In Shocking Response, Larry Craig Denies Sex Allegations
Dickcember definitely kicked off with a crackle. The story Wonkette broke in October about David Phillips and his tryst with Larry Craig has been independently confirmed, along with allegations of five other men who have come forward with details of their experiences with Craig. Naturally, Craig has denied the allegations, saying The Idaho Statesman has lowered its standards to tabloid journalism (ouch!), and that he's still totally not gay! Craig's statement and details of the allegations after the jump.
Sunday was full of goodies. We woke to The Idaho Statesmen story and ended our day with a denial from Craig's office. With football, sleep and newspapers in between, it was a perfect Sunday!
First we have license plate rights activist, and all-around-American hero David Phillips , who claims Craig picked him up at a gay club in 1986 and had the sex.
Prostitute-turned-author Mike Jones , same gent who told the world he had sex with the Rev. Ted Haggard last year, says Craig paid him for sex in late 2004 or early 2005.
Greg Ruth was a college Republican in 1981 when he says Craig propositioned him at a Republican meeting in Coeur d'Alene.
Tom Russell said he had an "encounter" with Craig at the ski resort Bogus Basin in the early 1980s.
A fifth gay man, who wished to remain anonymous, said he was in a men's restroom at Denver International Airport in September 2006 "when the man in the next stall moved his hand slowly, palm up, under the divider. Alarmed, the man said he waited outside the restroom and then identified the man in the adjoining stall as Craig, whom he had met in Idaho."
So, there you have it! While these are still just allegations, the Statesmen did background checks on all five men which "did not disprove" their stories.
"It is unfortunate that The Idaho Statesman has chosen to continue to lower itself to the standards of what can best be described as tabloid journalism," Craig said in a statement released Sunday. "Like its previous coverage, these latest allegations are completely false and have no basis in reality. In fact, the paper itself states that these baseless accusations contain no definitive evidence yet they still decided to print them anyway. However, despite the fact the Idaho Statesman has decided to pursue its own agenda and print these falsehoods without any facts to back them up, I won't let this paper's attempt to malign my name stop me from continuing my work to serve the people of Idaho."
So, what we have here, is a vast left-wing conspiracy to malign and discredit Craig? Oh God, how could we miss that? Excellent defense!
More gay men describe sexual encounters with U.S. Sen. Craig [The Idaho Statesman]