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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Gary Condit to Speak to the Media About His Relationship With Chandra Levy

Aired August 21, 2001 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, Gary Condit's game plan. With his private life a public spectacle, the California Congressman will soon break his silence on the Chandra Levy case. Can he salvage his career? We'll go live to CNN national correspondent Bob Franken at ground zero, in Modesto, California.

He's pushed and prodded Gary Condit to come clean, and he still insists that Condit is hiding something. I'll speak live with one of the congressman's biggest critics, Levy family attorney Billy Martin.

And some want him to resign or face an ethics investigation. Does Gary Condit have any support left among his colleagues? CNN congressional correspondent Kate Snow will take the pulse on Capitol Hill.

Good evening. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting tonight from Washington. We'll get to my interview with Billy Martin and coverage of the Gary Condit matter in just a moment, but first we have breaking news.

Police in California have made a disturbing discovery. The 3- year-old child of a Ukrainian immigrant has been found dead. As a massive manhunt for the child's father continues, we turn to CNN's James Hattori. He's in Sacramento, California with the very latest.

James, tell us what's going on.

JAMES HATTORI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, within the past hour, Sacramento county sheriffs confirmed the discovery of the body of 3- year-old Sergey Soltys, son of the suspect, murder suspect wanted for yesterday's killing spree in Sacramento County, Nikolay suspect.

The key to it all was this photograph, which shows Sergey and his mother found, who is also deceased. It was found in the car belonging to Nikolay Soltys. On the back, investigators say, was a note in Russian, written in Cyrillic, which when they had translated indicated that they would find the child in a box near a tower, and gave some directions, on the north end of Sacramento County.

Investigators searched all night in that area, had the note retranslated for clarification, and just within the past hour confirmed this, this very tragic discovery.

A spokesperson describes what they found.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. JAMES LEWIS, SACRAMENTO COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: What we were planning to announce at 4:15 was that we were launching an intensive search effort and we were going to look for the public's help in locating the 3-year-old child. Unfortunately, what I'm here to announce is that we have located the 3-year-old child in a box under a tower directly east of where the note describes it as being, and the child is deceased.

The child was found in a box, which has been described as a cardboard box that would hold a 36-inch television. The top of the box, there was no top of the box. The child has significant trauma. There was blood on the child and in the box.

It appears as though the suspect left him there dead. And so, that's what we know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HATTORI: The area is actually in Placer County, which is the county just north of Sacramento County, a very remote area, some conclusion surrounding it. But police say the likelihood of suspects is -- they're not sure, because it is such a remote area. They searched all night and made the discovery within the past hour.

The suspect, of course, Nikolay -- rather Nikolay Soltys is still at-large. Police still say they have -- they're no closer to knowing his whereabouts or for that matter the motive for what now comes to six murders that have occurred in connection with this case. And he is still wanted as a suspect -- Wolf.

BLITZER: James Hattori in Sacramento, thank you very much. And please stay with CNN throughout the evening for continuing coverage of breaking developments in this very sad story.

Now, to our other big story tonight, Democratic Congressman Gary Condit is plotting what he hopes will be his political comeback. His detailed game plan begins with a mass mailing to constituents explaining his side of the story in the disappearance of Washington intern Chandra Levy. It then continues with his prime-time television interview Thursday.

His aides say he's rehearsing with a team of experienced advisers. The stakes are enormous, and that's our focus tonight: Gary Condit's game plan.

To find out more about Condit's game plan, let's go live to CNN national correspondent Bob Franken, in the heart of what has been Condit country, Modesto, California -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the parents of Chandra Levy say that they're going to be watching Condit on television well over three months since their daughter disappeared and the relationship with Congressman Condit and the daughter has emerged. The strategy on television is just now beginning to emerge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (voice-over): It's not an election year, but Gary Condit has started the campaign of his life, to save his political life. Step one: a mass mailing of thousands of letters to every household in Condit's congressional district.

