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American Morning
Writer Comments on Reemergence of Condit Case
Aired February 26, 2002 - 08:06 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Up front this morning, California Congressman Gary Condit is fighting for his political life in a bid for reelection, but can he survive his past? On "LARRY KING" last night, Condit defended his conduct during the investigation of the missing intern, Chandra Levy, blaming law enforcement and the news media for the scandal that ensued.
CNN national correspondent Frank Buckley reports on the interview and what the voters are saying in the congressman's district.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, Congressman Gary Condit, exclusive and no subject off limits.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Congressman Gary Condit appeared with "LARRY KING" and went after the news media, whom he blamed for hundreds of factual errors in its reporting.
REP. GARY CONDIT (D), CALIFORNIA: This is not a romantic novel. It's not some silly little game. It's not about people profiteering from a tragedy. It's about a missing person, and we ought to find out what happened to Chandra.
BUCKLEY: Condit referring to intern Chandra Levy.
KING: Did you have a relationship with Chandra Levy?
CONDIT: You know, we are not going to go into that. I mean, you know, I'm not going to talk about Chandra Levy, and I'm not going to say anything that would do anything to hurt or...
KING: Why not say no?
CONDIT: I am just not going to get into that.
BUCKLEY: Condit says he avoided reporters' questions last summer, because he feared it could jeopardize the search for Levy.
CONDIT: They made it into something other than it was, and so I really thought the appropriate way was to let the law enforcement people figure this out.
BUCKLEY: But he blames law enforcement officials for leaking information to the press.
CONDIT: I asked law enforcement -- I said, you know, I'm getting calls in my office about a variety of leaks that you guys, you know, are letting out. And they told me, they said, look, our department is leaking like a sieve. I mean, they were making up stories that just had no truth to it at all.
BUCKLEY: Condit is running for reelection in California's Central Valley. Polls showing him losing by double digits to one of his former aides, California State Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza.
CONDIT: Our nation is watching this district. You elect Gary Condit, you will rock this nation.
BUCKLEY: Even Cardoza aides concede that the race has tightened in recent days, and Condit says if he wins, it will help the cause of finding Chandra Levy.
CONDIT: I would make sure that this case, if I am in Washington, D.C., doesn't fall through the cracks.
BUCKLEY: And he emphasized...
CONDIT: I had nothing to do with the disappearance of Chandra Levy, not one single thing.
BUCKLEY: At a tavern in his home district, Modesto, where voters will decide his fate, few seemed that interested in what he had to say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is just trying to get reelected, you know. It's a long shot I think for him, but I know a lot of people that are going to vote for him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything is still quite big on his part. So I don't feel good about it.
BUCKLEY (on camera): Gary Condit will know in a week if his appearance here and his campaigning back home resonated with voters in the 18th Congressional District. On March 5, they will go to the polls for California's primary to vote on whether Gary Condit should continue to represent them.
Frank Buckley, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And although pressed, Condit refused to say whether he had an affair with Chandra Levy.
Lisa DePaulo is a writer who has covered the Gary Condit case extensively. She joins us now with her reaction to what the congressman said last night -- welcome back -- good to see you.
LISA DEPAULO, WRITER: Oh, it's great to see you, Paula.
ZAHN: So one would think if your strategy is reelection, I don't think Mr. Condit hurt himself last night. Do you?
DEPAULO: I thought he was better than he has been through this, which isn't saying much. I mean, he was a disaster on Connie Chung. He seemed less creepy last night. And it's funny, because with the Connie Chung, that whole moment he was handled by very expensive advisors. Right now, it's just his children, who in addition to being excellent props, may be advising him better.
ZAHN: So the people who are going to vote for him are going to vote for him anyway. I would think the people who he alienated last night...
DEPAULO: Right.
ZAHN: ... were those who get sick and tired of hearing this constant victim talk. I am the victim here.
DEPAULO: Yes, yes, yes.
ZAHN: When you talked to law enforcement agencies...
DEPAULO: Yes.
ZAHN: ... did you find out why they haven't found her body...
DEPAULO: Right.
ZAHN: ... and it's the media's fault?
DEPAULO: Well, he is saying...
ZAHN: I mean, this is the mantra.
DEPAULO: ... he has been persecuted by the press. He is a victim of the press. That's the new thing, both last night and in a "Times" magazine article. You know, he is a victim of the media. But I find it fascinating that this man, who believes he was so victimized by the media, is now using the media to win reelection. You know, he was not...
