|
 Sen Craig Seeks
Interns
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: February 26, 2008 - 5:00 pm ET
(Washington) Idaho Senator Larry Craig (R)
is offering college seniors a rare summer job opportunity: a chance to work in
his Capitol Hill office while he fights his guilty plea in a bathroom sting
operation in Minneapolis.
The Idaho Republican has sent a news release to
newspapers throughout his home state offering the May to August positions. But
with the deadline only three weeks away it remains unclear if the positions will
be filled.
"For those interested in politics, it is an
incredible opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at how our government
functions while serving the people of Idaho," the press release from Craig
says.
Interns usually perform some of the grunt work
for members of Congress such as answering phones, sorting mail and greeting
constituents.
Craig, a three-term Republican, pleaded guilty to
disorderly conduct in August after he was accused of soliciting sex in a
bathroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in June.
After the matter became public, Craig tried to
withdraw his plea. A judge in Minnesota refused, saying Craig's plea "was
accurate, voluntary and intelligent, and ... supported by the evidence."
Craig has appealed that ruling to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
Senate Republicans demanded the ethics
investigation after news broke of Craig's conviction last summer. Craig first
promised to resign Sept. 30, then reversed his decision. He now says he will
stay in office until his term expires in January. Craig says he is not running
for re-election.
Craig has said an undercover police officer
misinterpreted his foot and hand movements as signals that he wanted sex, giving
rise to the nickname "Toe-tapping Larry".
The Senate Ethics Committee said earlier this
month that Craig acted improperly in connection with a men's room sex sting last
year and had brought discredit on the Senate.
In a letter to the Republican senator, the ethics
panel said Craig's attempt to withdraw his guilty plea after his arrest at a
Minneapolis airport was an effort to evade legal consequences of his own
actions.
Craig's lawyers argue the plea should be dropped,
claiming the state's disorderly conduct law would apply only if witnesses other
than the police officer who arrested Craig had been present.
In the response, prosecutors argued in court last
week that the plea should not be withdrawn and that a district court judge did
not abuse his discretion, as Craig's lawyers contend, when he refused to let
Craig change his guilty plea after he had entered it and paid his fine.
Craig insists he is not gay and was not seeking
sex. The intern job posting does not indicate if the students would be required
to travel with the Senator.
©365Gay.com 2008
|
Entertainment
