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CNN Live Sunday

New Developments Revealed by Police in the Chandra Levy Case

Aired July 15, 2001 - 17:01   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.
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: The search for missing Washington intern Chandra Levy. District of Columbia metropolitan police say they want to see results from Congressman Gary Condit's privately administered lie detector test. They want to give him their own test too. Today, they revealed intriguing facts about the hours leading up to Ms. Levy's disappearance, as a powerful colleague of the congressman called on him to step down. More on that from CNN congressional correspondent Jonathan Karl.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With the police investigation turning up no solid leads, Chandra Levy's family is trying to keep the attention on California Democrat Gary Condit.

BILLY MARTIN, ATTORNEY FOR THE LEVY FAMILY: The story here is a young lady is missing, and we have a congressman who seems to stall the investigation. The story is as much about Congressman Condit and his failure to tell the truth and to come forward earlier as it is about this missing person.

KARL: Police characterize Condit as relatively cooperative, pointing out that he has voluntarily turned over records and a DNA sample, giving free interviews and allowed his apartment to be searched.

ASSISTANT CHIEF TERRANCE GAINER, D.C. METROPOLITAN POLICE: We are still in the process of talking to the congressman's staff, looking at some other vehicles, but that is just one small dimension of this case. I know it gets a lot of attention, but there is a lot of other things we are doing on the other theories.

KARL: Adding more theories, tips coming in from the television program "America's Most Wanted".

JOHN WALSH, "AMERICA'S MOST WANTED": We got 166 tips. The most promising so far is that there was a van in the Dupont Circle area the day before, trying to lure young women, about Chandra Levy's age, into the van and was unsuccessful. So, police will be following up on that tip today and talking to that tipster today.

KARL: Police say it's one of many tips they are looking into. They also plan to use police academy recruits to add manpower to their search of Rock Creek Park, the 2,800-acre wooded area located just blocks from Levy's apartment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are going to more and more remote areas. Now, we have done some of that already, but it's so dense and so difficult to search that we are going to try again and see what we come up with. Not that we have gotten a lead, just that we have got to continue to explore all possibilities.

KARL: Regardless of what the investigation turns up, the Senate's top Republican says Democrat Condit should leave Congress if he had an affair with Levy.

SEN. TRENT LOTT (R-MS), MINORITY LEADER: Infidelity is always unacceptable, but particularly when you have an elected official involved in a position of trust with a young girl, an intern. If these allegations are true, obviously he should resign. And if he doesn't, the people of his district probably will not reelect him.

KARL (on camera): As people associated with this case fanned out on the talk shows, noticeably absent was anybody speaking for Gary Condit. That's because, in the words of his spokeswoman, "everything substantive we have already said, we have nothing more to say."

Jonathan Karl, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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