U.S. & World

WASHINGTON (CBS) ― Airport Police have released the audio tape of the interrogation between Sgt. Dave Karsnia and Idaho Sen. Larry Craig after Craig's arrest at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in June.

According to the criminal complaint filed against Craig, Karsnia was investigating allegations of sexual conduct in airport restrooms and he went into a stall shortly after noon on June 11 and closed the door, reports CBS station WCCO-TV in Minneapolis.

In the taped interrogation, Craig said that Karsnia was the one that solicited him. Karsnia went on to explain what would happen to Craig if he pleaded guilty or not guilty.

Karsnia read Craig his rights and when asked if he understands his rights, Craig responded, "I do" and decides to continue the interview by the investigator.

At the beginning of the interview, Karsnia asks Craig to give his side of what happened in the bathroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

"Well, I go into the bathroom here as I normally do, I'm a commuter through here. I sit down to go to the bathroom and you said our feet bumped. I believe they did because I reached down and scooted over. And the next thing I knew under the bathroom divider comes a card that says police," Craig explained.

He told the investigator, "that's as far as I can take it" saying he doesn't know of anything else. He admitted that their feet did touch under the stall.

"I am not gay, I don't do these kinds of things," said Craig.

Karsnia told Craig he doesn't care about sexual preference. Craig agreed, saying that Karsnia is out to enforce the law but said what Karsnia "shouldn't be out to entrap people either."

According to the criminal complaint, while in the stall Craig passed his left hand under the stall divider into Karsnia's stall with his palm up and guided it along the divider toward the front of the stall three times.

In the interrogation, Karsnia asked Craig what he was doing with his hand.

"What about it? I reached down with my foot like this, there was a piece of paper on the floor, I picked it up. What about my hand?" said Craig.

"Well, you're not being truthful with me, I'm kind-of disappointed with you, Senator," said Karsnia.

The investigator explained to Craig that he is trying to treat everyone with dignity, pulling them away from the situation and not embarrass them.

"I will say every person that I have had so far has told me the truth, we've been respectful to each other, and then they've gone on their way. I've never had to bring anyone to jail because they have all been truthful with me," said Karsnia.

Karsnia explained that he will not take Craig to jail as long as he is cooperative with him.

"Did my hand come below the divider? Yes it did," said Craig.

The interrogation continued with Karsnia saying he doesn't want to be lied to and asked to start the interview over from the beginning.

Craig again said he went into the bathroom and stood beside the wall, waiting for a stall to open. He said he then went into a stall, sat down and "started to go to the bathroom."

Again, Craig does not dispute that their feet touched underneath the stalls.

Karsnia told Craig that there were other stalls open in the bathroom and questioned why Craig was waiting.

"At the time I entered I stood and waited," said Craig. "They were all busy."

According to the complaint, Karsnia saw Craig gazing into his stall through the crack between the stall door and the frame, fidgeted with his fingers and returned to gazing through the stall for about another two minutes.

"Did I glance at your stall? I was glancing at a stall right beside yours waiting for a fellow to empty it. I saw him stand up and therefore I thought it was going to empty," Craig said during the interview.

When Karsnia asked Craig how long he had been standing there he said, "oh, a minute or two at the most."

During the interview Craig said that he didn't know what did with his feet when he entered the stall.

"Positioned them. I don't know, I don't know at the time. I'm a fairly wide guy. I tend to spread my legs when I lower my pants so they won't slide," said Craig.

According to the interview, while in the stall Craig does not remember how many times he reached his hand down but again said he did reach down to pick up a piece of toilet paper that was behind him.

Again, Karsnia said that Craig passed his left hand under the stall divider into Karsnia's stall with his palm up and guided it along the divider toward the front of the stall.

"I could see the gold wedding ring when it went across. I could see that on your left hand," said Karsnia.

The two argued about Craig moving his left hand under the stall. Craig said his left hand was opposite to the stall where Karsnia was and he wouldn't have used it, while Karsnia said he could tell by the position that it was Craig's left hand.

Karsnia asked Craig how often he traveled through the airport.

"Almost weekly," said Craig.

"Have you been successful in these bathrooms here before?" asked Karsnia.

"I go to that bathroom regularly," said Craig.

Karsnia clarified by asking what type of activity.

"Absolutely not. I don't seek activity in bathrooms," said Craig.

Karsnia then told Craig that while he still respects him, he feels disrespected because Craig is "sitting here, lying to a police officer."

Craig again admitted that he put his hand down.

"You put your hand and rubbed it on the bottom of the stall, with your left hand and I'm not dumb," said Karsnia.

Craig said the only way he could get his left hand over to Karsnia's stall was by turning sideways.

Karsnia told Craig that it's not that hard and that he sees it everyday out at the airport. Karsnia again said he is disappointed in him.

