Mark Johnson talks to Sen. Larry Craig Sunday as Craig's wife Suzanne looks on.

Idaho Senator Larry Craig spoke out to NewsChannel 7 for the first time Sunday. On a broadcast that aired Tuesday evening, he along with his wife Suzanne, sat for a nearly 90-minute interview with Mark Johnson. Sen. Craig touched on a wide spectrum of topics - going through his bathroom arrest minute-by-minute, talking about the Idaho Statesman investigation - and more.

You'll read his thoughts on the upcoming election for his seat, what the couple think of the late night comedians, and Suzanne's reaction when she found out about the arrest.

Mark Johnson: Senator Craig, Mrs. Craig.

Suzanne Craig: Suzanne, please.

MJ: Suzanne. First of all, I want to thank you guys for allowing us in to your home tonight.

SC: You are welcome into our home, we're glad to have you.

MJ: It's a wonderful home. Senator, it was your decision to take this opportunity tonight to speak to your fellow Idahoans about this situation that you found yourself in. When you thought about this opportunity, and wanting to address your constituents - what was the first thing you wanted to tell them?

Sen. Larry Craig: Suzanne and I have been involved in a media storm for the last month.  And, a set of thoughts and statements have come out that I think the facts have been dramatically distorted. I didn't say anything for a while because we had taken legal action to try to withdraw the plea and allow me to go to court to defend myself. That hasn't happened, and we're launching now an appeal to that. Now it's time for me to speak out. I do believe Idahoans want to hear what has gone on in Minneapolis, and I want to tell them, because I by my action have put them through a lot in the last month and a half. And I apologize to them for any of the negative that's come about, or the frustration that's come about from a decision I made that was not the right decision, and all that has transpired since then. I've had a tremendously wonderful time here in this state representing this great state. Idahoans have been very generous to me, and they deserve to hear what I believe happened, and I think it's important that I tell them that as clearly and directly as I can. I want to stay in office, and I've said I will stay in office to finish my term. Resigning and walking away would have been the easy way out. 

I think most Idahoans know I've never taken the easy way out.  I stand my ground, I fight when I think I ought to for the sake of Idaho, and in this case it is for Idaho. There's a lot of work still to be done in the United States Senate for Idaho, there's 1800 individual pieces of case work laying on my desk. Now that's 1800 individual Idahoans who have come to me asking for help.  I don't want that to drop by the wayside. Mark, you know as well as anybody we've gone through an unprecedented fire season, and I'm one of the senior members on the forestry committee, and I'm helping fund firefighting and looking at those kinds of things. We've got a farm bill to write. There are so many other things to do.  There are almost 200-million dollars in appropriations that I have tagged for Idaho that will come to our municipalities and our counties for safe drinking water, all of those kinds of things. I just can't let that fall by the wayside. 

My dad was a very special man in my life.  He was a tough taskmaster. And he said, 'son when you start a job, you stay in there and finish it, no matter how tough it gets.'  It's been tough the last month for Suzanne and me, very tough.  At the same time I do have a job to do. Idahoans elected me for a six year term.  And while there are many out there that say "no, resign and go away," that's the easy way out, and I don't want that to happen. I want to finish my work, and finish my term and in the end I hope I can turn to Idaho in January of 09 and say "thank you very much for the opportunity you gave me and my family to serve you in congress, to represent this beautiful state, and to get all the work done that we got done." 

So thank you for allowing us, and allowing me to make that kind of statement to Idaho.

MJ: Senator, in all likelihood, every person watching right now, and you alluded to it just moments ago, wants to hear your account of the episode in that Minneapolis/St. Paul airport men's room on June 11th.  To your best recollection, and I want you to tell the story in every detail that you can recall - and I'm going to try not to interrupt you - begin if you would on the time you touched down, and what's the reason you were there in the first place.

LC: I'm a commuter.  As you know Mark, Suzanne and I decided to build a home back in Idaho. (We have) seven grandbabies here, our family's here, and that I would become the commuter for the balance of my time in Washington, so that we wouldn't miss those grandbabies growing up. So nearly every week I was flying through and stopping at the Minneapolis airport, and walking from one side to the other side of it to catch an airplane to Washington. I've learned to do that with my lifestyle for Idaho. When I stop, I often times go to a bathroom.  It's early in the morning when I leave here, so about the time I get to Minneapolis, I've had several cups of coffee, so it's a natural thing I do before I go on to Washington.

I go to bathrooms to go to bathrooms.  I walked in that morning into a sting, that I had no idea I was walking into.  I suspect every American, or anyone who wanted to listen or try at all has heard the tape of the interrogation.  They know a great deal of the detail that has been told by others. Yes, I walked by the stalls.  I looked to see if they were empty, most of them were full, or apparently all of them were full as I recall. I stood back, I waited, I kept looking - finally, one opened up.  I walked in, I put my suit case down - I sat down on a bathroom stool.  I did not realize that to look into a stall, set a suitcase in front of you was a gay action, or at least according to this law enforcement officer.  He was watching out through a door profiling me. "Oh my goodness he did this, oh my goodness he did that."  At least that's my reaction to what I finally experienced.  Something caught my eye. I glanced down. Whether it was foot movement close to my stall, I was spreading my legs, and uh I saw paper - it looked like it was stuck to the heel of my shoe.

MJ: Toilet paper? 

LC: Toilet paper.  I don't know if you've ever seen anyone walk out of a toilet with toilet paper stuck to their shoe....

MJ: I've done it.

LC: (Laughs) I hope I haven't but I probably have. Well, I reached down, I pulled it off. My hand went below the divider.  Within seconds there was a card under the divider that said "police," and the motion of the finger to the door. And I said "no!" - then the motion again.  I stood up, stepped out and was physically jerked out of the bathroom in to a lobby area. And I said "what's going on here, what are you doing?" "You're under arrest." I said "I've got a plane to catch, what are you doing?" At about that time, and I was attempting to pull away - about that time another officer came up, grabbed me by the other arm and said "if you don't behave, we're going to arrest you and throw you in jail." I've never been arrested in my life.

I was blown away.  So, I went down, I was interrogated. I was fingerprinted, I was mug-shotted. The tape that most Americans have listened to was the tape that was the interview between me and the arresting officer. He was trying to put words in my mouth, I refused to allow that to happen. I knew what had gone on there. Oh he said, "just plead guilty and file it in the court, pay a fine, it will go away, and I won't call the media." Those are pretty intimidating things.  Mark, you know certainly as well or better than anyone else - when a United States Senator gets arrested it's no small item - for any reason, let alone the reason that ultimately this arrest was about.  Pretty intimidating time for me.  The interrogation took place, and I walked out, ran and caught my airplane to Washington.

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