Here's a news item from the Associated Press: IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Larry Craig is scheduled to speak Thursday at commencement ceremonies for graduates at a University of Idaho satellite campus in Idaho Falls in southeastern Idaho. The Post Register reports (http://bit.ly/17pp3iP) that 73 degrees will be awarded from the University Place campus Thursday, and that nine will be doctoral degrees. Craig is scheduled to speak about his political career that ended in 2009 when he left office following a sex scandal. The Idaho Republican and UI graduate was arrested by an undercover police officer conducting a sting operation against men cruising for sex at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Craig pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and paid a fine. After his arrest later became public, he tried unsuccessfully to reverse his conviction.

A federal judge today refused to dismiss a Federal Election Commission lawsuit against former Idaho Sen. Larry Craig for using $217,000 in campaign funds for his legal defense after his arrest in a 2007 airport bathroom sex sting, the Associated Press reports. Craig had argued the use of the funds was appropriate because the incident occurred in the course of his official duties, but U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson found that the charge against Craig didn't relate “to his conduct as a legislator, but only actions undertaken in the privacy and anonymity of a restroom stall.” The judge set a scheduling conference in the case for April 26; click below for a full report from AP reporter Frederic J. Frommer in Washington, D.C.

The question of whether then-Idaho Sen. Larry Craig was on official business when he was arrested in a Minneapolis airport men's room in 2007 will be taken up by a federal judge this week, McClatchy Newspapers reporter Michael Doyle reports, in a case with far-reaching implications about how campaign dollars can be spent. Craig spent more than $216,000 in campaign funds to pay attorneys, after being charged with disorderly conduct; his attorneys insist he was on official business and so could tap his campaign treasury. Click below for Doyle's full report, via McClathy and the AP.

Former U.S. Sen. Larry Craig is among those addressing lawmakers on the House Environment and Senate Resources committees  in the Capitol Auditorium  this afternoon, as part of a presentation on nuclear energy in Idaho, past and future. Craig offered “a bit of a historic perspective,” saying, “Gov. Andrus saw the problem and took action. Gov. Batt was elected, he was faced with a responsibility to deal with the issue that he was handed when he was elected governor. I was then the U.S. senator, I got a call from our governor saying, ‘Larry, what do we do?’ I assembled the DOE people and the governor and the attorney general came, and the discussion began that ultimately crafted the agreement, unique to all the states in the nation.”

Craig noted that the agreement, which is best known as the Batt Agreement or the nuclear waste settlement agreement, was endorsed by Idaho voters. “Those who embrace the agreement today, and that’s all of us, amongst them were once its enemies and its critics,” he said.

Still, he said, ”There may be some need for change in the future, depending on mission and dynamics and understanding.” Craig compared the waste agreement to the U.S. Constitution. “It’s been changed 27 times over 200 years to fit the changing needs of a changing nation,” he said. “We may want to do that with this agreement in the future to meet the mission of the laboratory.”

Gov. Butch Otter and state Commerce Director Jeff Sayer also are among those addressing lawmakers at this afternoon’s session; you can watch live here. Otter applauded the work of his Leadership in Nuclear Energy (LINE) Commission, in its newly issued review of the Idaho National Laboratory in eastern Idaho and nuclear-related activities in the state. “I concur wholeheartedly with the commission’s assessment that the Idaho National Laboratory is a significant state asset,” Otter said. “The state of Idaho should take immediate and long-term steps to enhance the future of the nation’s lead nuclear research and development laboratory that is responsible for over 24,000 jobs and has an annual economic impact on Idaho of more than $3.5 billion.” Click below for more from Otter in his full news release.

Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) ― Former Republican U.S. Sen. Larry Craig aims to scuttle federal campaign charges against him by arguing his infamous July 11, 2007 Minneapolis airport bathroom visit that ended in his sex-sting arrest was part of his official Senate business. He's hoping to avoid repaying $217,000 in campaign funds the Federal Election Commission claims that Craig misused to defend himself. Craig was sued in June by regulators, on grounds the campaign money was converted to personal use because Craig's defense in Minnesota had no connection to his campaign for federal office. Instead, Craig's lawyer argues in U.S. District Court this week that his Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport bathroom visit fell under his official duties. He cites a U.S. Senate rule in which reimbursable per diem expenses include meals, lodging ― and baths. Click below for a full report from AP reporter John Miller.

Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) ― Former U.S. Sen. Larry Craig was sued by federal election regulators contending he misused some $217,000 in campaign funds for his legal defense against charges stemming from a 2007 Minnesota airport bathroom sex sting. Federal Election Commission officials said in Monday's complaint in U.S. District Court that the Idaho Republican should repay the money. The FEC contends Craig's campaign paid $139,952 to Sutherland, Asbill and Brennan in Washington, D.C., and $77,032 to Kelly & Jacobson in Minnesota for legal services related to his guilty plea. The FEC said the money was converted to personal use because his defense wasn't related to his campaign. The commission is also seeking penalties of up to $6,500 from Craig and his treasurer. A call to Craig's lobbying firm, New West Strategies in Washington, D.C., wasn't returned. You can read the complaint against Craig here; click below for a full report from AP reporter John Miller.

There was a time when then-Idaho Sen. Larry Craig was dubbed the “cybersenator” because he was the first U.S. senator to send out podcasts. Now, it seems, our digital edge in the U.S. Senate has slipped. George Washington University and New York University’s Stern School of Business have completed a joint study that evaluated and ranked every senator for what it dubbed their “digital I.Q.,” or “online competence” based on presence on websites, social media following and sentiment, digital marketing aptitude and search engine optimization skills. Idaho’s results? Sen. Mike Crapo ranked 64th among the 100 senators, and Sen. Jim Risch ranked 93rd.

The top seven senators were dubbed “digital geniuses,” and were led by none other than Sen. John McCain, who famously said “I don’t email” during the 2008 presidential campaign. According to the study, he got his first Blackberry in January 2009 and “took to the Twittersphere,” and he now has 1.7 million Twitter followers and 630,000 Facebook “likes.” The other senators who got the “digital genius” designation were Sens. Jim DeMint, Scott Brown, Al Franken, John Cornyn, Harry Reid and Barbara Boxer. Republicans led Democrats in the study, with an average digital I.Q. 5.5 percent higher than their colleagues across the aisle. “Our thesis is that digital competence provides an opportunity for senators to authentically engage and mobilize voters and constituents,” wrote the two authors of the study, Scott Galloway, clinical associate professor of marketing at NYU Stern, and Doug Guthrie, dean of the George Washington School of Business.

So what’s the designation for our guys? Crapo’s score of 89 (McCain’s was 156) designates his digital I.Q. as “challenged.” And Risch? At a score of 68, he’s dubbed “feeble.”

Former Idaho Sen. Larry Craig’s new consulting firm, New West Strategies, has been hired by Cassia and Minidoka counties to help Cassia County land a $300 million federal prison. The Twin Falls Times-News reports that both counties’ commissioners agreed Monday to pay Craig’s firm a monthly fee of $5,000 plus a $500 monthly travel budget. The city of Burley also plans to chip in for the contract. Craig, who retired from the Senate amid scandal after he was cited in a Minneapolis airport men’s room sex sting, formed the consulting firm this year with partner Michael Ware, his former chief of staff.

Craig initially said his firm likely would focus on energy issues, but its website says, “We provide strategic advice, guidance, and advocacy to companies, trade associations, and other clients on a wide range of legislative and regulatory issues.” Though Craig, as a former senator, is banned from lobbying for two years after leaving office, his associates can lobby. His firm’s website, which repeatedly refers to Craig as “Senator Larry E. Craig,” touts his service in the Senate and House, his committee assignments, and his “reputation as a stalwart against environmental extremism.”

Idaho Sen. Larry Craig now says he’s dropping his attempt to appeal his conviction in an airport bathroom sex sting in Minnesota, according to the Associated Press. Here’s the AP news item:

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A lawyer for former Idaho Sen. Larry Craig says they won’t ask the Minnesota Supreme Court to void Craig’s conviction in an airport bathroom sex sting. Minneapolis attorney Tom Kelly says he concluded that the state Supreme Court would not accept a petition for further review of the case, so it would be a futile exercise. He says that means the legal wrangling in the case is over. Thursday was the 30-day deadline for Craig to ask the high court to review a Minnesota Court of Appeals decision that went against him.
The Idaho Republican was arrested in 2007 by an undercover police officer who was conducting a sting operation against men cruising for gay sex at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The senator quietly pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and paid a fine, but changed his mind after word of his arrest became public. He insisted he was innocent and that he was not gay. He did not seek re-election.