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American Morning

Washington Park Search Under Way for Chandra Levy; Gary Condit Expected on Capitol Hill

Aired July 17, 2001 - 09:05   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: Well now onto the latest on the ongoing Chandra Levy mystery. Police will again search a Washington park today looking for any sign of the missing former intern. And colleagues on Capitol Hill are now waiting to see whether the congressman caught up in this case makes an appearance today.

Our national correspondent Eileen O'Connor has been following the search effort for us this morning and CNN's Jonathan Karl will have the latest from Capitol Hill for us, but we begin right now with Eileen.

Good morning, Eileen.

EILEEN O'CONNOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon.

Well, the searcher -- search has begun and, in fact, they've already found something: a knife, they say, and a new pair of running shoes. Now we do not know if those things are related to Chandra Levy's disappearance. They have just been turned up. Twenty-eight police recruits arrived just moments ago and started this search about 10 minutes ago. They're going through an area of Rock Creek Parkway called Piney Branch Parkway. They say that there is obviously over 1,700 acres in Rock Creek Park.

But they're interested in this area because Chandra Levy was interested in this area. There's also a helicopter now circling overhead from us. Chandra Levy apparently pulled up some maps on her computer, according to police, the morning she disappeared. That's why they are confining the search to this area and the police say it has to be a very specific area.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. BOB PANIZARI, D.C. METROPOLITAN POLICE: They are finding some things. We found some bones yesterday -- some animal bones, I believe it was.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it surprising, though?

PANIZARI: We will see what we turn up today.

(END VIDEO CLIP) O'CONNOR: Very difficult to find such small items in such heavy undergrowth. As you can see here, there's a lot of vegetation. All those 28 recruits went into the woods right about here and they are now combing the area, going step by step in lines and that is how they say they are coming up with such small items.

As I've said, the police have just reported that they have found a knife and a new pair of running shoes. But again I must caution, we do not know if this is related -- Leon.

HARRIS: All right, we understand. Thanks much. Eileen O'Connor reporting live for us this morning from that park in Washington -- Daryn

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Congressman Gary Condit has been trying to avoid the glare of the spotlight from the Levy case, but this morning, duty does call on Capitol Hill.

Our congressional correspondent Jonathan Karl is on Capitol Hill with more on that.

Jonathan, good morning.

JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

In fact, Congressman Gary Condit has done a great job of avoiding that media spotlight. He has not been seen since last week when Congress took its long weekend break. As a matter of fact, most of what we've seen of Gary Condit, even last week, was just the pictures that you saw of him coming out of his apartment, going into his car and heading up to Capitol Hill. And once he got up here on Capitol Hill, he was frequently not seen except at committee hearings and on the floor of the House but not out in public where he'd be caught by the TV cameras. Done a very good job of avoiding the cameras.

But this is the place where Gary Condit does his work. He is expected to be up here on Capitol Hill later on today. As a matter of fact, at 10:00 there is a hearing of the Agriculture Committee which Condit is a member. They'll be talking about the 2002 farm bill, not exactly the kind of committee hearing that would normally be getting any kind of national attention but something that is very important to Gary Condit as a member of that Agriculture Committee and as a member of Congress representing a district that depends very much on agriculture as the primary economic resource in his district. So Gary Condit, we are told by his staff, is expected to be up here on Capitol Hill and at that hearing.

In fact, Daryn, you know Gary Condit has attended virtually every committee hearing that he has been scheduled to be at that his -- every committee that he is on that has had hearings he has been there, even throughout this entire controversy. And he's also rarely missed any votes on the floor of the House. Even minor procedural votes, he has been there, appearing on the House floor and making those votes.

KAGAN: Jonathan, two big issues especially important to Gary Condit, agriculture, also water rights. Isn't another bill about to come to a head in Congress on that as well?

KARL: Absolutely, and both of these issues are issues that are of local concern to Gary Condit where there are things very district specific, as his staff says. District specific issues that they say Gary Condit is working on and is, you know, conditioning to do his job working for his constituents.

Now he's doing this at a time when he literally is a refugee from his own office. He has not been going to his Capitol Hill office for several weeks because there is a media camera there representing all the television networks permanently staked out trying to get pictures of him, asking him -- or asking questions as he goes to his office. But he's been doing this by spending much of his time on the floor of the house of representatives or at those -- or in those committee hearing rooms and staying away from his office, staying away from the -- from the TV cameras.

But what his staff says is that what Condit does when he has somebody coming to Washington to meet him, normally that meeting might take place in his -- in his office, but they are bringing people to him on the floor of the House, just off the floor of the House, places, again, where there are no television cameras. But they say Gary Condit can still, despite all this controversy, continue to do his job.

KAGAN: Jonathan, thank you so much for that. We'll check back with you later.

Meanwhile, another place there is a television camera, Rock Creek Park where the search does continue for any clues as to what could have happened to Chandra Levy. This picture coming to us from our affiliate WTTG -- our thanks to them. We'll continue to monitor the story and the search and the whereabouts of Gary Condit as he is supposed to appear on Capitol Hill today.

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