Craig fights to have guilty plea withdrawn

Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) is once again fighting to withdraw his guilty plea in an airport sex sting, filing an appeals brief on Tuesday arguing that his actions were not criminal.

“There is an insufficient factual basis to support the finding that he is guilty of violating any laws,” said Craig's lawyer, Billy Martin.

The filing is an appeal to an October ruling in Minnesota, rejecting Craig’s first attempt to have the guilty plea withdrawn.

Craig was arrested by an undercover police officer at the Minneapolis airport on June 11 as part of a broader investigation into men soliciting sex in airport restrooms. According to the officer who made the arrest, Craig tapped his feet (in the now infamous “wide stance”) and swiped his hand along a stall divider in a suggestive manner.

In the brief, Craig’s legal team argues that the senator’s actions were not criminal because Minnesota’s disorderly conduct law requires that conduct alarm or anger “others,” while Craig’s actions only affected a single individual — the officer who made the arrest.

The brief also argues that Craig’s hand gestures are a form of constitutionally protected speech.

Airport authorities, however, remain skeptical.

"Facts are resilient," airport spokesman Patrick Hogan told The Associated Press. "And Sen. Craig's continued, transparent efforts to escape them don't change the truth of his behavior in an airport restroom or the fact that he admitted guilt last August."

In a statement, Martin said the court of appeals “abused its discretion” by not allowing Craig to withdraw his plea and maintained Craig's innocence.

It has been a good legal week for Martin, who got another high profile client — football star Michael Vick — transferred to a drug treatment center, which could reduce his sentence in the notorious dogfighting case.

In the Craig matter, the state of Minnesota now has 45 days to file a response.