(CROSSTALK)
ZAHN: ... the obvious strategy.
DEPAULO: Right. He was not on "LARRY KING" last night, because he is worried about finding Chandra Levy. He was on because he wants to win. And you know, he has no money. The polls are really bad. So he is using, you know, the media...
ZAHN: Well, he got an hour of exposure.
DEPAULO: Yes.
ZAHN: But you don't see any place in there where he tripped...
DEPAULO: Well, sure, I mean... ZAHN: .... as far as the campaign's point of view would be.
DEPAULO: No. I mean, he did what he has been doing. You know, it's like he has dug his heels in now. I am not going to talk about it. You did get a really great sense, I think, last night of what the police must have been dealing with, you know. He said to Larry over and over, you know, I talked to them within 48 hours. But...
ZAHN: But how long was it that the investigators found thereafter...
DEPAULO: Right.
ZAHN: ...that there was any relationship where it was confirmed between Chandra Levy and the congressman?
DEPAULO: Nine-and-a-half weeks. My sources and other sources...
(CROSSTALK)
ZAHN: So he lied last night, is what you are saying.
DEPAULO: Well, he didn't lie. He did talk to the police 48 hours later, but you know, according to law enforcement sources, he didn't tell them what they needed to know until nine-and-a-half weeks later. And this is a missing person.
ZAHN: So that's more shading of the truth?
DEPAULO: Correct. Sure, sure.
ZAHN: All right. Let's replay a small part of the conversation, when Larry asked him about another woman last night, and that is Anne Marie Smith -- let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Why have you not commented on Anne Marie Smith, the flight attendant?
CONDIT: That's all tabloid stuff. I mean, that's...
KING: But she had all of this apparent evidence. I mean, she...
CONDIT: Well, yes, she says she has evidence that -- you know, that's just all tabloid stuff. And some of the people...
KING: All right. What is the story from your viewpoint?
CONDIT: It's tabloid.
KING: You mean, you don't know her?
CONDIT: It's -- you know, she has nothing to do with Chandra Levy. No, I know who she is, but it's all -- it has nothing to do with Chandra Levy. Any many of the people around those tabloid stories got paid, Larry. They got paid. They got money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Lisa, you are shaking your head, no, no, no.
DEPAULO: Well...
ZAHN: We need to explain, you were to go to press on 9/11...
DEPAULO: Yes.
ZAHN: ... with the story about Anne Marie Smith and her alleged relationship with the congressman. We haven't seen that story, but you interviewed her. What did you learn? And why is it at all relevant to the disappearance of Chandra Levy?
DEPAULO: Because Anne Marie was the only person not in his family and not on his payroll who he was in regular contact with the weeks before and after Chandra's disappearance. And her recollection of their conversations of his state of mind is very interesting. And I think when he says, you know, yes, I knew her, yes, he knew her real well.
Anne Marie is not somebody, by the way, who took money from the tabloids. Her roommates did, but she never did. And believe me, she could -- you know, she is out of work. She was an airline stewardess, and got laid off after 9/11. So -- but she...
ZAHN: But what did she tell you about the relationship that would at all tell you about where his head was at that time?
DEPAULO: Well, first of all, his relationship with Anne Marie was very consistent with his relationship with Chandra, in that, you know, there were rules about secrecy and so on, and you know, neither knew of the other. He also gave her -- you know, Anne Marie wasn't crazy about him the way Chandra was. So she wasn't that connected.
ZAHN: Because you always talked in your previous piece about how obsessed...
DEPAULO: Yes.
ZAHN: ... Chandra Levy was with the congressman.
DEPAULO: Yes, yes.
ZAHN: Bottom line, do you think that Gary Condit gets reelected?
DEPAULO: You know what? No, but I think the polls are closer than they appear to be, because I think there are a lot of people who will not tell a pollster that they are going to vote for him, but will in fact vote for him.
ZAHN: All right. We'll see if that prediction holds true. That primary a week away, I guess.
DEPAULO: Yes.
ZAHN: Trying to count those days off here. It is next week, right?
DEPAULO: Yes.
ZAHN: All right. Lisa DePaulo -- nice of you to drop by.
DEPAULO: Thanks, Paula.
ZAHN: Good to see you again.
DEPAULO: Thank you.
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