Transcript of Larry Craig Interview: "Matt, I use bathrooms for bathroom's sake." --->>>

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21303825/

Larry Craig: Matt, I use bathrooms for bathroom's sake.

***

Larry Craig: Matt, I'd love to tell you the story. And let me tell you why. In this media storm that we've been in, you've heard one side of the story. The facts have just got covered up. And-- I think it's very important that I speak to them … So, I go to the bathroom to use the bathroom for bathroom's sake. I walk by the stalls. I glance at them to see whether they're full. I stand out in front of a couple of them waiting. And I look. And I see some movement. Ah, one of them is opening up. I go in.

***

Larry Craig: Something attracted my attention, and I looked down. And as I looked down, I saw a piece of toilet paper on the floor. And it happened to be under my heel … and I don't know if you've seen it before, but I've seen it, somebody walk out of a booth with a piece of toilet paper stuck to their foot. I'd reached down to take it off my shoe, or out from under my shoe. And my hand did go below the divider at that moment in time.

***

Larry Craig: I had been in that bathroom I don't know how many times over the years. But I'd certainly been in it.

Matt Lauer: Were you aware at all, senator, of the reputation of that specific bathroom?

Larry Craig: Well, I certainly am now.

Matt Lauer: According to the airport police and according to some gay blogs, and here go those blogs again that I know you love so much, this particular bathroom in Northstar Crossing is described as a hot spot for anonymous sexual encounters between gay men. And you had no idea of that?

Larry Craig: No, I did not know that. I had no reason to know that.

***

Matt Lauer: Because according to this undercover officer you followed, whether on purpose or coincidentally, a very well established sequence--

Larry Craig: Yeah.

Matt Lauer: --of motions, well established by members of the gay community to solicit sex in public places.

Larry Craig: So I've found in the last month

***

Matt Lauer: Which raises two questions in my mind. One of them, and you're going to have to forgive me for this, are you technically not a homosexual? Is it possible you're bisexual?

Larry Craig: It's no to both.

Matt Lauer: The other question is do you think it would be something that would be awful? In other words, do you view it as something that would be awful to have to admit that you were gay?

Larry Craig: I don't agree with the lifestyle. And I've said so by my votes over the years and by my expressions. Have I viewed it as awful? I viewed it as a lifestyle I don't agree with.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21303825/page/2/

Matt Lauer: It was the Congressional page scandal in 1982 and to sum it up, a couple of pages in Congress stepped forward and said that they had either had sex with or had been propositioned for sex by several members of Congress. The reports hit the media and you issued a statement.

(Statement from June 30, 1982)
Larry Craig: I've got nothing to hide, nothing to be fearful of... But the very fact that allegations have been made and that they're being reported in the news have put a blight over me.

Matt Lauer: At the time it raised eyebrows because you were the only member of Congress, out of 535 people, who issued any kind of a statement. Why did you?

Larry Craig: A reporter walked into my office and immediately accused me. I reacted. I was a freshman. My credibility had been challenged. And I only knew to go on the defense at that moment.

Matt Lauer: But at the time, did you hear the whispers that why did Congressman Larry Craig decide to make these comments unless maybe he had something to hide? You heard that, right?

Larry Craig: Well, Matt, I not only heard it but then every political season afterwards, my opponents would start whispering it again. I've lived with that all of my political life.

***

A gay activist named Mike Rogers, who makes it his business to "out" conservative politicians, wrote in his blog that he'd interviewed several men who'd had sex with Senator Larry Craig.

Larry Craig: I call it gladiator politics. Put the politician in the arena and beat him until he's dead and let the crowd cheer. And that's really tragic because we've watched this and certainly with the gay community, a fair number of them have become very militant.

Matt Lauer: When you heard this-- that this report had come out on this blog and that some major media outlets were picking it up, what were you thinking?

Larry Craig: Well, I responded to it by saying-- this is a blog. He has no facts. It is simply not true. Many papers ran that. And that was the end of it. The local daily here did not.

Matt Lauer: And you're talking about the Idaho statesman.



***

Prompted by those allegations on the Web site, reporters from the paper spent months delving into the rumors about Larry Craig's sex life. On May 14, they interviewed the senator and his wife.

Matt Lauer: They had a laundry list of accusations. There was a guy back when you were president of your college fraternity who said you came onto him; that there was a rumor you were discharged from the National Guard because you were gay. And that there was a guy who says you cruised him, whatever that means-- a store in Boise.

Larry Craig: I was president of a fraternity. I had to make tough choices sometimes about leadership roles. There was a young man who was bounced from our fraternity for getting involved in drugs. I believe that was the gentleman. He was not very happy with Larry Craig and the leadership role that I had to play.

Matt Lauer: So-- vendetta? That was a little bit of--

Larry Craig: It-- it's very possible that that was a vendetta.

Matt Lauer: How about the National Guard?

Larry Craig: The National Guard-- I have a medical discharged based on my feet.

Suzanne Craig: And the man in the store, this is a small town. When you go into a store and somebody looks up and recognizes you, we smile at them. If you didn't, then you'd hear, "Senator

Craig, he, you know, he ignored me," or something like that.

Larry Craig: My wife and I went to that store that day to buy shoes because we were going to take a rafting trip. We were there together.