Cheer Up Senator - And Pick a Better Spot Next Time
Roll Call has the disturbing scoop:
According to the incident report, Sgt. Dave Karsnia was working as a plainclothes officer on June 11 investigating civilian complaints regarding sexual activity in the men’s public restroom in which Craig was arrested.
Airport police previously had made numerous arrests in the men’s restroom of the Northstar Crossing in the Lindbergh Terminal in connection with sexual activity.
Karsnia entered the bathroom at noon that day and about 13 minutes after taking a seat in a stall, he stated he could see “an older white male with grey hair standing outside my stall.”
The man, who lingered in front of the stall for two minutes, was later identified as Craig.
“I could see Craig look through the crack in the door from his position. Craig would look down at his hands, ‘fidget’ with his fingers, and then look through the crack into my stall again. Craig would repeat this cycle for about two minutes,” the report states.
Craig then entered the stall next to Karsnia’s and placed his roller bag against the front of the stall door.
“My experience has shown that individuals engaging in lewd conduct use their bags to block the view from the front of their stall,” Karsnia stated in his report. “From my seated position, I could observe the shoes and ankles of Craig seated to the left of me.”
Craig was wearing dress pants with black dress shoes.
“At 1216 hours, Craig tapped his right foot. I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct. Craig tapped his toes several times and moves his foot closer to my foot. I moved my foot up and down slowly. While this was occurring, the male in the stall to my right was still present. I could hear several unknown persons in the restroom that appeared to use the restroom for its intended use. The presence of others did not seem to deter Craig as he moved his right foot so that it touched the side of my left foot which was within my stall area,” the report states.
Craig then proceeded to swipe his hand under the stall divider several times, and Karsnia noted in his report that “I could … see Craig had a gold ring on his ring finger as his hand was on my side of the stall divider.”
Karsnia then held his police identification down by the floor so that Craig could see it.
“With my left hand near the floor, I pointed towards the exit. Craig responded, ‘No!’ I again pointed towards the exit. Craig exited the stall with his roller bags without flushing the toilet. … Craig said he would not go. I told Craig that he was under arrest, he had to go, and that I didn’t want to make a scene. Craig then left the restroom.”
My first reaction - Ew. After that initial queasiness passed, which took about 15 minutes for me, the only real observation was that the Democrats were going to go nuts with this one but who cares? Let them distract themselves with something salacious. They’ll make fools of themselves in the frenzy. They always do.
Update:
FOX News has the Senator’s side of the story:
“At the time of this incident, I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my actions. I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct,” Craig said in a statement. “I should have had the advice of counsel in resolving this matter. In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously.”
Not - Buying - It. Hugh Hewitt isn’t fooled either:
I don’t believe him. Read the statement by the arresting officer. He must think the people of Idaho are idiots.
But even if I did believe him, this would make his judgment too flawed to be in the United States Senate in a time of war. He has to go.
Update II:
Jonathan Martin points to a disturbing video flashback - all the way back to 1982 - which involves young Congressional pages, cocaine, and Larry Craig:
Larry, can you just resign like yesterday please?
Also Blogging:
The Corner
This Larry Craig bathroom thing is really disgusting. My first thought is how rotten a job that plainclothes officer has. The second is that we may have another vacant Senate seat in a few days.
Say Anything
Second, as for the whole gay thing, I’m not sure where Craig himself comes down on it but I could care less about him wanting to have sex with other men. Cheating on his wife, of course, is another matter. Though the fact that he’s adopted all of his children may be telling in terms of his sexuality.
Postman on Politics
Last year the website blogactive.com claimed Craig was a closeted homosexual.
The Carpetbagger Report
One thing’s for sure — the GOP didn’t need another sex scandal right now.
Balloon Juice
Why is everyone soliciting sex in bathrooms, for chrissakes? Is there some underground bathroom/gay sex culture out there? And if you have ever been to a public bathroom in WV (especially the ones in out of the way gas stations), sex is the last damned thing on your mind. A hot shower with bleach is what I am thinking about when I use a public bathrom- not hot gay sex.
First State Politics
After Foley, Vitter and now this, maybe the GOP needs to get off the social agenda for a while. All it seems to do is turn people into hypocrites.
Captain’s Quarters
The Republicans already have a 21-12 disadvantage in next year’s Senate contests. His was one of the seats the GOP hoped to hold, and his party had been pushing to keep him from retiring. I suspect they’re looking for Plan B at the moment.
Hot Air
If you’re wondering which party he belongs to, let me put it this way: the media will be sure to specify it in its reporting on this story.
A Blog for All
The sooner the scumbags can be purged from Congress, the better for everyone. It doesn’t matter the party, but you know that the media will be sure to provide that detail prominently depending on which party is involved. And be assured that there are other sleazy characters on both sides of the aisle who are engaging in illicit behaviors or are taking advantage of their powerful positions to enrich themselves and their friends.
Right Side of the Rainbow
No, Matt, I’m sure foot tapping isn’t a crime in Minnesota. But people should be able to relieve themselves in a public facility without having someone else’s extremities all up in their toileting space. (By the way, WaPo reports that Craig pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct, not lewd conduct.)
Right Click for URL
August 27th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
Sen. Larry Craig’s Restroom Restlessness…
What was Sen. Larry Craig (R-my own private Idaho) thinking? Craig pleaded guilty to engaging in lewd behavior in a restroom. The part that bothers me is that he thought that his position as a United States Senator would somehow insulate him from cri…..
August 28th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
You write: “My first reaction - Ew. After that initial queasiness passed, which took about 15 minutes for me, the only real observation was that the Democrats were going to go nuts with this one but who cares? Let them distract themselves with something salacious. They’ll make fools of themselves in the frenzy. They always do.”
The fact that you get queazy with something so small demonstrates much pettiness from your part. The problem is not what Senator Craig allegedly did. Assuming that he did it, the problem is with his hypocritical stance against gays. Simply put, the State should not intervene in the sexual conduct of adults. As a good republican that you are, you should support the idea that penalizing consenting adults for having sex is ludicrous. Gays should enjoy the same rights as heteros do, just the same way blacks and latinos should enjoy the same rights as whites do.
August 29th, 2007 at 8:28 am
“Alberto GarciaThe fact that you get queazy with something so small demonstrates much pettiness from your part.”
What is petty about finding the solicitation of sex with anonymous people in public restrooms disgusting? I could care less what the man does privately, or who he does it with, but I can’t condone this behavior in anyone - especially an elected official.