Larry Craig Appeals

In a stunning legal ploy, which was worthy of an episode of Perry Mason, Senator Craig has filed notice of appeal to the Minnesota Court of Appeals (sarcasm emphasized).

In my opinion, this was the correct direction to have went instead of trying to get the court of jurisdiction to vacate its original verdict. It is simply unheard of for a court to issue an order vacating its own verdict and imposed sentence.

That is surely the position of a superior court.

Although, it will be an uphill battle, considering Senator Craig freely gave a signed confession to police, entered a plea of guilty before the court, and accepted sentencing from the same.

If I were his advisor, I'd give him the suggestion that he should simply let the original verdict and sentence stand while he works to finish his term in the Senate. By filing appeals, etc., he simply keeps the issue in the news.

Larry Craig gets inducted

No, Senator Craig wasn't inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Baseball Hall of Fame, or even the Public Restroom Anonymous Sex Hall of Fame, but rather the Idaho Hall of Fame.

Despite calls from citizens across Idaho to derail his induction, the committee seems happy that it proceed. The committee argued that the decision to induct the now infamous senator into their hall of fame was cemented back in March, which was long before the senator pleaded guilty to attempted slap and tickle in a Minnesota airport restroom.

I say go ahead and induct him! He's a great Republican.

Senator Craig gets rejected

A Hennepin County District Court judge has rejected the motion, on behalf of Senator Larry Craig (R-ID), to withdraw the senator's guilty plea.

As a result, the original guilty plea and sentencing, stemming from his attempted hanky-panky in a Minnesota airport gents' room, will stand. The judge stated that Senator Craig "knew what he was saying, reading and signing."

Now it remains to be seen whether or not Craig will resign his seat in the United States Senate. Since he missed his first self-imposed deadline to resign, he might decide to stick out his original term of office.

If you visit the the poor guy's official website, you see that it is littered with information about his infamous misdeed. I think if I were in his position, I'd find some more things to put up on my website, such as my accomplishments. (Let's focus on the good times, not my time in the toilet [pardon the pun].)

Larry Craig: Now What?

United States Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) is quickly approaching his deadline for resigning from the Senate, which is set to occur on September 30.

With only four full days left for him to make good on his promise, will he actually do it? He has said that he might reconsider his resignation, based on how his attempts at getting his previous guilty plea and conviction overturned in Minnesota.

Recently, Senator Craig made a motion that a Minnesota judge allow him to withdraw his original guilty plea. Although, he has said that he still intends to resign if the court does not allow him to withdraw the plea.

Based on some new information, local prosecutors stated that, "Craig's lawyers failed to meet the standard for withdrawing his plea."

So who knows what Senator Craig will now do. I am sure, though, that he behaves himself in public restrooms!

To those reading...

It would seem that user126, at the law firm of Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan, LLP, has been spending some time checking out my blog.

Hmmmm....I'm not sure really why, however. I did make a comment about Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) and how this firm is now representing his case; specifically, Billy Martin.

Just for those who are looking to stir up some First Amendment trouble, let me break it down for you.

My family is managing partners in one of the top five law firms in Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee (my grandfather was one of the founding partners). My father, including my fascist aunts, will bury you in so much frivolously substantive litigation, from now until the end of time, that you'll puke your guts out, and they won't even bat an eye all the while. You'll beg for mercy, but there won't be any to be found.

For starters, I won't settle for anything less that four partners and ten associates working on my case--around the clock--until I see justice served. And, remember, justice can be a fickle whore, who works very, very slowly.

Can your firm really afford to combat me?

Larry Craig hires attorneys to...ummm....I'm not sure

Larry Craig (R-ID) has hired two high profile attorneys recently to represent him in regards to his lewd conduct in a men's room in Minnesota.

I'm not sure why Craig needs an attorney now. He already pleaded guilty to the charge, and received a sentence. It is hard to believe that he is going to mount an appeal, or something else as equally bogus out of this whole charade.

The funny thing is, one of the lawyers he hired is the same one who represented Michael Vick, Billy Martin (Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan). I guess Mr. Martin is looking for a strange professional resume. He has represented a professional athlete who likes to torture animals. Now he is adding a seeming pervert, who likes to have anonymous sex in the men's room, and subsequently already pleaded guilty to the charge and been sentenced. Yeah, I'd love to have him on my legal team, too. It would make for some interesting stories, nonetheless.

The other attorney, Stan Brand, who previously represented Major League Baseball's congressional investigation for steroid use, will be representing Senator Craig in regards to issues surrounding the investigation of the Senate Ethics Committee.

It sounds like a challenge for all involved.

It's Official

Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) has announced that he plans on resigning from the United States Senate on September 30, 2007.

So what he is really trying to say is, "I'll resign if I want to do it." In other words, he'll give it a month and see how the poll numbers look in Idaho for his re-election campaign coming up in 2008.

In the mean time, he is going to "fight [his guilty plea] like hell."

I say, good luck to you, Senator. In the final assessment, it just gives another Democrat a seat in the Senate.

