To those wondering how the press missed this, I have no good answers yet. The court record is at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis. The charge was a misdemeanor. Newspapers in Idaho and Washington would have no way of knowing such a record existed unless someone in Hennepin County were to call or someone in Craig's office were to flag the case. I haven't worked in Minneapolis for more than 20 years, but I would guess the Star-Tribune does not routinely examine misdemeanor records and even if they did, the name "Larry Craig" would not jump out at anyone. The record in and of itself probably doesn't reference his status as a senator although the full police report apparntly does. We probably won't know all of the reasons this escaped notice until we find out more about how it actually was uncovered. One thing is for certain, however. Craig didn't return to his office after pleading guilty and put out a press release advising his staff and constituents that he made a mistake. He gambled that nothing would ever come out. How many of his friends, and even family, were caught off guard? Not to mention Idaho citizens. What was this man thinking? -- Editor Steve Smith/Spokesman-Review.
D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.
Courthouse in Minneapolis. The charge was a misdemeanor. Newspapers in Idaho and Washington would have no way of knowing such a record existed unless someone in Hennepin County were to call or someone in Craig's office were to flag the case. I haven't worked in Minneapolis for more than 20 years, but I would guess the Star-Tribune does not routinely examine misdemeanor records and even if they did, the name "Larry Craig" would not jump out at anyone. The record in and of itself probably doesn't reference his status as a senator although the full police report apparntly does. We probably won't know all of the reasons this escaped notice until we find out more about how it actually was uncovered. One thing is for certain, however. Craig didn't return to his office after pleading guilty and put out a press release advising his staff and constituents that he made a mistake. He gambled that nothing would ever come out. How many of his friends, and even family, were caught off guard? Not to mention Idaho citizens. What was this man thinking? -- Editor Steve Smith/Spokesman-Review.
