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September 07, 2007

Legal Loophole May Save Sen. Craig

Looks like a legal loophole might save Sen. Larry Craig’s ass. No pun intended. Apparently, he did not realize that Article 1: Section 6 of the U.S. Constitution clearly states that no member of Congress can be arrested while traveling to or from official session. And wouldn’t you know it, on June 11, the day Craig was arrested, he cast a vote on a high-profile cloture motion on the Senate floor at 5:55 p.m.

By way of review, Craig never bothered to tell anyone about his arrest until the story broke 77 days later (eclipsing news coverage of the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales a day earlier – interesting timing considering he had to have known about Craig’s arrest). Craig waited until June 22, 11 days later, to show back up at the Minneapolis airport to complain about his treatment by the police after the arrest. Two months later, on 8/8, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, which he now claims was a mistake made without advice of an attorney.

Craig has served in elective office for 33 years, first as a state legislator, then as a congressman, and now as a Senator. His seat is one of 22 Republican-held Senate seats up for election next year, compared with 11 Democrat-held seats. (33 regular Senate seats are being contested in all, if you don’t count the Senate election in Wyoming, which is a special election for a senator to complete the remainder of another’s term.)

The youngest of Craig’s adopted children, 33-year-old Jay Craig, is acting as the family spokesman, and he says that after speaking with their father, "Our conclusion was there was no wrongdoing there." But neither that nor the technicality offered by the Constitution may ultimately carry much weight with the people back home. The latest SurveyUSA News Poll (#12555) shows 55% of Idahoans want him out of the Senate.

And brace yourself for more outings - a blogger who outed Craig before the bathroom incident ever occurred, has a list of 33 congressmen who are closeted homosexuals, and only three of them have been exposed so far.

Posted by Becky at September 7, 2007 10:49 AM