U.S. Senate panel scolds senator for improper conduct

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate Ethics Committee on Wednesday publicly admonished Idaho Sen. Larry Craig for improper conduct after his arrest in a sex-sting operation in a men's toilet.

The Republican lawmaker pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after he was caught in June in an undercover investigation of lewd behavior in a men's room at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport.

In a letter publicly admonishing Craig, the panel said the conduct to which he pleaded guilty, considered with other actions taken after his arrest, "constitutes improper conduct reflecting discreditably on the Senate."

Republican leaders asked the ethics committee to investigate Craig's guilty plea, which he tried to recant saying he agreed to a misdemeanor charge without consulting a lawyer and in hopes of quickly disposing of the case.

Craig, a three-term senator, said he was disappointed by the committee's letter.

"While I am disappointed and strongly disagree with the conclusions reached by the Senate Ethics Committee, from the outset I have encouraged the committee to act in a timely fashion and they have done so. I will continue to serve the people of Idaho," he said in a statement posted on his Web site.

In September, Craig announced he intended to resign. A month later, he reversed course and said he would retire when his term ended in January 2009.

The ethics committee said it considered Craig's attempt to withdraw his plea to be an attempt to evade the legal consequences of an action he had freely undertaken.

The guilty plea was "accurate, voluntary and intelligent," the letter said.