It’s extremely rare for a sitting U.S. senator to get arrested for any reason. The only recent example involved former Sen. Larry Craig (R) of Idaho, who had an unfortunate incident in a Minneapolis airport men’s room in 2007.
As it turns out, the newest example involves another Republican from Idaho. And while this incident from the weekend isn’t quite as bizarre as the Larry Craig story, it’s still pretty embarrassing for Sen. Michael Crapo.
Senator Michael D. Crapo of Idaho was arrested early Sunday and charged with driving under the influence in a suburb of Washington, D.C., the authorities said.
Mr. Crapo, a Republican, was pulled over after his vehicle ran a red light, the police in Alexandria said. He failed field sobriety tests and was arrested about 12:45 a.m., said a police spokesman, Jody Donaldson, and then was taken to the Alexandria jail and released on an unsecured $1,000 bond about 5 a.m.
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“There was no refusal” to take sobriety tests, Mr. Donaldson said, and “no accident, no injuries.”
The legal limit in Virginia for blood alcohol content is 0.08 percent, and Crapo registered a 0.11 percent. Adding insult to injury, the senator was one of the policymakers who helped change the law to mandate a federal 0.08 limit.
Making matters slightly worse, Crapo is a Mormon who has said he abstains from drinking alcohol. Apparently, those claims were untrue.
The 61-year-old senator, who isn’t up for re-election until 2016, issued a statement Sunday night: “I am deeply sorry for the actions that resulted in this circumstance. I made a mistake for which I apologize to my family, my Idaho constituents and any others who have put their trust in me. I accept total responsibility and will deal with whatever penalty comes my way in this matter. I will also undertake measures to ensure that this circumstance is never repeated.”
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
