White House ‘disappointed’ after senator’s bathroom arrest

NEW ORLEANS: The White House said on Wednesday that it was “disappointed” after a Republican US Senator pleaded guilty upon being arrested by police investigating lewd incidents in an airport bathroom.

“We are disappointed in the matter,” spokesman Scott Stanzel said. “We hope that it will be resolved quickly, as that would be in the best interests of the Senate and the people of Idaho.” “It has been referred to the Senate Ethics Committee, so they will have to address it,” he said as US President George W Bush made his 15th visit to the US Gulf Coast two years after it was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.

One of the Western state’s two senators, staunch conservative Larry Craig, was arrested in the midwestern city of Minneapolis-St Paul in June by a plain clothes police officer. Craig, 62, pleaded guilty this month, paid more than 500 dollars in fines and fees, and had a 10-day jail sentence stayed.

Police documents quoted the officer as saying Craig was seated in a stall in the bathroom, and had made gestures consistent with someone “wishing to engage in lewd contact.” afp

Home | National