INA BEHNO, STANISLAUS COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE: Gary has had a strategy for many years of using mail to reach his constituency, because we happen to fall in between two major markets in this district.

FRANKEN: So Condit has never relied much on television, but he is now. On Thursday, the new offensive continues when he sits down with ABC's Connie Chung to tape his first TV interview since the Chandra Levy controversy exploded around him. That day, according to a well-informed source close to Condit, he will also be interviewed by a local TV station for broadcast later that night, after the network appearance.

Following that, he will talk with at least one local newspaper for Friday morning publication, then two weekly news magazines.

Gary Condit has always had an easy time following rule No. 1 in politics: first, get elected. But the relentless drum beat of scandal has put his future in serious doubt. Condit's past has become an open book.

It's not just his affair with Chandra Levy, which he admitted, according to police sources, only after three interviews with investigators, and only after months of letting his aides lie about it. It's not only that: It's everything, including his other alleged affairs.

In order to win back the affection of voters, his all-important voters, Gary Condit, to quote the TV show, has a lot of explaining to do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think what he's got to do is, you know, tell the truth. If he had an affair, he had an affair, but he's been a very good congressman for us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He needs to come forward and answer everyone's questions. I think what he does in his personal life is his personal life, but I think that the way he's responding, I don't think that he's doing his job.

FRANKEN: While his supporters are making their plans, so are his adversaries. Republicans are already dreaming of a congressional seat that has been nothing but a dream for decades.

JIM DEMARTINI, STANISLAUS COUNTY GOP CHAIRMAN: Gary Condit's created a lot of problems for himself, and you know, this time things are going to be different in the next election. It's hard to believe that Gary Condit is even going to run again. FRANKEN: But all of Condit's...

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: But all of Condit's advisers say that he is going to be running for re-election. The next election is 14 months now. But the experts agree that Condit's chances really will depend on the public strategy that unfolds in the next 14 days or so -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Bob, you mentioned this newsletter, this mass mailing. Presumably, he's going to release it tomorrow. What do we know about that?

FRANKEN: Well, it's going to be sent out tomorrow. It is hopeful on the Condit side that it arrives on Thursday, before the television interviews that night.

BLITZER: And presumably it will lay out at least partially his explanation of what happened, more details to come in the interview, of course.

Bob Franken in Modesto, California, thank you very much for joining us.

He's a tough former federal prosecutor with an all-star client list. He once represented the mother of another intern in the Clinton-Lewinsky investigation. He now represents the parents of Chandra Levy, and it's safe to say he's a constant thorn in the side of Gary Condit.

Joining me now live is the Levy family attorney, Billy Martin. Mr. Martin, thanks for joining us.

BILLY MARTIN, LEVY FAMILY ATTORNEY: Good evening.

BLITZER: What do you want to hear? What does the Levy family want to hear from Gary Condit Thursday night?

MARTIN: Wolf, the only thing the family wants to hear -- and I spoke with Dr. Levy and Mrs. Levy today -- they just want to hear information that could lead to information on Chandra's whereabouts or what happened to her. They don't really want to hear anything about the relationship. They don't want to know how he felt about Chandra. They don't want to know how Chandra felt about him. Those are issues that they'd like to put behind them.

All they really want is their daughter back.

BLITZER: Is there anything he can say, do you believe, knowing what's happened over these past 3 1/2 months, that would remove any suspicion on the part of the Levy family that he may have had something to do with her disappearance?

MARTIN: There are a number of things he could possibly and say, and throughout the investigation that we've conducted, we have never accused Gary Condit of anything relating to either the disappearance or injury to Chandra Levy. What we have accused him is not coming forward and not exercising the responsibility that somebody like Gary Condit has in a situation like this.

He was one of the last people that saw Chandra. He had a responsibility 109, 110 days ago to come forward with a lot of information. It took him eight weeks -- eight weeks! -- and a lot of valuable time was lost. And I don't think the family can ever forgive him for failing to come forward and help the authorities in that investigation.

