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Senator on sex-related rap
28/08/2007 22:51 - (SA)
Washington - A Republican senator who pleaded guilty to a morals charge is the latest senator from President George W Bush's party facing ethical and legal troubles.
Senator Larry Craig has represented the conservative Western state of Idaho in Congress for more than a quarter-century and has voted against homosexual marriage and special protections to gay and lesbian crime victims.
On Monday, he admitted he pleaded guilty three weeks ago to a disorderly conduct charge and had a charge of "gross misdemeanour interference to privacy" dropped after a male undercover policeman testified Craig had made what the officer interpreted as sexual advances in a public toilet.
At least two other Republican senators are having trouble with law authorities.
Senator Ted Stevens, formerly one of the most powerful senators as chairperson of the Appropriations Committee, 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.
'It's too early to talk'
Senator David Vitter acknowledged that his telephone number appeared in records of a Washington-area business that prosecutors have said was a front for prostitution.
Polls said Republican ethical lapses were a major reason that voters transferred power last year in the Senate and the House of Representatives to the Democrats.
Craig, the Idaho senator, is up for re-election in 2008 but has not said whether he will run.
A spokesperson, Sidney Smith, was uncertain on 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 spokesperson 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 rumours 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.
According to a court docket, Craig pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge on August 8, with the court dismissing a charge of gross misdemeanour 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.
- AP
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