Larry Craig's Loophole

When Senator Craig was arrested at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, on June 11, 2007, he should have invoked a little known power of the legislative branch, as afforded by the Constitution, instead of simply throwing down his Senate business card and asking, "What do you think of that?"

If I had been him, and truly innocent of the charges, I would have excused myself from the interrogation room and set myself free from the judicial branch's authority.

Article I, Section 6, of the United States Constitution, states: "[Members of Congress] shall in all cases, except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same."

In doing so, the checks-and-balances of our government may be maintained, without undue interference from the other branches of government.

So you see, unless Senator Craig was attempting to join the Minnesota chapter of the Taliban, in hopes of engaging in an insurrection against his nation, robbing an airport shop, or leading a riot on the tarmac, he was pretty much free to come and go as he pleased, without the hassle of the police interfering with him.

Simply engaging in lewd behavior may not meet the burden of being a felony. Besides, it would be up to state law to determine if the crime was felonious, or only a misdemeanor, as I believe it was (under Minnesota law).

But he wasn't in Washington, DC, at the time. Does he still get the protection of this portion of the Constitution? Of course he does. He was en route from Washington to his home in Idaho. As a result, he met the burden of the portion stating, "...in going to and returning from the same."

Certainly, George W. Bush, as president, uses the Constitution to his advantage (even the parts he creates) to protect himself, and his cronies, from congressional oversight, for such things as illegal wiretapping and secret international prisons; therefore, I believe it is plausible that a senator could use such directly expressed constitutional protection to ward off a policeman who said he/she was attempting to solicit sex in a public restroom.

Larry Craig to resign

Sources have reported that Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) will officially announce his resignation from the United States Senate tomorrow.

Also, according to the source, the resignation will take effect on September 30.

A Larry Craig Resignation on Saturday?

Embattled Republican Senator Larry Craig (ID) is going to make an announcement about his future plans tomorrow.

I have a sneaking suspicion that it might entail resignation with a bit of contrition.

(I just hope the announcement isn't made from the bathroom!)

Senator Craig a Victim?

After listening to the audiotape of the police interview of Republican Senator Larry Craig (ID), I am pretty convinced that he was looking for some man-on-man sex in that airport bathroom stall.

Craig conceded that he was "not going to fight" the arresting cop on the charge. Apparently, he was more concerned about the facts of the case getting out to the media, which might trash his reputation. The cop then told him that he was not interested in media publicity, but simply getting at the truth of the matter.

Additionally, Senator Craig stated that he visited the particular airport frequently, in what I can only assume is a connecting airport for flights between Washington and his home state of Idaho. Perhaps, as a frequent visitor to this particular airport, he was familiar with the availability of the types of sexual activity he could receive.

In the audiotape, Craig stated that he utilized a wide stance, in order to keep his pants from simply falling down his legs and landing against the floor, which was the immediate cause of his foot brushing up against the undercover policeman's foot in the next stall. Okay, that is pretty understandable and plausible.

Next, the senator alleged that he was reaching down for a piece of toilet paper, which was on the floor, and not running his hand along the bottom of the stall as the cop states. My suspicion with this statement is simply why would anyone want to pick up a piece of toilet paper from the floor of a public bathroom?

That's pretty icky.

Furthermore, the cop got pretty upset at what he called the senator's inability to be honest with him about the facts of the case.

He accused Craig of passing his left hand--palm up, not down as if picking up an item from the floor--along the bottom of the stalls' diving wall, even though his right hand was immediately closest to the wall in question. The police officer stated that he could see the position of the hand's thumb and the gold ring that was on a finger of the senator's left hand.

So what does it all mean? It means that Senator Larry Craig was overly zealous in accepting a plea in this case, if he was truly innocent. He simply wanted to pay his fine, hope the cop really didn't want publicity, and go on about his merry way, as if nothing had happened.

I think that more interesting facts in this case will surface as it goes further.

Craig being pushed from the Senate by fellow GOP

After the story that broke Republican Senator Larry Craig's silence was discovered and reported, he has been forced to defend his decision to plead guilty to a charge of attempted lewd behavior in a Minnesota airport restroom, which is costing him dearly today.

Today, Senator Craig has been forced to stand-down from his Senate committee positions. Several fellow Republican senators, including John McCain (AZ) and Norm Coleman (MN), have called for Craig's resignation resulting from acknowledging participation in a crime, which they say makes him unworthy to serve as a senator.

I think they are right! (How often does that happen?)

Senator Larry Craig (R-ID)

After being arrested and pleading guilty to committing a lewd act, while at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, on June 11, 2007, Republican Senator Larry Craig (ID) is denying that he is gay, or committed any of the acts he openly admitted to engaging.

Apparently, Senator Craig was looking for some hanky-panky, with another man.

The Republican Party seems to be full of old men, who never quite made it out of the closet. Like Senator Craig, former Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL), spent time online soliciting former congressional male pages.

Unlike Foley, Senator Craig pleaded guilty to attempting to solicit an undercover police officer, while inside the airport's bathroom.

Now the question remains, will Senator Craig resign or be retired by the voters of Idaho? He is up for re-election in 2008. Perhaps, the voters of Idaho will be forgiving of their "closeted" elected official.