BLITZER: But correct me if I'm wrong, on Sunday, when you were on "Face the Nation," you did say that in your mind Gary Condit is a suspect in this investigation, even though the police don't call him a suspect.

MARTIN: Well, Wolf, I did say those words, and what I meant by those words is my career for 15 years prior to coming into private practice as a defense attorney, I was a pretty senior prosecutor, and I investigated hundreds of homicides. And if there is no suspect and there are people who were around the victim at times of disappearance or homicide, anybody around that person -- especially people who were last with that person -- are considered possible suspects. Until Gary Condit comes forward and tells our investigators or the authorities sufficient information to clear him, he is a possible suspect.

BLITZER: You probably just heard Bob Franken's report on the media strategy that he now has ready to go. What do you think of that strategy?

MARTIN: One thing that the Levy family has asked me not to do is to get into the politics of this. Dr. Bob Levy and his wife, Susan Levy, are not political. They were basic people in Modesto who were living a very happy family life before this tragedy occurred and their laughter disappeared. They are not going to be out on the streets campaigning for or against Gary Condit. They want their daughter back. They think he has information that can help them, and they think it's been reckless on his part not to come forward sooner. They're not into politics.

BLITZER: You may have heard the interview I did last week with Mike Lynch...

MARTIN: I did.

BLITZER: ... the chief of staff to Congressman Condit. I want to play a little brief excerpt from that interview, because he makes the case that, unlike you, the police don't seem to think that he's even at the center of this investigation. Listen to Mike Lynch.

MARTIN: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE LYNCH, CHIEF OF STAFF FOR GARY CONDIT: I have seen numerous quote from both the chief and Mr. Gainer saying that the congressman has been fully cooperative, and much more important, saying that there is no link whatsoever between Congressman Condit and the disappearance of Chandra Levy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The chief being the D.C. police chief, Charles Ramsey, and his assistant police chief, Terrance Gainer.

MARTIN: Well, if I would say, he's one of the same people who were serving as a spokesperson for Congressman Condit when he denied a relationship. I think what he's doing is coming out, trying to put a spin on this matter, and nobody has been cleared. Nobody has been accused and nobody has been cleared. Gary Condit has information -- information that would have helped either to clear himself or to point authorities in the right direction, and he failed to come forward. If nothing else, his actions have really hindered this investigation, whether he had anything to do with it or not.

BLITZER: But you have no hard evidence, you or your investigators, private investigators, former D.C. homicide investigators -- hard evidence to make a suggestion that he had anything to do with the disappearance.

MARTIN: We have a lot of allegations. Some of those allegations point to Gary Condit. Some of them point to other possible suspects. We're looking at all of those allegations. Gary Condit has not been the only possible suspect that we've looked into. We've looked into the backgrounds of several people, and Gary Condit is one of them.

BLITZER: But no hard evidence, right?

MARTIN: There is evidence that we have, and we've turned that evidence over to the authorities, and I'm not going to comment on whether it's circumstantial evidence, direct evidence or hard evidence. But we have turned evidence over to the authorities asking them to investigate, and some of that evidence does relate to Gary Condit.

BLITZER: Abbe Lowell, the attorney representing Congressman Condit, was on CNN last week after the Levy family was interviewed on "LARRY KING LIVE." He says -- I want you to listen to what Abbe Lowell said that night, because he made an offer to you that -- I don't know if you've accepted it or rejected it yet, but I wanted to get your reaction to what his offer is. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBE LOWELL, CONDIT'S ATTORNEY: If the Levys themselves would like at some point to meet with him -- not lawyers, not investigators, but just person-to-person, I know he'd like to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Would they like to meet person-to-person with Gary Condit once again?

