USA Today
July 12, 2001
Officials open Condit inquiry
By Kevin Johnson and Tom Squitieri
WASHINGTON -- Authorities investigating the disappearance of Chandra Levy have begun an inquiry into whether Rep. Gary Condit obstructed justice by allegedly urging a lover to deny their relationship, an official said Wednesday. Police say Condit is not a suspect in the disappearance of Levy, a former government intern with whom Condit has acknowledged having an affair. But word of an inquiry into Condit's actions after Levy disappeared 10 weeks ago is the first official indication that the California Democrat could be in legal trouble. And a report published Thursday said that Condit had a relationship years ago with an 18-year-old woman and warned her not to speak about it. Police, meanwhile, began searching abandoned buildings in Washington, seeking clues in Levy's disappearance.
The Washington Post reported that a Pentecostal minister has told the FBI about a relationship between Condit and the minister's daughter, who at the time was 18.Condit reportedly told the woman never to speak of the relationship, The Post's account said.
Marina Ein, a spokeswoman for Condit,
said The Post report was "discountable — there's no
confirmation from the principal," referring to the daughter.
Asked whether she was denying that the congressman had an
affair with the woman, Ein said: "We're not going to get in
the territory of accounting for each and every one of the
tabloid cases that are presented."
The minister, Otis Thomas, was further quoted by The Post as saying that his daughter is afraid to talk with the FBI and has gone into hiding. Thomas, whose church is in Modesto, Calif., reportedly did gardening work at the Levy home in that city. The Levys confirmed Thursday that they know Thomas but refused to comment on The Post story.
Thomas told The Post that his daughter met Condit at a political rally and ended the relationship about seven years ago.
Terrance Gainer, Washington's second-ranking police official, said investigators are still pursuing four theories in Levy's disappearance: that she was a victim of foul play, committed suicide, walked away voluntarily or is wandering around not knowing who she is.
''We have to explore the possibility that she may be dead, and we're looking for the remains,'' Gainer said about the police search of abandoned buildings.
''Our officers begin walking through those buildings today, and we may use cadaver dogs if it's necessary,'' Gainer said on CBS's The Early Show.
The developments came a little more than a day after Washington police and the FBI conducted an overnight search of Condit's Washington condominium at the invitation of the congressman, who for weeks had denied having a sexual relationship with Levy until reversing himself in an interview with police last Friday.
At issue in the inquiry, which is in a preliminary stage, is whether Condit, who is 53 and married, might have obstructed justice — and hindered the Levy investigation — by seeking to cover up evidence of a romantic relationship outside his marriage.
Flight attendant Anne Marie Smith, 39, who was questioned by authorities here Wednesday, has alleged that Condit called her frequently in May and June to urge her to sign an affidavit denying their relationship as the Levy investigation was intensifying. Condit's California attorneys have said they sent the affidavit to Smith's lawyers, but they denied trying to pressure Smith into making false statements, as she has alleged.
Police, federal prosecutors and the FBI questioned Smith for two hours Wednesday. She will be questioned again Thursday. She has supplied authorities with phone records, and officials have confirmed that Condit telephoned her on various dates in May and June.
Condit has not commented on Smith's allegation or on the nature of his relationship with the San Francisco woman. Through a spokeswoman, Condit's attorney in Washington, Abbe Lowell, declined to comment about Smith's questioning or the inquiry.
Under federal law, asking someone to sign
an affidavit that contains false information and relates to a
police investigation is an obstruction of justice, a felony
pun
Mike Lynch, Condit's chief of staff, says authorities have interviewed no one on the congressman's staff. "We told (the staff) that if anyone gets questioned, cooperate with authorities," he says.
Early Wednesday, investigators took several packed boxes from Condit's condo, where Levy family members say Chandra and the congressman often spent time together. But it was unclear what had been seized as possible evidence. A senior law-enforcement official said the material would be taken to the FBI's laboratory.
Police said they and FBI agents searched the condominium for blood, hair, signs of a struggle or any evidence that might link Condit to Levy's disappearance.
After the search, police returned to the apartment building where Levy lived to once again question some neighbors. The FBI has renewed requests to one of Levy's former co-workers at the federal Bureau of Prisons and two other male friends to take polygraphs. Lowell has suggested that Condit might take a polygraph.
Meanwhile, the controversy over Condit's ties to Levy is spawning political challenges in the Northern California district where the seven-term congressman has coasted to victory in recent elections. Modesto City Councilman Bill Conrad, a Republican, says he will challenge Condit in 2002. Conrad, 44, becomes the first candidate for Condit's seat. A Conrad aide says the Levy case will be a campaign issue if Condit seeks re-election.
Contributing: Scott Bowles and The Associated Press
Copyright © 2001. USA Today . All rights reserved.
saved from url: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washdc/july01/2001-07-12-condit.htm
FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of criminal justice, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
