment to Senate Republican leaders who had hoped Mr. Craig would surrender his seat in the aftermath of a case they consider an embarrassment. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, would not discuss the case but said he stood by his earlier statement in which he said that Mr. Craig had made a difficult but correct decision in saying he would leave the Senate.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/27/washington/27craig.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1190902459-hbB9KZxld1eyLkd+kIMhUw

[liberal N proud]

13. This asshole has absolutely ZERO integrity

He says he is not gay but was busted in a sex sting for gay sex
Said he was guilty of a misdemeanor, then he didn't
Said he would resign from the Senate, now he isn't

Worthless piece of s#$#

[Mist]

14. My favorite Craig spin: He made his guilty plea in a state of confusion and stress, TWO MONTHS

after he was charged. And during that two months, he couldn't find time to consult with a lawyer?

[SpiralHawk]

15. You need to take a wider stance on this

Show some kompassionate konservativism

He can't help it that he is just another in a long, long line of republicon homelander closet case hypocrites

They deserve kompassion, too, don't they?

[sam sarrha]

16. yes but that doesnt mean they can keep their jobs failing the electorate as a hypercrit

[sam sarrha]

17. what does it cost to buy off a judge as a senator these days.. they only take cash

[IronLionZion]

18. Good, I hope he stays there

it's good for us to have this piece of shit in the Senate embarassing the party of sexual repression. if he resigned, he would just be replaced by another Radical Republicant.

I want David Vitter to resign and be replaced by a Dem...but he gets applauded since he had sex with a woman.