Former Gay Prostitute Says He Had an Encounter with Senator Larry Craig

Former Gay Prostitute Says He Had Encounter with Senator Larry Craig

Here we go again.... Republican Senator Larry Craig is in the news again. Mike Jones, a former prostitute who outed Colorado evangelist Reverend Ted Haggard for soliciting him for gay sex is the latest among a list of homosexuals who have claimed that they have had suggestive confrontations or outright sex with Senator Craig. Jones has told the Idaho Statesman that Craig paid him $200 for sex in late 2004 or early 2005. He said that the encounter lasted less than an hour. He said that he recognized Craig when the story broke of his guilty plea for a disorderly conduct charge stemming from an incident in which he supposedly solicited sex in a restroom at a Minneapolis airport in June. This is eerily reminiscent of the outing of Republican Senator David Vitter whose phone number appeared in the records of "DC Madame," Deborah Jeane Palfrey, who faces federal charges of racketeering for allegedly running a prostitution ring out of homes and hotel rooms in the Washington D.C. area. Vitter, who was a very harsh critic of Bill Clinton, tearfully apologized once he realized that his little secret was out in the open.

There are also three other men who have come forward, according to the newspaper's account. David Phillips, an information technology consultant, has said that Craig picked him up at a gay club in 1986 and they subsequently had sex. Greg Ruth said that in 1981 he was hit upon by Craig at a Republican meeting in Coeur d'Alene. Tom Russell, who now resides in Utah, said that his encounter with Craig occurred at Bogus Basin in the early 1980s. A fifth gay man has declined to be named for fear of retaliation. He has said that he was in a men's restroom at Denver International Airport in September 2006 when the man in the next stall moved his hand slowly, palm up, under the divider. The man said that he waited outside the restroom and then identified the man in the adjoining stall as Senator Craig. So, why are these men coming forward now? They said that they are telling their stories now because they are offended by Craig's denials, including his statement that has gone down in infamy: "I am not gay, I have never been gay."

Craig has said that he was a victim of "profiling" when he was arrested on June 11 at the Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport for soliciting sex from an undercover police officer in an adjoining stall in a men's restroom. Craig pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in August. He is now appealing his conviction and it has been reported that he is financing his appeal with funds from his 2008 re-election fund. He has decided not to seek reelection next year and he now faces a Senate Ethics Committee inquiry. As it stands, no one forced this man to plead guilty to something he felt that he did not do, but he pleaded guilty anyway. He later wanted to withdraw his guilty plead because he felt it was the wrong answer. So, I guess all those people who pleaded guilty of a crime, any crime, have the right to say the same thing as Craig.

I really do not care what his sexual orientation is. I care about the fact that many of these people are so hypocritical. He is among the people who called for Clinton's impeachment in the wake of the scandal with Monica Lewinsky. He said that Clinton was a naughty, naughty boy. The Idaho Statesman has made Craig's sexual orientation one of its chief investigative projects. The newspaper said that it discovered that the date of the alleged meeting between Jones and Craig coincided with several visits Craig made to Colorado between November 2004 and March 2005. One has to wonder why Jones is just speaking out about this encounter. I wonder if this is to aid the sales of his book about his experience with Ted Haggard. To his credit, he has admitted that the revelation could help book sales, but has also said that he was motivated by the desire to expose hypocrisy of men like Haggard and Craig, who has consistently had an anti-gay voting record in the Senate.

So, I guess, Craig should be mindful that the truth always comes to light and if he is hiding his homosexuality, then like Haggard, former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey and many others, the truth will be revealed at the most inopportune moment and will cause lasting damage to his reputation. I believe that many people do not care one way or another about his sexual orientation, but it is the fact that many are reminded of the countless instances in which people such as Haggard, McGreevey, Tom Foley, Gary Condit, Bill Clinton, and many others have been outed after they lied about the truth. It has cost many their reputations and their careers. I must also say to those men who have come forward after almost 30 years, where have you been? Did you have amnesia all this time?