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American Morning

Police to Interview Carolyn Condit in Levy Disappearance Case

Aired June 29, 2001 - 11:05   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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Authorities in Washington are hoping to interview the wife of California Congressman Gary Condit in connection with the Chandra Levy case. So far, Carolyn Condit has not spoken publicly about the reports surrounding her husband's relationship with the missing intern.

National correspondent Bob Franken has been following this story from the beginning for us. He joins us now from Washington. He's got even more on it -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Leon, the beginning was over eight weeks ago, and Carolyn Condit has been brought into this because officials were not told by Congressman Gary Condit the first time he interviewed them that, in fact, Mrs. Condit had been in town during the period right before Chandra Levy disappeared, which was around April 30.

They want to find out about that. They want to find out if she has, as a result, any information that might contribute to their efforts to try and find Chandra Levy.

They continue to emphasize that nobody is a suspect here. Washington, D.C. police insist that the disappearance of Chandra Levy is not being treated as a criminal matter; it is a missing persons matter, they're just trying to follow every lead.

Now, they've been making it clear for several days that they wanted to talk with Mrs. Condit. She lives in California in the congressional district of Congressman Gary Condit. There's been a negotiation going on. The people who are on the Condit team tell CNN that they're perfectly happy to cooperate any way they can, including making Mrs. Condit available. It's just a matter, they say, of setting up the logistics -- Leon.

HARRIS: Is there any reason to believe that Mrs. Condit has any more information that might lead to a smoking gun, if you will, in this case? All I've heard about her in the past few weeks of coverage is that she's been quite ill and has kept her residence in California there the entire time?

FRANKEN: Well, I think that there have been some people who have covered this as if she is quite ill. She has a condition that she has had since childhood. We're told by people who are on the Condit staff that she contracted encephalitis as a child, and every once in a while has a flare-up of that. That she leads ,for the most part, a perfectly normal life -- so point No. 1.

And point No. 2, nobody is talking about a, quote, "smoking gun" here. What they are talking about is the possibility that Mrs. Condit may have heard something or may have some information which can contribute to the ongoing effort.

Again, not a criminal matter, the police hasten to emphasize; police hasten to emphasize that nobody is a suspect here, including Congressman Condit. And, of course, all of this is based on the repeated allegations that he had a romantic relationship with the former intern, who interned not for him, by the way, but for the Bureau of Prisons. Allegations, charges that Congressman Condit repeatedly denies through his spokesmen.

So the police are just saying they want to thoroughly investigate this and that perhaps -- perhaps -- Mrs. Condit might be able to fill in a couple of pieces of the puzzle.

HARRIS: All right, good deal. Thanks for helping us with the puzzle, Bob Franken in Washington. We'll talk with you later on.

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