And here I thought the shelf-life of the Larry Craig story had expired with the arrest of OJ and the Britney custody saga. I guess not.

The prosecutor who brought charges against Sen. Larry Craig in an airport sex sting says he told the Idaho senator that he should hire an attorney, according to court papers filed Monday.

Prosecutor Christopher Renz, in a motion opposing Craig's request to withdraw his guilty plea, wrote that he spent considerable time in a July 17 conversation telling the Idaho senator how the legal process would work if he chose to plead guilty.

"The defendant told Mr. Renz that he felt he was in a difficult situation as the result of the public office he held, in response to which Mr. Renz said that he appreciated that difficulty and for that reason the defendant should consult with an attorney," Renz wrote.

Craig, R-Idaho, did not, and eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct. He has since said that he was panicked into admitting to a crime he did not commit. A Hennepin County judge is set to consider Craig's request on Wednesday.

Let's call "bullshit" on that claim of panic. That might work if we were talking about bing dragged right into night court for a quickie plea to seeking a quickie in the loo -- but not when there was an eight-week gap between the offense and the court date. Larry Craig had plenty of time to consult a friendly attorney confidentially. He had plenty of time to do his onw legal research. He did none of that -- he simply tried to cover up his acts.

In my book, the best claim he has is that the evidence was legally insufficient to sustain a conviction -- but since he pled guilty to the offense, I think that boat has sailed and Larry Craig missed his opportunity to raise it.

Just go away, Senator -- and quit disgracing your state and your party.

Posted by: Greg at 09:33 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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