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From the “you can’t make this sh*t up” department…just when you thought the wide-stance anti-gay man-on-man pick-up artist had STFU… (CBS):
Former Republican U.S. Sen. Larry Craig aims to fend off a federal election lawsuit against him by arguing his infamous June 11, 2007, Minneapolis airport bathroom visit that ended in his sex-sting arrest was part of his official Senate business.
Craig is hoping to avoid repaying $217,000 in campaign funds the Federal Election Commission claims he misused to defend himself.
…Craig counters that money tied to his airport bathroom trip was for neither personal use nor his campaign, but fell under his official, reimbursable duties as senator because he was traveling between Idaho and the nation’s capital for work. He cites a U.S. Senate rule in which reimbursable per diem expenses include all charges for meals, lodging, hotel fans, cleaning, pressing of clothing — and bathrooms.
Flashback: Craig’s memorable press conference assuring everyone that he’s not gay.
Bonus link: the transcript of the infamous police interview of Craig after he was busted in the Minneapolis Airport. A snippet:
DK: Okay. And when you went in the stalls, then what?
LC: Sat down.
DK: Okay. Did you do anything with your feet?
LC: Positioned them, I don’t know. I don’t know at the time. I’m a fairly wide guy.
DK: I understand.
LC: I had to spread my legs.
DK: Okay.
LC: When I lower my pants so they won’t slide.
DK: Okay.
LC: Did I slide them too close to yours? Did I, I looked down once, your foot was close to mine.
DK Yes.
LC Did we bump? Ah, you said so, I don’t recall that, but apparently we were close.
DK Yeah, well your foot did touch mine, on my side of the stall.
LC: All right.
DK: Okay. And then with the hand. Urn, how many times did you put your hand under the stall?
LC: I don’t recall. I remember reaching down once. There was a piece of toilet paper back behind me and picking it up.
DK: Okay. Was your was your palm down or up when you were doing that?
LC: I don’t recall.
DK: Okay. I recall your palm being up. Okay.
LC: All right.
DK: When you pick up a piece of paper off the ground, your palm would be down, when you pick something up.
LC: Yeah, probably would be. I recall picking the paper up.
DK: And I know it’s hard to describe here on tape but actually what I saw was your fingers come underneath the stalls, you’re actually ta touching the bottom of the stall divider.
LC: I don’t recall that.
13 Comments
He likely will win this one. Stopping in MSP on his way to DC from Idaho (or vice versa) would likely be the only way he could make the trip on commercial airlines as there aren’t any direct flights to DC from Boise now and I don’t think there would have been in 2007.
That being said, the last thing he wants right now is for his lobbying clients to be reminded about why he’s no longer a sitting United States Senator, and if this suit drags on he may wish he’d decided to pay up despite the ugly precedent it would set.
There is so much stupididty here I can’t even list it.
I don’t think anyone will argue that the purpose of his trip doesn’t qualify as Senate business. $217,000 as a reimbursable “bathroom” expense is the indefensible part.
He can’t use the ‘political shinanigans’ because he was arrested in a totally different state than his own. No one there would know who he is, or care.
The fact that he’s still stomping around the halls of DC just pisses me off. He really should suffer the same fate as everyone else nabbed in those ‘stings’.
Well, we all know republicans defecate while on the job and leave a big pile for Democrats to clean up.
Larry Craig just proves it
He’s claiming that expenses associated with his bathroom visit were official business? And that the bathroom was on his commute to work? That really says all you need to know about Larry Craig’s sad, closeted life.
Who hires this guy to lobby? He can’t be welcome in GOP halls of power, can he? Does everyone just act like “that thing” never happened? DC is fucking weird.
He should have said it fell under military business, the little general wanted to go on maneuvers.
I hope he got his rocks off.
Taking an oral deposition?
This was not a flushing fee for using the toilet. This was a pervert weirding off in the mens room. What would happen to a regular guy trying to solicit sex from women at the door of the women’s restroom? People gay or straight have the right to use the toilet in an airport in peace. This was a fine for illegal activity. This is not an expense that is an unavoidable cost of traveling to work. That this kind of absurd legal claim doesn’t cause a contempt of court charge and a punishment for the lawyer shows you just how corrupt the system has become with every scheme cooked up to help the rich and connected tolerated and innocent people punished for the crime of being poor due to massive job destruction by the same bunch of psychopathic plutocrats and their pet Congress whores.
I don’t think we should obsess about this. Pointing up the hypocrisy–yes. But digging into people’s behavior–uh-uh.
The Wide One spent 210Gs defending a misdemeanor???
…to which he quickly plead guilty???
He really got the shaft!
Some gay guy sucked him off. Who’s more disgusting ?