By: E&P Staff In a statement to the press late this afternoon, Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho blamed the Idaho Statesman of Boise for his legal and political troubles stemming from his arrest in a sex-related matter at an airport men's room in Minnesota in June.
He denounced the longstanding probes by the Statesman -- he called it a "witch hunt" -- for inspiring him to plead guilty to the offense even though he said he was actually innocent. He said he had been "viciously harassed" by the newspaper. "I am not gay," he said twice. "I love my wife."
The Statesman had looked into allegations about Craig but did not run a lengthy report until today -- the day after his arrest in June became public. But Craig pointed to today's story, and suggested that the paper's probes and the "rumors" they produced had caused him to want to put the matter behind him -- so he pleaded guilty to the men's room charge and told no one about it. "In June, I overreacted and made a poor decision," he said.
Craig also said he would not step down as senator and still planned to serve his state in Washington, and walked away without answering questions from the media.
His full remarks on The Statesman read: "For eight months leading up to June, my family and I had been relentlessly and viciously harassed by the Idaho Statesman. If you?ve seen today?s paper, you know why. Let me be clear: I am not gay and never have been.
"Still, without a shred of truth or evidence to the contrary, the Statesman has engaged in this witch hunt. In pleading guilty, I overreacted in Minneapolis, because of the stress of the Idaho Statesman?s investigation and the rumors it has fueled around Idaho."
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