U.S. Senator Larry Craig, R-Idaho, had denied new
allegations that were brought to him during the weekend, according to which he
had homosexual encounters with eight men, four of them dating back to the
1980s.
The Idaho Statesman, the state’s largest newspaper reported Sunday
the accounts of four men, who wanted to keep their names private, describing
sexual advances or encounters involving the conservative Republican. Craig is known
to be a serious opponent to same-sex marriage and has a stronger record against
gay rights.
The senator immediately emailed a statement to the
Associated Press on Sunday in which he denied the accusations naming them “completely
false” and accused the paper of careless journalism.
"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,” the statement issued by Craig’s office
said.
On the other hand, Statesman Editor Vicki Gowler said that the
newspaper had spent several months investigating the background and details of
the men’s stories.
"We believe it's important for you to know what we've learned and to
hear the men's own words," Gowler said.
One of the men, Mike Jones, 50, described as a former male
escort, claims that the senator paid him $200 for sex in late 2004 or early
2005. The encounter took place in downtown Denver, Jones said.
"Mike Jones is a former prostitute who told the world
he had sex with the Rev. Ted Haggard last year. The former Colorado Springs evangelist at first denied
it but eventually confessed. Jones says Craig paid him for sex in late 2004 or
early 2005," the Statesman reported.
An unidentified fifth man claimed Craig approached him in September
2006 in the Denver
International Airport.
Craig pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct
charge in August, two months after his arrest in a sex sting at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International
Airport.
"I am not gay. I have never been gay," he said at a news
conference August 28, according to CNN.
Despite new sex scandal accusations, exposed in the
newspapers, Craig decided to stay on until the end of his term in January 2009.
"Despite the act that 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 a new term
in 2008," said the statement.
Craig or any member of his staff declined to comment to the Statesman
about the allegations
