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CNN Live At Daybreak

Gary Condit Talking About Missing Chandra Levy

Aired August 24, 2001 - 08:15   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.
JEFF FLOCK, CNN ANCHOR: It does seem, Colleen, now that Gary Condit is popping up everywhere.

COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, this is a media blitz. It's a strategy as we've been hearing this morning. Besides that network interview, he spoke with Sacramento TV station KOVR, a CNN affiliate. In that interview, he was asked by reporter Jodi Hernandez (ph) about his relationship with Chandra Levy.

Here's a portion of that interview now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. GARY CONDIT, CALIFORNIA: I have been married 34 years. I have not been a perfect man. I have made mistakes, but out of respect for my family and out of a specific request from the Levy families, I am not going to share the details of my relationship with Chandra. And you know what, people understand that. They understand that we're entitled to a little bit of privacy here and the Levy's are entitled to a little bit of privacy here as well. So my constituents understand that.

JODI HERNANDEZ, KOVR-TV REPORTER: Congressman, did you have anything to do with the disappearance?

CONDIT: No, I had not one thing. I would have never harmed Chandra. I was fond of Chandra.

HERNANDEZ: Chandra Levy's mother, Susan Levy, says that -- told us that early on she had a conversation with you and asked you point blank if you were having -- if had an affair with her daughter, Chandra. She says that you said no. Is that in fact true and...

CONDIT: Well, I had several conversations with Dr. and Mrs. Levy during that week when he contacted me about the disappearance and his concern about the Metropolitan Police Department not acting quickly enough. There were a lot of things said, but I never lied to Mrs. Levy about anything. I mean anything that she asked me I tried to answer forthright. So I'm sorry if she was misled or there was a misunderstanding, but I never lied to Mrs. Levy about any of the questions. I mean you've got to understand, I mean they were pretty distraught. They had a lot of anxiety, they had made a lot of comments and my job was to try to console them, to do what I could do to be helpful with law enforcement and I did that. HERNANDEZ: OK, so you're saying you did not lie to them? I mean they...

CONDIT: No, I did not. I never -- no, I did not lie to Mrs. Levy. I tried to be forthright and tried to be consoling and do all the things that one would do when you have this kind of tragedy.

HERNANDEZ: Did they ask you -- do you recall them asking you if you...

CONDIT: Well, I don't recall them asking me if I had, but they had mentioned several names, and I'm not going to go into those names, but I listened. I did more listening and reassuring to them then anything else.

HERNANDEZ: Congressman, what would you like to say to the Levy's? They're quite upset. Their daughter is still missing.

CONDIT: Sure. Well, my heart, you know, goes out to the Levy's. I don't think I could describe what they're feeling and what they're going through. I mean the pain and anguish that they're going through, I don't think anyone would know that unless you had a missing child so it's real difficult for me to know exactly what they're feeling. But I have kids, and if one of them was missing, I would say and do everything I could do to try to get them back.

But where it gets a little bit unfair I think is when Dr. and Mrs. Levy make allegations that I might have had something to do with the disappearance or when they say I'm withholding information that might be helpful. I think that's unfair. It's not correct. And when they say they -- they're suspicious, I don't know why they would be suspicious of me. I like Chandra. She was my friend. I was very fond of her. Next to them and the family members, I'm the next guy in line that would like to see her back.

HERNANDEZ: I'm sure you've heard Chandra's aunt, Linda Zampsky, says she heard from Chandra right before she disappeared as well, probably a few days after it sounds like you did. Chandra called her and said she had some big news. Do you know what that big news was?

CONDIT: No, I have no idea what the big news was.

HERNANDEZ: Do you know if Chandra was pregnant?

CONDIT: I have no indication that she would have been pregnant. No reason to think that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCEDWARDS: And also in that interview Gary Condit said that he has not decided whether or not he'll run for reelection. That's interesting, Jeff, because up until now...

FLOCK: Yes.

MCEDWARDS: ... his aids had been suggesting that... FLOCK: Assumed that he would.

MCEDWARDS: ... he was going to run again. That letter that went out yesterday to his constituents seemed to suggest...

FLOCK: Certainly indicated...

MCEDWARDS: ... he was looking forward to continuing serving them. Now there's some doubt in that.

FLOCK: That would be an interesting turn if that was what it was.

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