Caught in the men's bathroom in a Minnesota airport, charged with lewd conduct. On Monday Idaho's Senior Senator Larry Craig finds himself in trouble after he pleads guilty to one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

Idahoans want to know what happened and why Senator Larry Craig is just now releasing the information about the June incident.

CBS 2 Eyewitness News asked for an on camera interview with Senator Craig's staff, but they declined to go on camera and answer questions about his arrest.

According to the political newspaper who broke the story, Senator Craig now faces hundreds of dollars in fines, and one year of probation. Now some of the people who help elect him to this office want answers.

"I would like to know why the story didn't break sooner," asked one Boise resident when asked what she thought about Senator Craig's arrest.

In news sources across the country Senator Craig is making headlines.

"A politician, you figure that they should lead by example and that's definitely not leading by example," said Mark Jetton as he walked in Downtown Boise.

The story first broke on Roll Call, a political newspaper and on-line site. They say in June Senator Craig was caught in the men's bathroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, charged with lewd conduct.

For conservative group, the Idaho Values Alliance the news was unexpected.

"There are some disturbing elements to the police report and I think the Senator needs to give the public a thorough explanation," Bryan Fischer from Idaho Values Alliance told CBS 2 Eyewitness News.

But gay activist blogger Mike Rogers say it was only a matter of time, and the rumors have been flying for years.

"This did not come as a surprise to Washington, websites all around the city are pointing back to the research and the articles that have been done in the past on this, that have shown what Senator Craig has been up to," said Rogers.

Last October Rogers claimed something similar happened with Senator Craig and another man in a Washington, D.C. train station, but it has never been proven. And back in 1982, the Senator was linked to a sex scandal involving male pages on Capitol Hill, but those were rumors and he denied any involvement.

"It's time to get to the front of it, it's time to get the issues out on the table and or the allegations and to find out whose making them and why they're making them," Senator Craig said during an interview in 1982.

This time Senator Craig confirms he was arrested but he says he never should have pled guilty, leaving many wondering why.

"Why if he was innocent, you know why did he enter the guilty plea and I think that's what we need to hear from him, his explanation for that," said Fischer.

CBS 2 Eyewitness News Governor Otter's office to get his reaction, his spokesman said right now he has no comment. Senator Crapo also denied to say anything about Senator Craig's arrest.

We did receive this statement from Craig's office: "At the time of this incident, I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my actions. I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct. I should have had the advice of counsel in resolving this matter. In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously."

Records show the veteran Republican senator was fined $1,000, plus $575 in fees. He was placed on unsupervised probation for a year. A sentence of 10 days in the county workhouse was stayed.

The story was first published today in Roll Call ... a Capitol Hill newspaper. The newspaper's Web site says Craig was arrested by a plainclothes officer investigating complaints of lewd conduct in the men's room at the airport.

In a statement issued today, Craig says he was not involved in any inappropriate conduct.

Craig, who is up for re-election next year, says at the time of the incident _ quote _ ''they (police) were misconstruing my actions.''

Craig says in hindsight he should have pled guilty ... but was _ quote _ ''trying to handle this matter myself quickly.''

Craig is long-time, high profile Idaho lawmaker. He was elected to the Idaho state senate in 1974. He was elected to Idaho's First District Congressional Seat in 1980. He was re-elected four times before winning the U.S. Senate election in 1990 and was re-elected to the Senate in 1996 and 2002.