IDAHO FALLS - Senator Mike Crapo says the Senate Ethics Committee rushed to judgment last week when it said fellow Idaho Republican Senator Larry Craig acted improperly in connection with a men's room sex sting last year and brought discredit on the Senate.

Crapo says the committee should withhold judgment and let Craig pursue his legal rights.

Craig pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in August after he was accused of soliciting sex in a bathroom at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in June.

After the matter became public, Craig tried to withdraw his plea, but a judge in Minnesota refused to allow it.

Craig has appealed that ruling to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Crapo also says Craig is not being shunned by fellow lawmakers.