Sen. Larry E. Craig, the Idaho Republican pressured by his party to agree to resign after he was arrested in a sex sting in an airport bathroom, returned to the Senate on Tuesday to apologize to his colleagues and keep open the possibility of holding onto his seat.
Craigstood before dozens of Republicans attending a weekly closed-door meeting and said he was sorry for “embarrassing the Senate,” according to several attendees.
Craig also told senators he had assembled a crack legal team to try to reverse a misdemeanor guilty plea he made as a result of the sting.
Craig has said that if he can reverse the plea and clear himself of the charge, he will remain in the Senate until his term ends in 2008, rather than quit on Sept. 30, as he announced earlier this month. He said he does not plan to seek re-election.
“I intend to resign by the 30th, that is what we are working on now,” Craig said as he entered the Senate chamber.
Craig, 62, had been absent from the Senate since his arrest was made public.
A male undercover officer accused Craig of trying to solicit sex in a bathroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. Craig denies the charges and has vigorously declared he is not gay.
He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct but now says he did so in a panic and regrets his admission.
Senate Republicans have said they want Craig to stick to his original plan and give up his seat in two weeks. Only one, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, has publicly encouraged Craig to fight the charges.
Craig and Specter had a brief friendly conversation outside the Senate chamber Tuesday, but for the most part senators steered clear of Craig.
Craig has hired a team led by Washington ethics lawyer Stan Brand and defense lawyer Billy Martin to help him reverse the guilty plea. A hearing on Craig’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea is scheduled for Sept. 26.
