Is it Sen. Craig or airport policeman Sgt. Karsnia who is lying?

http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/mostert/070901 ^ | 9/02/07 | Louisiana 1776

[Louisiana 1776]

Mary Mostert Mary Mostert September 1, 2007

There are only two people on the planet earth who really know what actually happened in the Minneapolis Airport men's restroom in June — Senator Larry Craig and Sgt. David Karsnia. One of them is lying, but so far only Sen. Craig has been tagged as the liar. However, now that we have the transcript of the police interview, it appears not only to me but to others that it isn't the Senator who is the problem here. Sgt. Karsnia seemed absolutely determined to try to take down the Senator.

Another point that makes me think it is not Sen. Craig who is lying is that he is 62 years old and well known. Homosexuals that prowl public toilets looking for sex with strangers, as Sen. Craig is accused of doing, simply do not live to be 62 and don't prowl where they could be easily recognized. The average life expectancy of a homosexual male in the USA is 41. However, homosexuals who prowl public bathrooms usually have hundreds of sex partners and die long before they reach the age of sixty. The famous Aids Memorial Quilt, the history of the San Francisco homosexual community and several medical studies indicate the life expectancy of people who do what Sen. Craig is accused of doing, i.e. soliciting homosexual sex from strangers, is 35.7 to 39 years.

A number of my readers have observed that they have serious doubts about it being Sen. Craig being the liar after learning a little bit about Sgt. David Karsnia by reading my last article, Airport Toilets, Suitcases, Homosexual Signals and the Law, and the transcripts of Karsnia's statement and interview with the senator.

One suggestion, from a 22 year police veteran, was to require David Karsnia to take a polygraph. He tells me that if Karsnia refused to take a polygraph, he would be dismissed from his job. Karsnia's fourth sentence in the interview transcript was:

"I can bring you to jail."

Senator Craig's response was "Don't do that. You solicited me."

Karsnia not only did not refute Craig's statement, he responded, "Okay. We're going to get, We're going to get into that."

He didn't ever come back to Senator Craig's charge that Karsnia, who was not in uniform, had solicited him. The police interview quickly deteriorated into an argument as to whether or not Senator Craig had used his left hand or his right hand when, he said, he picked up a piece of paper, and when, Karsnia said he put his hand under the stall wall. That discussion was as follows:

LC: I remember reaching down once. There was a piece of toilet paper back behind me and picking it up.

DK: Okay. Was your was your palm down or up when you were doing that?

This was followed by a discussion in which Karsnia claimed "it's hard to describe here on tape but actually what I saw was your fingers come underneath the stalls, you're actually touching the bottom of the stall divider." Sen. Craig responded that he didn't recall that and didn't believe he did that. That was followed by the following exchange:

DK: I saw, I saw

LC: I don't do those things.

DK: I saw your left hand and I could see the gold wedding ring when it when it went across. I could see that. On your left hand, I could see that.

LC: Wait a moment, my left hand was over here.

DK: I saw there's a...

LC: My right hand was next to you.

DK: I could tell it with my ah, I could tell it was your left hand because your thumb was positioned in a faceward motion. Your thumb was on this side, not on this side.

LC: Well, we can dispute that. I'm not going to fight you in court and I, I reached down with my right hand to pick up the paper.

DK: But I'm telling you that I could see that so I know that's your left hand. Also I could see a gold ring on this finger, so that's obvious it was the left hand.

LC: Yeah, okay. My left hand was in the direct opposite of the stall from you.

Karsnia then asked the Senator "You, you travel through here frequently correct?" Craig said he did, Then Karsnia asked:

DK: Have you been successful in these bathrooms here before?

LC: I go to that bathroom regularly

DK I mean for any type of other activities.

LC: No. Absolutely not. I don't seek activity in bathrooms.

DK: It's embarrassing.

LC: Well it's embarrassing for both.. I'm not gonna fight you.

DK: I know you're not going to fight me. But that's not the point. I would respect you and I still respect you. I don't disrespect you but I'm disrespected right now and I'm not trying to act like I have all kinds of power or anything, but you're sitting here lying to a police officer What Karsnia did at that point was to accuse Sen. Craig of lying because he refused to "confess" to doing something he claims he did not do. Karsnia then tried to browbeat him into making the "confession" he was demanding:

DK: I am trained in this and I know what I am doing. And I say you put your hand under there and you're going to sit there and...

