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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

(Newser) – 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.

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...
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...   (Associated Press)
Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, takes part in a Senate Environment and Public Works hearing in this Sept. 20,  2007 file photo. A Minnesota judge on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2007, rejected Craig's bid to withdraw his guilty plea in an airport sex sting, a major setback in Craig's effort to clear...
Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, takes part in a Senate Environment and Public Works hearing in this Sept. 20, 2007 file photo. A Minnesota judge on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2007, rejected Craig's bid to withdraw...   (Associated Press)
Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, is shown during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington in this May 25, 2006, file photo. A Minnesota judge on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2007, rejected Sen. Craig's bid to withdraw his guilty plea in an airport sex sting, a major setback in Craig's effort to...
Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, is shown during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington in this May 25, 2006, file photo. A Minnesota judge on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2007, rejected Sen. Craig's bid to withdraw...   (Associated Press)
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