Thursday, January 08, 2009

Larry Craig gives up

APNewsBreak: Larry Craig dropping further appeals

MINNEAPOLIS – A lawyer for former Idaho Sen. Larry Craig says they won't ask the Minnesota Supreme Court to void Craig's conviction in an airport bathroom sex sting.

Minneapolis attorney Tom Kelly says he concluded that the state Supreme Court would not accept a petition for further review of the case, so it would be a futile exercise. He says that means the legal wrangling in the case is over.

Thursday was the 30-day deadline for Craig to ask the high court to review a Minnesota Court of Appeals decision that went against him.

The Idaho Republican was arrested in 2007 by an undercover police officer who was conducting a sting operation against men cruising for gay sex at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The senator quietly pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and paid a fine, but changed his mind after word of his arrest became public. He insisted he was innocent and that he was not gay. He did not seek re-election.

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