Craig Won't Resign After All

A judge ruled the senator could not withdraw his admission
By Zach Samalin,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 4, 2007 4:48 PM CDT
Craig Won't Resign After All
In an artists's sketch, Idaho Sen. Larry Craig's attorney Billy Martin, standing right, pleads his case before Judge Charles Porter at a hearing Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2007 in Edina, Minn., where he is seeking to wipe away a plea by Craig resulting from a mens' room sex sting arrest on June 11 at the...   (Associated Press)

Despite a Minnesota judge's ruling that he can't withdraw his guilty plea in the bathroom sex sting last spring, Idaho Sen. Larry Craig announced this afternoon that he would not, after all, resign his Senate seat. Craig said he had concluded, in the three weeks he's been back on the job since the story broke, that it's still "possible for me to work here effectively." He vowed to stay through the end of his term next year, the Washington Post reports.

In a statement sure to infuriate GOP leaders who had pushed him to resign, Craig cited his seniority, and the fact that a replacement wouldn't be able to get comparable committee assignments, as reasons for finishing his term. "In addition," he said in a statement, "I will continue my effort to clear my name in the Senate Ethics Committee." He added that he will not seek re-election. (More guilty plea stories.)

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