Larry Craig, the US Senior Senator from Idaho who pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct earlier this month is expected to announce his resignation from the Senate during a press conference scheduled to take place Saturday, the media said.

The Republican has been arrested on June 11 in a men’s bathroom at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for lewd behaviour and then pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct three weeks ago.

He has been under intense pressure from numerous politicians including Republicans to resign after news of his arrest appeared on Monday. Craig will reportedly leave his office on September 30, the official confirmation being expected to be made today in Boise, Idaho.

The 62-year-old politician agreed to plead guilty on August 8 and was sentenced to ten days in prison along with receiving a fine of 500 dollars, the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call revealed on August 27. But the jail sentence was suspended and Craig received a year’s probation.

After being heavily criticized, Craig apologized for the arrest and guilty plea, but reiterated that he did nothing wrong and wasn’t engaged in “inappropriate conduct.”

“I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport ... and I regret the decision to plead guilty,” Craig said in a statement made public Tuesday.

“I am not gay, I never have been gay… In June, I overreacted and made a poor decision. I chose to plead guilty to a lesser charge in hopes of making it go away.”

Craig had to “temporarily step down” from several posts held at the Veterans Affairs Committee, Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, and Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests. He made that decision under pressure exerted by Republican leaders, who allegedly drafted a statement calling for him to resign.

But the alleged statement wasn’t made public because other Republicans thought it would taint the party’s image even more and hamper Craig’s departure.

According to media reports, Idaho Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter will appoint Lieutenant Governor Jim Risch to replace Craig until the end of his term in January 2009.

The Senator’s story held the front pages of US newspapers since the scandal broke out and was one of the most searched news on websites. Televisions replayed over and over again the audio tape of Craig’s interrogation, giving people across the country a chance to listen to his evasive answers and poor excuses for his behaviour.

The excessive coverage of this scandal opened old wounds for Republicans, who accused the media of putting members of the Grand Old Party into the spotlight and tarnishing their image.

A perfect example was the statement made by prominent Republican and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on Thursday. He didn’t hold back his discontent when renown talk show host Matt Lauer brought back into the public’s attention a series of scandals involving Republicans.

“I hate to say this Matt, but you just showed the problem, the double standard, and you just participated in it. You listed a whole lot of scandals that involve the Republicans, but you didn't mention one Democrat?.”

“The Democrats re-elect the people with their problems. Republicans kick them out,” DeLay said.

Delay left his seat in Congress last year after being accused of conspiring to violate campaign finance laws in order to secure the election of more fellow Republicans in Texas in the early 2000s.
 
A close-up of the media coverage would reveal that Democrats have also been drawn into the unwanted spotlight in several occasions. The Monica Lewinsky scandal that rocked the chair of former president Bill Clinton (Democratic Party member) is an explicit example that journalists and reporters would dig up any detail about personalities, regardless of their political appurtenance.