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Larry Craig said to be reconsidering Senate resignation

US Senator Larry Craig is reconsidering his decision to resign after his arrest in a Minnesota airport sex sting and may still fight for his Senate seat, his spokesman said.

"It's not such a foregone conclusion anymore, that the only thing he could do was resign," Sidney Smith said on Tuesday evening.

Craig, an Idaho Republican, announced on Saturday that he intends to resign from the Senate over a scandal following his arrest for soliciting sex from an undercover police officer in an airport bathroom. But since then, he has hired a prominent lawyer to investigate the possibility of reversing his guilty plea, his spokesman said.

"We're still preparing as if Senator Craig will resign Sept. 30, but the outcome of the legal case in Minnesota and the ethics investigation will have an impact on whether we're able to stay in the fight -- and stay in the Senate," Smith said.

Craig contended throughout last week he had done nothing wrong -- and that he is not gay -- and said his only mistake was pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge.

Craig was not present on Tuesday as Congress reconvened after a summer break, and it was not clear whether he will return at all.

Another spokesman, Dan Whiting in Washington, said on Tuesday that Craig was expected to spend the week in Idaho. Whiting did not rule out Craig's returning to Washington before the end of the month.

A telephone call Craig received last week from Senator Arlen Specter urging him to consider fighting for his seat is affecting Craig's decision to reconsider his resignation, Smith said.

Specter, senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Tuesday suggested Craig's Republican colleagues who pressured him last week to resign should re-examine the facts surrounding his arrest on June 11.

"The more people take a look at the situation, there may well be second thoughts," said Specter, a former prosecutor. If Craig had not pleaded guilty last month to a reduced charge and instead demanded a trial, "I believe he would have been exonerated," Specter said.

Craig has been under pressure from many fellow Republicans, and even the White House termed the situation disappointing. Republican leader Mitch McConnell called Craig's actions "unforgivable." Senate colleagues John McCain and Norm Coleman said Craig should resign.

McConnell's spokesman had no immediate comment on the reconsideration.

Craig's third six-year term in the Senate expires in January 2009.

Craig gave up his senior positions on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and the Appropriations veterans subcommittee last week, at the request of Senate Republican leaders.
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