Report: Sen. Larry Craig Had Sex with or Hit on Eight Guys

Eight men say they either had sex with embattled Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) or were targets of sexual advances by him at various points in his career.

One is a former escort whose allegations disgraced the Rev. Ted Haggard, former president of the National Association of Evangelicals, the Idaho Statesman reports.

The newspaper identified four men who had sex with Craig or had encounters they say involved him. Four others, who were not identified, also talk about sexual advances or encounters involving the conservative Republican from the Gem State.

Sen. Larry Craig pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after being accused by an undercover officer of soliciting sex at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport and later called a news conference to deny he is gay, which pretty much no one believed.

"It is unfortunate that the Idaho Statesman has chosen to continue to lower itself to the standards of what can best be described as tabloid journalism," Craig said in the statement regarding the newspaper's most recent reports.

Craig and his staff declined further comment on the story about the eight accusers, although in every interview since his arrest - including a recent sit-down with Matt Lauer - the Senator has come off about as convincing as O.J. Simpson.

The report is the Statesman's latest foray into the sexual background of Larry Craig since his June arrest in an airport men's room sex sting operation.

The Idaho Statesman Editor, Vicki Gowler, said the paper spent several months checking backgrounds and details of the men's stories. Two of the identified men and one of the unidentified men told the newspaper they had sex with Craig.

One of the men identified in the report, Mike Jones, 50, self-described as a former male escort, said Larry Craig paid him $200 for sex in late 2004 or early 2005. The encounter took place at a studio apartment in downtown Denver.

The undercover officer who arrested Craig said the senator moved his foot next to the officer's foot and tapped it in a way indicating he wanted sex. He also says Craig sent a signal by swiping his hand under the divider between men's room stalls.

Sen. Larry Craig later said the officer misconstrued those motions.