"I expect this from the guy we get out of the hood but, I mean, people vote for you. Unbelievable. Unbelievable," said Karsnia.

The two continue disputing whether or not Craig reached down with his left hand. Karsnia asked if Craig's gold ring was ever on his right hand and Craig said no.

"Then it was your left hand, I saw it with my own eyes," said Karsnia.

"You saw something that didn't happen," said Craig.

Karsnia again expressed how embarrassing this situation is and ends the interview asking Craig if he has anything else to add. Craig said no.

A spokesman for Craig denied widespread speculation in Washington that the three-term senator - up for re-election next year - was preparing to quit. Sidney Smith said Wednesday he had heard no such discussion.

Republican Senate leaders pushed Craig from senior committee positions. The Senate's Republican Leadership released a statement Wednesday saying that Craig has agreed to temporarily step down as the top Republican on the Veteran Affairs Committee, Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, and Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests.

"This is not a decision we take lightly but we believe this is in the best interest of the Senate until this situation is resolved by the Ethics Committee," the statement read.

A White House spokesman expressed disappointment in the 62-year-old lawmaker, who pleaded guilty earlier this month to a charge stemming from an undercover police operation last June in a Minneapolis airport bathroom.

Others in the GOP were more harsh. "Senator Craig pled guilty to a crime involving conduct unbecoming a senator," said Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn. "He should resign."

Coleman, who faces a tough race for re-election next year, also turned over to charity a $2,500 campaign donation he received two months ago from Craig's political action committee.

Craig "represents the Republican Party," said Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, who called the behavior unacceptable and was the first in a steadily lengthening list of GOP members of Congress calling on Craig to quit.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., also urged Craig to step down, as did a handful of Republican House members, including Jeff Miller and Ginny Brown-Waite of Florida, Mark Souder of Indiana, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Ron Lewis of Kentucky.

One GOP senator who did not call for Craig to resign - Missouri's Kit Bond - said he was praying for Craig and his family but still called Craig's conduct intolerable.

"It is unacceptable for a member of Congress to be soliciting sex in public restrooms," Bond said.

Craig's spokesman Smith said the GOP lawmakers "have a right to express themselves," but added, "We're not going to get into an argument on that right now."

Craig is cooperating with Senate leaders by stepping aside as the senior Republican on the Veteran Affairs committee and from his position on two subcommittees, Smith said.

Craig said Tuesday he had committed no wrongdoing and shouldn't have pleaded guilty. He said he had only recently retained a lawyer to advise him in the case, which threatens to write an ignominious end to a lifetime in public office.

GOP Senate leaders said they did not act lightly in asking Craig to give up his leadership posts temporarily. But they said their decision was "in the best interest of the Senate until this situation is resolved by the ethics committee."

Meanwhile, Republicans in Craig's home state were uncertain how to react.

Craig, who has represented Idaho in Congress for 27 years, has built deep trust and loyalty across the state and has come to know many of his supporters by name.

His work on the Appropriations Committee has delivered millions of dollars for public works projects, nonprofit organizations, farmers, ranchers and businesses - and the risk of losing all that worried some Republicans.

GOP activists also said they wanted to give Craig time to explain his version of events.

"I think people here still need a little time," said Republican state Sen. Mel Richardson of Idaho Falls. "People want to weigh in their minds how they feel about him and whether they can believe the evidence here."

Gordon Polatis, an insurance agent from Blackfoot and a former state party committee member, said it's not fair to judge just yet considering Craig has discounted the police version of the arrest.

"I'm always willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt," Polatis said Wednesday.

Republican Gov. C.L. (Butch) Otter called his longtime friend an honorable man, adding: "I am confident that Larry Craig will do what is best for him and his family and the state of Idaho."

For the most part, Democrats studiously avoided involvement with an unfolding Republican scandal.

"We at least ought to hear his side of the story.," said Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut.

Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., said his party stood to gain. "All of these people who (are) holier than thou are now under investigations. ... I think the Republican Party will find itself in a great peril next year," he said.

McCain's call for a resignation was the first among GOP presidential rivals.

Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, also seeking the White House, said Craig's declaration that he had pleaded guilty to make the issue go away "doesn't work in these jobs." Still, he said it was premature to call for Craig to resign.

Hoekstra said Craig's explanations were not credible.

"I think it's important for Republicans to step out right now and say, 'No, this behavior is not going to be tolerated,"' he said. "It's not a judgment on gay rights or anything like that. This is about leadership and setting a standard that the American people and your colleagues in the Republican Party can feel good about."

Craig was arrested on June 11 in a Minneapolis airport men's room after an undercover officer observed conduct that he said was "often used by persons communicating a desire to engage in sexual conduct." He pleaded guilty by mail this month to a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)