BOISE, IDAHO — Former U.S. Sen. Larry Craig says that his arrest in a June 11, 2007 sex-sting was part of his official legislative business. Craig, 67, made his claim in an effort to avoid repaying $217,000 in campaign funds that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) says he misused in his legal defense. The FEC sued Craig in June, claiming he diverted campaign money for his personal uses—by spending it on his legal defense, after being accused of soliciting sex in a men’s room at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The FEC says that Craig’s legal expenses have no connection to his Senate campaign.

During a layover in Minneapolis, an undercover officer said that Craig had tapped his feet under a restroom stall divider, signaling that he wanted sex.

Craig’s attorney says that any money tied to his bathroom visit falls under his official, reimbursable duties as a Senator, since he was traveling for work. “Senate rules sanction reimbursement for any cost relating to a Senator’s use of a bathroom while on official travel,” Andrew Herman, Craig’s lawyer, wrote in legal documents filed on Thursday.