US Sen Craig seeks to undo sex-related guilty plea

MINNEAPOLIS, Sep 10 (Reuters) US Sen. Larry Craig asked a Minnesota court today to let him take back the guilty plea he made after his arrest in a men's room sex sting, saying he is innocent but panicked under intense anxiety.

The Idaho Republican, who has said he would resign his seat unless the court clears his name by the end of the month, called his guilty plea ''manifestly unjust.'' The Hennepin County District Court where Craig's lawyer filed the motion has a rule that says a plea can be withdrawn after sentencing ''to correct a manifest injustice'' provided that can be proven.

In early August Craig pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct charges resulting from the June 11 incident. His sentence, agreed to by mail much like a traffic ticket and handled without a court appearance, was to pay 575 dollar in fines and costs and receive a 10-day suspended sentence.

Had the matter been aired in court, the filing said, a judge would have found Craig was the victim of ''aggressive interrogation'' by the arresting undercover police officer who falsely assured the three-term senator that the matter would never become public.

''Senator Craig has never changed or recanted his assertion that he did not engage in improper conduct, and, at the time the plea offer was drafted, both the police officers and prosecutors were aware that he steadfastly denied engaging in any improper conduct,'' the motion argued.

The officer who made the arrest at the Minneapolis airport said Craig peeked into his stall, sat down in the stall next to him, tapped his foot and later brushed it against his and reached his hand under the divider.

Under pressure from Republicans, who lost control of Congress last year in the wake of a string of scandals, Craig announced his intention to resign effective September. 30.

Court filing today said Craig pleaded guilty because he was ''panicked'' and in ''intense anxiety'' that if the allegations became public the Idaho Statesman, the biggest newspaper in his state, would run a story based on a lengthy investigation it had been conducting.

Only days before his arrest, Craig had met with a reporter with the newspaper to deny allegations he had engaged in homosexual activity. The newspaper did run a story on its investigation, but only after word of Craig's arrest came out a few weeks after the guilty plea was recorded.

REUTERS TB RN0210