Tape: Officer Accused Sen. Craig Of Lying
The officer who arrested Sen. Larry Craig in a police undercover operation at an airport men's room accused the senator of lying to him during an interrogation afterward, according to an audiotape of the arrest.
On the tape, released Thursday by the Minneapolis airport police, the Idaho Republican senator, in turn, accuses the officer of soliciting him for sex.
"I'm not gay. I don't do these kinds of things," Craig told Sgt. Dave Karsnia minutes after the two men met in a men's room at the airport on June 11.
"You shouldn't be out to entrap people," Craig told the officer. "I don't want you to take me to jail."
Karsnia replied that Craig wouldn't be going to jail as long as he cooperated.
The senator also admits he put his hand under the stall but says was not trying to signal the officer, reports CBS News correspondent Wyatt Andrews.
Soon after this the officer accuses the senator of lying.
"You're not being truthful with me," said Karsnia. "I'm kind of disappointed in you, senator."
The picture painted by this tape is of a powerful but now cornered senator claiming he was misunderstood, adds Andrews. But just like that officer, most voters in Idaho and a growing number of Republicans aren't buying.
More of Craig's Republican colleagues moved away from him Thursday.
"I think the pressure will continue to build," said Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, who chairs the party's senatorial campaign committee.
Ensign told The Associated Press in his home state that Craig "admitted guilt, he pled guilty. It's a little different situation than just being accused of something."
Ensign stopped short of calling on Craig to resign his seat, but strongly suggested he do so.
"I wouldn't put myself hopefully in that kind of position, but if I was in a position like that, that's what I would do," he said. "He's going to have to answer that for himself."
Several other Republicans have called on Craig to step down, and Ensign's comments, coming from a member of the leadership, sent an unmistakable public signal that support for the Idaho Republican has eroded significantly.
On Wednesday, a spokesman for Craig denied widespread speculation in Washington that Craig - who's up for re-election next year - was preparing to quit. Sidney Smith said he had heard no such discussion.
Republican Senate leaders have pushed Craig from senior committee positions. A White House spokesman expressed disappointment in the 62-year-old lawmaker, who pleaded guilty earlier this month to a charge stemming from an undercover police operation last June in a Minneapolis airport bathroom.
With next year's elections looming, CBS News senior political correspondent Jeff Greenfield reports Republicans are already dealing with a host of problems - an unpopular president, a Democratic opposition that is raising more money, and charges of sexual and financial misconduct confronting Republican officeholders from Louisiana Sen. David Vitter to Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens.
The last thing Republicans need is a scandal that strikes at the heart of their claim to represent traditional family values, Greenfield said.
"You've got people that are representing a certain set of values. And when they fail to live up to those, I think that is disheartening to voters more than anything," Tony Perkins of the conservative Family Research Council told CBS News' The Early Show.
Some Republicans took a harsh stand against the lawmaker. "Senator Craig pled guilty to a crime involving conduct unbecoming a senator," said Sen. Norm Coleman. "He should resign."
Police Report On Bathroom Arrest of Sen. Larry Craig
Coleman, who faces a tough race for re-election next year, also turned over to charity a $2,500 campaign donation he received two months ago from Craig's political action committee.
Craig "represents the Republican Party," said Rep. Pete Hoekstra, who called the behavior unacceptable and was the first in a steadily lengthening list of Republican members of Congress calling on Craig to quit.
Sen. John McCain, a presidential contender, also urged Craig to step down, as did a handful of Republican House members.
Another presidential contender, Mitt Romney, said Thursday that Craig's conduct was "disappointing and disgraceful," but stopped short of calling for him to resign. Craig was Senate liaison for Romney's campaign, a post he abandoned on Monday when the scandal came to light.
One GOP senator who did not call for Craig to resign, Missouri's Kit Bond, said he was praying for Craig and his family but still called Craig's conduct intolerable.
"It is unacceptable for a member of Congress to be soliciting sex in public restrooms," Bond said.
Craig's spokesman Smith said the Republican lawmakers "have a right to express themselves," but added, "We're not going to get into an argument on that right now."
Craig is cooperating with Senate leaders by stepping aside as the senior Republican on the Veteran Affairs committee and from his position on two subcommittees, Smith said.
Craig said Tuesday he had committed no wrongdoing and should not have pleaded guilty. He said he had only recently retained a lawyer to advise him in the case, which threatens to write an ignominious end to a lifetime in public office.
Republican Senate leaders said they did not act lightly in asking Craig to give up his leadership posts temporarily. But they said their decision was "in the best interest of the Senate until this situation is resolved by the ethics committee."
Republicans in Craig's home state of Idaho appear uncertain of their reaction.
Craig has built deep trust and loyalty across the state during his long legislative career and has come to know many of his supporters by name.
His work on the Appropriations Committee has delivered millions of dollars for public works projects, nonprofit organizations, farmers, ranchers and businesses - and the risk of losing all that worried some Republicans.
For the most part, Democrats studiously avoided involvement with an unfolding Republican scandal.
"We at least ought to hear his side of the story," said Sen. Christopher Dodd, a presidential contender.
"I think it's a very sad story," said Sen. Hillary Clinton, asked about Craig as she appeared on "Late Show with David Letterman" Thursday. "I'm just wishing the best for him and his family. I think obviously the Republicans, and the voters of Idaho, will make a decision about his future."