Craig: 'I'm not gay'

BOISE, Idaho, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, denying he signaled a desire for sexual contact in an airport men's room, said Tuesday he's not gay.

The 62-year-old Idaho Republican was arrested June 11 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport by an undercover officer who said he recognized Craig's foot tapping next to his foot in the adjacent stall as a sign he wanted to engage in "lewd conduct." Craig pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct this month and the case became public Monday when reported by Roll Call, a Washington newspaper.

Craig, a married conservative with a high ranking from the Family Research Council, maintains the incident was all a misunderstanding and that he made a mistake by pleading guilty in hopes it would all go away. He asked his constituents to forgive him but lashed out at the Idaho Statesman for doggedly trying to determine whether he is gay, Fox News reported Tuesday.

"For eight months leading up to June 11 my family and I had been relentlessly and viciously harassed by the Idaho Statesman," Craig said at a news conference in Boise, Idaho. "Let me be clear: I am not gay. I never have been gay."