Grand Old Police Blotter: Fox News Edition

Another Republican convict and self-pitying creep:

HONOLULU - A top Republican lawmaker said Monday he will resign from the Hawaii Legislature on Dec. 1 because he was convicted of fondling a woman on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu.

Rep. Galen Fox, former House minority leader, said he had been living with the consequences of his arrest, which went unreported for more than 10 months, and believes the people of his district should be represented by someone "unclouded by a conviction such as the one I now carry."

Fox's decision to resign came after a meeting Monday afternoon with fellow Republican, Gov. Linda Lingle.

"It is your decision to make," the governor told Fox, according to her spokesman, Russell Pang. He said she added: "But I think it would be appropriate if you resigned. But again it is your decision to make."

Fox, first elected to the House in 1996 to represent Waikiki and nearby neighborhoods, was convicted Oct. 20 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles for groping a woman as she slept on a United Airlines flight on Dec. 18 last year. The 27-year-old woman said she awoke to Fox fondling her crotch under her blanket.

Fox appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Nagle in January. He was convicted in a non-jury trial of abusive sexual conduct, a misdemeanor offense that carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail.

"The woman testified that she was asleep, and she woke up and Mr. Fox's hand was in between her legs and the zipper of her pants was down, and that's essentially the gist of the case," said Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the Assistant U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles.

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"She said things about what I did that were just absolutely untrue. And I said, you know, what I thought had happened. And the judge ruled in her favor," Fox told television station KITV.

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"I lost. From now on in my personal life, I will have to bear the consequences of that loss," Fox said.

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Lingle said in a statement that she felt badly for Fox and all the parties involved.

Other parties, Linda? Do you mean the victim? How caring of you.

It's nice to see Lingle apply the Bush standard for criminality and public office: Would you like to resign because of your crimes? It's really up to you. And please don't let me rush you; you've already been through enough.

Let's hope the consequences that Mr. Fox has to live with include six months' imprisonment. For a start.