LC: I admit I put my hand down.

DK: You put your hand and rubbed it on the bottom of the stall with your left hand.

LC: No. Wait a moment.

DK: And I, I'm not dumb, you can say I don't recall...

LC: If I had turned sideways, that was the only way I could get my left hand over there.

DK: it's not that hard for me to reach. (inaudible) it's not that hard. I see it happen every day out here now.

LC: (inaudible) you do. All right.

DK: I just, I just, I guess, I guess I'm gonna say I'm just disappointed in you sir. I'm just really am. I expect this from the guy that we get out of the hood. I mean, people vote for you.

LC: Yes, they do. (inaudible)

DK: unbelievable, unbelievable.

LC: I'm a respectable person and I don't do these kinds of...

DK: And (inaudible) respect right now though

LC: But I didn't use my left hand.

DK I thought that you...

LC: I reached down with my right hand like this to pick up a piece of paper.

DK: Was your gold ring on your right hand at anytime today.

LC: Of course not, try to get it off, look at it.

DK: Okay. Then it was your left hand, I saw it with my own eyes.

LC: All right, you saw something that didn't happen.

DK: Embarrassing, embarrassing. No wonder why we're going down the tubes.

This smacks of a political arrest by Karsnia. Karsnia repeatedly reveals utter contempt for Senator Craig — ending with what is really a disparaging crack about the people who voted for him in Idaho. If this was an isolated incident, we might think Karsnia was just having a bad day. However, the abuse of violinist Stephen Orsak by Karsnia and two other Minneapolis Airport Policemen and the "not guilty" decision of a judge and jury when Orsnak took them to court makes me think there is something that needs investigating in good old liberal Minneapolis.

[Bernard]

Very interesting question. We in Minnesota are apparently paying police officers to wait in bathrooms for hand signals?

Well, they can't all be sitting at a computer terminal pretending to be a 14-year-old girl.

Why aren't you at the Fair? Have some cheese curds for me. I lived in Roseville for a few years and worked on the very north end of Pierce Butler Road. Every year at this time I had to use an alternate route to get around the fair grounds.

[Churchillspirit]

Lindsay Graham???

What grounds do you have for that speculation?

[Mike Darancette]

If there is a case to be made on Craig’s behalf, it’s for him to do so, and so far he hasn’t.

That's why you get a lawyer up front. That taped conversation we all heard would not have happened.

[Tully Pettigrew 1]

"Our side repulses me more and more.

Me too."

Add me to that list.

[KarlInOhio]

could there be some possibility, considering the Idaho newspapers research on Craig, that he was specifically entrapped for political reasons? It wouldn’t be too difficult to determine his travel, especially considering he often changes planes in Mn-StP, more than likely same gates, same restroom. Anyone who thinks the Dims are not as devious as the old KGB will wake up one day and find what we knew as America and freedom gone.

I heard on a talk show (it might have been Mike McConnell) that the restroom is 1) way out of the way for the gates Craig was using (maybe even in another terminal) and 2) a known homosexual meeting place.

Most stings like this aren't trying to get jail time for gays, their trying to make a reputation that the airport isn't a friendly place for that type of stuff. If you don't know whether the guy you're tapping your toe at is a cop or not, you're less likely to make a public nuisance of yourself.

[pierstroll]

The cop is lying. He made Craig wait outside his the stall door. He told Craig to peep into his stall. He clearly seduced this naive, innocent, family man. He made Craig put his hand under the stall. He coerced him to plead guilty. He's part of the nationwide conspiracy to defame anti-gay legislators. Craig is innocent and to prove it he retired to prevent the republican party from disgrace. All because of a lying cop.

Somebody stop this incessant blind denial every time a conservative gets caught being naughty.

[databoss]

Toast is toast you want light brown or burnt to a crisp? The good Senator chose well done - he could have lawyered up right from the get go and fought like hell for his innocence. Instead he tried to finesse a seasoned interrogator and why? Because dear readers he was trying to avoid the press catching wind of the arrest…again why?...because he is guilty!

