Today, CREW filed a complaint with the Senate ethics committee against Senator Larry Craig (R-ID). We have asked for an investigation into whether the senator violated the Senate Rules of Conduct by engaging in disorderly conduct.  A copy of the complaint can be found here.

As is widely known by now, yesterday, August 27, 2007, Roll Call revealed that on August 8th, Sen. Craig pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct charges stemming from his June arrest in a Minnesota airport men's restroom. Undercover officers were monitoring the restroom following complaints of sexual activity there. According to the police report:

Craig entered the restroom and sat in the stall next to [the undercover officer]. Craig began tapping his right foot, touched his right foot to the left foot of the officer and brushed his hand beneath the partition between them. He was then arrested.

As part of his guilty plea, Craig paid a fine of $500 and was placed on one year's probation.

The Senate Ethics Manual provides that certain conduct may be improper even though it does not violate specific Senate rules or regulations. Such conduct has been characterized as "improper conduct which may reflect upon the Senate." This rule is intended to protect the integrity and reputation of the Senate as a whole. The Ethics Manual explains that "improper conduct" is given meaning by considering "generally accepted standards of conduct, the letter and spirit of laws and Rules..."

Even though Sen. Craig has already been adjudicated guilty in a criminal court, the Senate may still discipline him for improper conduct as it has other members in the past.

Melanie Sloan, CREW's executive director, said:

The Senate Select Committee on Ethics should immediately commence an investigation into Sen. Craig's conduct. If pleading guilty to charges stemming from an attempt to solicit an undercover officer in a public restroom is not conduct that reflects poorly upon the Senate, what is?

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), who chairs the Senate Ethics Committee, already declined to comment on this matter according to today's Washington Post:

Because Craig pleaded guilty to a crime, the incident may be reviewed by the Senate ethics committee. Its chairman, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), declined to comment last night.