Prosecutor to Sen. Craig: No Take-Backs

Lovechildren, gay affairs, and hookers, oh my!

(NEWSER) - From Eliot Spitzer’s $80,000 worth of prostitute action to Mark Sanford “hiking the Appalachian trail,” this decade has been ripe with political sex scandals. The Frisky picks the juiciest. Some of the slightly-lesser-discussed affairs:

• Mike Duvall: A self-described “family values warrior” in the California State Assembly spilled about his mistress—while miked—meaning that a whole bunch of politicians got to hear about his propensity for “spanking her.”

Ill. senator hopes to box in white Dems for 2010 campaign

(NEWSER) - Roland Burris doesn’t have much support in Washington or money in his war chest for a reelection bid, but he retains one reliable weapon, Politico reports: the race card. As controversy over his appointment has reemerged, Burris hasn’t hesitated to chalk it up to racial politics. A Burris consultant says “race has something to do with” the Illinois senator’s chilly reception in DC. More»

Guilty plea stands. Widely.

(NEWSER) - Larry Craig’s guilty plea will stand—probably with a wide stance—a Minnesota appeals court ruled today, rejecting the Idaho Republican's attempt to withdraw it. Craig, who is retiring from the Senate, had argued that his case was not fully investigated, while his lawyer maintained that there was “no factual basis” for the plea. The court disagreed. More»

Senator skips court hearing, which centers on mail-in document

(NEWSER) - Larry Craig's lawyers asked a state appeals court today to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea to disorderly conduct charges. The prosecutor argued that the senator, who did not appear today, waived his right to a trial by using a mail-in form to enter a plea after being busted in a Minneapolis airport bathroom last summer. But the members of the three-judge panel seemed skeptical, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. More»

'It is my right to do what I'm doing,' embattled senator says

(NEWSER) - Larry Craig will today appeal a Minnesota judge's ruling that he can't withdraw his guilty plea for disorderly conduct, the AP reports. And he won't resign: “It is my right to do what I’m doing,” Craig told KTVB-TV yesterday. "I'm not running for re-election. I'm no longer in the way. I am pursuing my constitutional rights." Craig and his wife also discussed the arrest in an interview with Matt Lauer to be broadcast tomorrow. More»