By Kathleen Hunter, CQ Staff

Sen. Ted Stevens ’ Republican colleagues appear to be standing by him as he battles a federal indictment. And that includes Idaho Sen. Larry E. Craig , who drew scant support from his colleagues last August when he was dealing with this own legal issues.

“I’ll stay out of that debate, thank you,” Craig said today, when asked whether he felt Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and other GOP leaders had been wrong to remain tight-lipped about Stevens’ situation.

The reaction was swift and hard when word leaked last year that Craig had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge after an undercover police officer interpreted some of Craig’s actions in a restroom as a solicitation for sex.

Given his experience, Craig said he was determined not to “become a critic on either side ... There were too many critics when my issue came along, and I don’t think I can lend to this one.”

News of Craig’s guilty plea prompted McConnell to call for an ethics investigation — a step he has not taken in the Stevens matter. Several Republicans, including National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Ensign of Nevada, also called on him to resign. Many of those same Republicans have refused to criticize Stevens since his indictment Tuesday for allegedly failing to disclose gifts.

South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint suggested that the Stevens case was different because the Alaska senator has not been found guilty of anything.

“There’s a presumption of innocence,” DeMint said. “So no one really wants to jump on someone. It’s very different from a situation where someone admitted something.”