MARTIN: I can tell you what the Levy family would like. They would like the congressman to meet with investigators and lawyers that they've hired to investigate this matter. This may help the congressman feel better. It may be helpful to his PR and his campaign efforts, but it will not help the Levy family feel better. Their daughter is missing. They think that Gary Condit had a relationship with their daughter and lied to them directly when he said he did not have a relationship. He is somebody that would not assist them in healing. And going through the pain that they're going through, meeting with Gary Condit would not be pleasant.

I cannot say that they will not meet with him, but I can tell you that when we met at the Jefferson Hotel in June here in Washington, Gary Condit attempted to hug Mrs. Levy in a sign of friendship or whatever, and it was so painful for her to back away. And later, as she experienced that, there was so much hurt and so much pain, I can't see any good coming of a meeting at this time. There may come a time, but I don't think it would help the Levys right now.

BLITZER: And when you said Sunday that you would accept Abbe Lowell's offer to the meet lawyer to lawyer, or investigator with the lawyers representing Gary Condit, is anything happening on that front?

MARTIN: We would say that when we met -- again, at the Jefferson Hotel...

BLITZER: That was way back.

MARTIN: That was way back.

BLITZER: But is there another meeting coming up?

MARTIN: The congressman agreed to meet with me and my investigators if it would not hamper the police investigation. The police said that it would not hamper their investigation. We've asked for that meeting. We'll take information from any source, including Abbe Lowell, but that is not to substitute the meeting that we think would benefit our investigation directly with the congressman.

BLITZER: We invited our viewers to e-mail us on our Web site with some questions for you. Let me read a couple of them. Maybe we can tick through them relatively quickly. "John Walsh, the host of 'America's Most Wanted,' continually expresses his belief in a serial murderer as the possible culprit. Is this true?"

MARTIN: That's a possibility. And again, that's why I'm very careful to say that we are not accusing the congressman of doing anything with Chandra. We don't know what his role it and we've asked him to come forward, and it's taken 111 days and we still haven't heard from him. I don't know what happened to Chandra.

BLITZER: But are you at all concerned that all the focus on Gary Condit could be distracting from potentially the real killer out there?

MARTIN: No, because both we, our private investigation, and the D.C. police and the FBI are looking into other possibilities.

BLITZER: We have another question from Paul of Nashua, New Hampshire. "Was Chandra pregnant at any time during their relationship?"

MARTIN: That seems to be a question that's asked quite frequently. What I have indicated, to both the FBI and to the D.C. police, that I would not at all comment on that issue because it may in some way lead to investigative leads or issues related to -- I can't answer that question.

BLITZER: Lisa in Tempe, Arizona asks you this: "Is the Levy family considering pursuing civil litigation against Representative Condit?"

MARTIN: We've discussed that matter and we've decided that it would not benefit either the Levy family or the investigation, for a civil lawsuit to be filed at this time. We are waiting the outcome of the criminal investigation and will make no decisions until the police and the FBI complete that investigation.

BLITZER: We only have a second left but, at this point, you have no hard leads, no real solid clue where Chandra Levy might be?

MARTIN: None. We just wonder why Gary Condit has acted so suspiciously.

BLITZER: Billy Martin, kind of you to join us. Thank you very much. Please give our best to the Levy family.

MARTIN: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you very much.

And up next, fellow lawmakers have reacted angrily to his behavior in the Chandra Levy case. Can Gary Condit win back his friends on Capitol Hill?

And NASCAR says it now knows how and why Dale Earnhardt died. But can it prevent the next fatal crash? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN LEVY, CHANDRA'S MOTHER: I'll be watching it just like everybody else. So that's all I have to say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Susan Levy won't be the only one watching Gary Condit's interview Thursday night. The congressman has long been a popular figure among his colleagues, but as the Levy case has dragged on, several members of Congress have publicly called on him to step down or face an ethics investigation. To help us measure Condit's support on Capitol Hill, let's go live to CNN Congressional correspondent Kate Snow.

