Friday, August 31, 2007
Spokane

GOP officials: Sen. Craig is considering resigning
David Espo and Matthew Daly
Associated Press
August 31, 2007

WASHINGTON — Idaho Sen. Larry Craig is considering resigning, Republican officials said today, after days of public and private pressure stemming from his arrest in June in a police undercover operation at an airport men’s room.

Craig pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct on Aug. 1, and while he has since said he did nothing wrong, the episode has roiled the Republican party and produced numerous calls for him to step down.

As a measure of the pressure Craig faces, party officials said a statement had been drafted at Republican Party headquarters calling for the third-term senator to resign. It was not issued, these officials said, in response to concerns that it might complicate quiet efforts under way to persuade the 62-year-old lawmaker to give up his seat.

Any resignation would clear the way for Gov. C.L. “Butchâ€