Listen to this articleAccording to the Idaho Statesmen, eight men say they either had sex with Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), or were the subject of his sexual advances. Four men allowed themselves to be identified while the other four did not.
Response from Craig and members came only in an email statement to the Associated Press on Sunday stating that the report was “completely false.”
"It is unfortunate that the Idaho Statesman has chosen to continue to lower itself to the standards of what can best be described as tabloid journalism," Craig said in the statement.
Statesman Editor Vicki Gowler said the newspaper spent several months checking the backgrounds and details of the men's stories. Nothing has turned up to disprove their claims. In fact, travel records indicate that Craig would have been in the areas the alleged sex is said to have taken place.
One of the identified men, Mike Jones, was the focus of the sex scandal in 2006 that involved Rev. Ted Haagard, former president of the National Association of Evangelicals.
Jones, who is described as a former escort, stated that Craig paid him $200 for sex during the winter of 2004 at his massage parlor. He also stated that he didn’t recognize the senator until after the arrest.
Jones came forward three months ago after Craig reneged on his decision to resign. He said he would be willing to go on the record if other men came forward as well.
Jones’ hesitation came after his ordeal last year when Haagard denied allegations of having gay sex after the publication of his book I Had to Say Something: The Art of Ted Haagard’s Fall.
"Everybody called me a liar,” he said. “It was a year of hell.”
The former head of Colorado’s New Life Church later admitted he was guilty of “sexually immoral conduct.”
A second man, Greg Ruth, also told ABC News that Craig made sexual advances toward him in the men's room of a Republican gathering in the state of Washington in 1981.
Both men spoke to ABC News after they felt Craig was perpetuating hypocrisy because of his record voting against same-sex marriage.
"I don't care if he's gay,'' Ruth said today of Craig. But, he said, referring to the senator's voting record on gay rights, "he's so anti-gay!''
The other two men who’ve been identified are unavailable for comment due to incorrect phone numbers.
Craig pled guilty to disorderly conduct after a sex-sting operation in June at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport, but is now appealing to the Minnesota Courts of Appeals to overturn that. He also changed his mind after announcing his resignation amidst pressure from his party.
In a statement released Dec. 3, Craig reiterated his plans to fulfill his term, which ends January 2009.
Referring to the Statesmen he said, "I will not let this paper's attempt to malign my name stop me from continuing my work to serve the people of Idaho."
