Oral Arguments Set In Sen. Craig Gay Sex-Sting Appeal

The Minnesota Court of Appeals has set Sept. 10 to hear arguments in Sen. Larry Craig’s bid to withdraw the guilty plea he entered after being busted in a gay sex-sting at the Minneapolis airport.

Craig, a three-term Republican from Idaho, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in August 2007 after he was accused of soliciting sex from an undercover police officer.

After his arrest and guilty plea became public, Craig held a news conference to say he is not gay and that he pleaded guilty only to avoid the scandal of a trial.

Craig then tried to withdraw his plea. A judge in Minnesota refused, saying Craig’s plea “was accurate, voluntary and intelligent, and … supported by the evidence.”

Craig appealed that ruling to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Craig has a long history of voting against every LGBT issue that came before the Senate and of supporting two attempts to pass an amendment to the US Constitution to bar gays from marrying.

As publicity mounted, Craig promised that he would resign last Sept. 30. Then he reversed his decision, saying he would stay in office until his term expires next January. Craig says he is not running for re-election.

Craig has said the undercover police officer misinterpreted his foot and hand movements as signals that he wanted sex, giving rise to the nickname “Toe-tapping Larry.”

The Senate Ethics Committee in February said that Craig acted improperly and had brought discredit on the Senate.

In a letter to the Republican senator, the ethics panel said Craig’s attempt to withdraw his guilty plea after his arrest at a Minneapolis airport was an effort to evade legal consequences of his own actions.

Police arrested 41 men last year between May and August in the sting operation but it did not come to light until Sen. Craig’s bust became public.