The only question inquiring minds want to know at this point is does he pitch or catch?

[org.whodat]

I don’t know has anyone ask the cop what john he works on his time off???

[restornu]

Well if you look at his face he does not have that look of someone who is gay or any mannerisms.

The mouth is a give a way and his mouth don't look like other who has those expressions from a muscle change.

Also it looks like they been gunning for him for years with anonymous folks who THINK they had sex with him!

And when he talks his voices rings sincere.

Public service is a ruff business now days!

Now there could be reasons for this he might be diabetic or because of the situation and low blood sugar be in shock!

Whatever it is the whole situation is tragic for the officer did not do his job correctly to secure his bust, he left the senator with a cloud hanging over his head.

And the officer lied, he said he voted for the Senator how could he have, he lives in Minnesota not Idaho.

On the interview did we hear anything about the senator giving the officer his business card?

Click photo to read link

Audio of Larry Craig's interview after airport potty arrest

Either the officer after 13 mins wanted out of that duty and rather do paper work than set in the public bathroom.

Or someone for years has been trying to bring down this Senator, or someone took advatage of the background who hates Mitt!

May be someone in MassReistance!

[johnny7]

It’s over.

It's so over... the 'fat lady' is tapping her foot.

[nina0113]

Nothing matters except that Craig pled guilty. Nothing. Even if he was innocent and only pled guilty to ‘make it go away’ (which I don’t believe), that weakness of character alone would unfit him for office.

[papasmurf]

Another reason why I’m ashamed to be a Republican. We eat our own, without even so much as a chance to escape. He was a United States Senator, without a legal blemish on his record. So what that we do not support his positions, does his service to our Country not count for anything?

Is there not a man among our party, who will stand up to this crap?

I’ll say this again. This has nothing to do with whether or not he’s a homosexual. It has everything to do with double standards and fear of the left.

BTW, how did this so-called detective of baggage carts just 6 months before know that Craig has been through there regularly?

[VictoryGal]

> Well if you look at his face he does not have that look of someone who is gay or any mannerisms.

Yeah, and neither did Rock Hudson. Gay people pass for straight all the time.

Give it a rest. Craig is done.

[dusttoyou]

You and Benard have good points.

I think it is high time for the GOP to shake out all this crap along with the RINOS. I too think the Dims will try and make as much hay off this as they can. Hopefully it will have died down sufficiently prior to 08 lections.

[jiggyboy]

The cops need a pepped-up version of ROBODUMP to remotely do their undercover work.

That'd be a fun little project, adding joystick controls to make it tap its foot, get video in and out, etc.

[Sir_Ed]

Jus google him, the evidence is overwhelming.

Ed

[Ronin]

That’s an aspect of this story that bothers me somehow. The cop here is a Sargent with 20 some years on the books?

And they have him staking out mens rooms trolling for perverts?

Now, granted, I am not an expert on police ranks and obviously situations will vary from police force to police force, but it still strikes me as very strange that an officer with that many years on the force and that much rank would be given that crappy of an assignment.

Either Minneapolis has a lot more sargents then they need or this guy is a total loser and they (his department) stuck him there to get him out of their hair.

[tennmountainman]

” I’ve been involved in legal matters for employers and clients, and it is very true that once lawyers get involved, the thing takes on a life of its own.”

If u have been involved as you say, you propably know that professional boards of ethic’s require one to report any guilty pleas or convictions. i.e Realtors, doctors, lawyers etc. It does not mean these ethic’s boards will punish the individual, but it must be reported. That is why the first thing the GOP did was to refer it to the Senate Ethic’s Committee. Most boards do not require one to report an arrest, only a guilty plea or conviction. Does not matter how samm or large the plea or conviction. leagally, that is the root of Craigs problem.

[shield]

Well, Craig has time...he HAS NOT resigned...he said he intends to resign Sept. 30th...but has not resigned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI2kusIkZbk&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Emacsmind%2Ecom%2Fwordpress%2F Listen to Specter.

[Zuben Elgenubi]

Thank you Abigail. Most helpful.