Well now that he has nothing to lose, he has everything to gain? Condit rules out re-election bid Announcement won't come for at least another week, sources tell NBC NewsSeptember 7 — Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif., will not annouce his decision until the state Legislature ends its current session next week, NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports, quoting sources close to the congressman. MSNBC STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS Sept. 7 — Rep. Gary Condit, battered by scandal following the disappearance of Chandra Levy, has decided not to seek re-election to Congress next year, sources close to the Democratic lawmaker told NBC News on Friday. But Condit's chief of staff, Michael Dayton, denied his boss had reached a decision on whether to seek a seventh term. THE SOURCES, who spoke with NBC's Andrea Mitchell on condition of anonymity, said that Condit would not announce his decision until after the California state Assembly ends its session at the end of next week. Condit has no plans to retire before his current term expires, the sources added. The California legislators are in the midst of drawing up a plan that could redistrict Condit out of a job. If the redistricting goes through, as much as 40 percent of the electorate in Condit's district would be made up of voters new to the district, many of whom would have no knowledge of Condit as a congressman other than what they have heard during the search for Levy. Condit's political future has been in question following his actions in the wake of the disappearance of the 24-year-old Levy in Washington, D.C., on or about May 1. It was later disclosed that she had been having an affair with the congressman. Investigators say they have no clues about Levy's whereabouts and do not consider Condit a suspect. He still could face an investigation by the House Ethics Committee, though his decision to retire makes that unlikely. He also is likely to retain his seat on the House Intelligence Committee through the end of his current term. The lawmaker also is the subject of a preliminary obstruction of justice investigation because he initially did not disclose his relationship with Levy to police. GRAND JURY REACHES DECISION Separately, a woman who claims she, too, had an affair with Condit has asked a grand jury in California to investigate the lawmaker. Advertisement The Associated Press on Friday quoted a Stanislaus County employee as saying that the grand jury had reached a decision on whether to conduct such an investigation. But the employee, Marnie Ardis, said the results of the secret vote of a 19-member civil grand jury Thursday night won't be made public. Instead, she said, the decision was being relayed in a letter sent Friday to the attorney of flight attendant Anne Marie Smith. Smith's lawyer, James Robinson, held a news conference on the courthouse steps last week to announce he was going directly to the grand jury with allegations that Condit, his chief of staff, Mike Lynch; and Don Thornton, an investigator for a California lawyer who has represented Condit, obstructed justice by encouraging Smith to commit perjury. Smith, 40, claims Condit and his intermediaries tried to get her to sign a false affidavit denying they had an affair. She said they had a 10-month romance. Condit has denied asking anybody to lie. His attorney, Abbe Lowell, said Smith and the congressman apparently have different definitions of the word "relationship." Legal experts say it would be highly unusual for a county grand jury to undertake such an investigation of a case that wasn't presented to it by prosecutors, though it has a legal right to do so. DAUGHTER APPEARS ON TV Condit's decision not to run again — if confirmed — would match the wishes of his family. His son, Chad, indicated last week that the congressman's family didn't want him to seek re-election. At the same time, family members have taken to the airwaves in recent days in an effort to rebuild the congressman's battered reputation. On Wednesday, Condit's 26-year-old daughter Cadee gave a spirited defense of her father on CNN's "Larry King Live." "My dad had nothing to do with the disappearance of Chandra Levy," Cadee Condit said in an interview for CNN's Larry King Live. "I don't blame him for anything. ... I'm OK with my dad. We've discussed this." Cadee Condit, the 26-year old daughter of Rep. Gary Condit, defends her father in an interview Wednesday on CNN's "Larry King Live." Cadee Condit said Levy was old enough to make her own decisions: "With the 24-year-old thing, you know, people have said that we're close in age. I'm a grown woman, and anyone close to my age can make decisions for herself." Saying it was "horrible ... to watch your mom and dad be demonized by the press," she took aim at Democrats Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri and California Gov. Gray Davis for criticizing her father's conduct during the search for Levy. "I don't understand why the governor and Mr. Gephardt are so interested in my dad coming forward about intimate details of his relationships," she said. "You know, he was forthcoming with law enforcement, and that was the most important thing." Gephardt said Condit was evasive in his interview with ABC News, and Davis, a longtime Condit friend and ally, said the congressman should have been more forthcoming. CONDIT 'JUST ABOUT DESTROYED' Candee Condit also said the case had left her father "a totally different guy. He's heartbroken." A day earlier, Condit's parents said the scandal had all but destroyed their son. "Sure, Satan had a big-time role in this," said the Rev. Adrian Condit, the congressman's father in a story published in The Ceres Courier. In the three-hour interview, his parents, often times holding back tears, said the media frenzy has nearly ruined Condit. "He's just about destroyed," said his mother, Jean Condit. "People are destroying him not only (in) reputation but him." Both defended their son's perceived evasiveness as his unwillingness to damage the reputation of Chandra Levy. "Gary has taken a lot of crap because he's trying to be a gentleman and not expose her," said Adrian Condit. "God knows that I wouldn't hurt anybody purposely in all of my life. And do you know what? I don't think Gary has either. I think Gary is a gentleman in every respect. Now, he's made mistakes just like he said." CALLS FOR RESIGNATION Several Republicans have called for Condit's resignation, something his aides and two adult children said he would not consider. Condit has refrained from any public comments since giving a series of broadcast and print interviews in late August in which he sidestepped questions about whether his relationship with Levy was sexual and denied any role in her disappearance. A police source says Condit, who is married, acknowledged an affair with Levy when police questioned him a third time. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 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