Judge: Craig will find it difficult to have plea overturned

BOISE - Idaho Senator Larry Craig has a critical court appearance set for tomorrow in Minnesota - as he tries to get his guilty plea to disorderly conduct reversed.

Craig says he will not make an appearance at the hearing in that Minnesota courtroom tomorrow.

Craig told CNN that “I have been advised not to, and it will not be attending” the hearing.

A Minnesota prosecutor is urging a judge to deny Craig's request to withdraw his guilty plea in an airport sex sting.

Craig has a hearing on his motion Wednesday. He was arrested at the Minneapolis airport in June by an undercover police officer, and pleaded guilty in August to disorderly conduct.

Craig says he panicked and pleaded guilty to a crime he didn't commit.

But prosecutor Christopher Renz argued in a motion filed today that Craig was calm in several telephone conversations leading up to his plea.

He says the circumstances of the case don't meet the state's standard to allow a plea withdrawal.

Renz describes Craig's handling of the matter as -- in his words -- "politicking and game playing."