Kate, what's the mood up there? KATE SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, actually the mood right now is one of vacation time, Wolf. In fact, the timing of this interview that he's doing, kind of interesting for Capitol Hill because everybody is pretty much gone right now. They're back in their home districts, they're a little bit hard to get in touch with. In fact, many members are on vacation right now.

But those that we can get in touch with, telling us that essentially, on both sides of the aisle, there is some sentiment, Wolf, that they're happy that he's coming forward now. There were members, both Democrats and Republicans, who were saying why hasn't he spoken out yet? They have been anxious to hear from Gary Condit, and now they are going to get their chance.

BLITZER: Kate, is there any suggestion, any realization that it might wind up before the House Ethics Committee?

SNOW: I talked to Congressman Bob Barr today, Wolf, who you'll remember you had on your show a couple of times. He wrote two letters to the Ethics Committee, asking them to investigate. He tells me today that he has not heard back from the Ethics Committee and that he takes that to mean that they are not going to look into it. In fact, he told me he has a clear impression that they're simply not interested in looking into this.

I should add that he's also is a long-time critic of Gary Condit, and he went on to say to me that he's very happy that Condit is coming forward, but he said: "He should not only tell the truth, but then he should resign on national television." That's the view of Republican Bob Barr.

BLITZER: Kate Snow, I will venture to say that most of those 434 other members of the House of Representative will be watching Thursday night, along with the rest of us. Thank you so much for joining us.

And up next, we'll have an update on our top story. Investigators make a new discovery in their hunt for a man accused of killing several family members.

And the man with the world's first self-contained artificial heart talked today about his incredible experience. Meet him when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Recapping our top story, investigators in California say they found the 3-year-old son of a Ukrainian man suspected of killing several family members. The 3-year-old's body was found in a box a little more than an hour ago. Nikolay Soltys is suspected of killing his wife and four other relatives yesterday. He remains at large.

In other top stories tonight: After a six-month investigation into the death of driver Dale Earnhardt at the Daytona 500, NASCAR says it will put new safety measures into place. That includes installing crash data recorders in cars. NASCAR won't require head and neck restraints, but it does want to study restraint systems. Earnhardt's left lap belt broke when he crashed into a wall near the end of the race. NASCAR says that was one of many factors that contributed to his death.

CNN has learned long-time conservative Republican Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina will announce tomorrow he's leaving the Senate. First elected in 1972, the North Carolina Republican turns 80 in October, and has suffered recently from health problems. The senator will make the announcement on a North Carolina television station.

Citing concerns over the still sluggish economy, the Federal Reserve cut short-term interest rates for the seventh time this year. The federal fund rate was cut a quarter of a point, to 3.5 percent. Investors were not impressed. The Dow Jones Industrials dropped more than 145 points. The Nasdaq fell 50 points, hitting a four-month low.

Tonight on the "Leading Edge," Robert Tools, the man with the first self-contained artificial heart, says he decided to take a chance and have the device implanted in his body. Tools had less than 30 days to live when he had the surgery last month. Doctors say he's showing vast improvement.

The crew members returning from the International Space Station say they can't wait to get back to Earth. Astronauts Susan Helms and Jim Voss are returning on the space shuttle Discovery after more than five months in space. The two, and their Russian commander, are set to land tomorrow afternoon.

I'll be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Please stay with CNN throughout the night. Much more on the Gary Condit interview on LARRY KING LIVE at the top of the hour. Up next: Greta Van Susteren. She's standing by to tell us what she has -- Greta.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST, CNN'S "THE POINT": Wolf, a new Disney movie is out this week, and one mother says it's cruel. She joins us. And Gary Condit's high stakes game Thursday night. We will talk about his interview. Then, of course, there's the murdered child out in California. We'll talk about that, we'll bring you the latest. And finally, why is Oprah being sued? -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Thanks, Greta. Sounds good. Tomorrow night: Powerball, riches or ruins? I'll be standing in line where they're selling Powerball lottery tickets. The prize: $200 million. Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "THE POINT WITH GRETA VAN SUSTEREN" begins right now.

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