-Caveat Lector-
Lawyer Says Condit Staff Misled Press
By Allan Lengel and Petula Dvorak
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, August 27, 2001; Page B3
Rep. Gary A. Condit's staff repeatedly put out misleading statements
about the congressman's relationship with Chandra Levy, but the California
Democrat never authorized them to do so, Condit's attorney said yesterday.
"Congressman Condit did not tell his staff to go out and lie," Condit's
attorney, Abbe D. Lowell, said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "Congressman
Condit did not authorize those statements to be made. Those staff people
spoke about what they hoped was the truth and what they thought the truth
was."
Lowell's comments - three days after Condit's national television
interview - appeared to be an attempt to put some distance between the
congressman and his staff, and blame them for the misleading statements.
Levy, 24, was reported missing in early May, and only in his third
interview with police did Condit tell investigators that he had a romantic
affair with her.
When asked why the staff members' misstatements to the media were not
corrected, Lowell said, "It was a mistake for the staff and the collective
office of the congressman and the congressman and me not to correct that
sooner and correct it better."
Lowell declined to comment after the program.
Lowell's remarks were a part of a round of talk show appearances that
seemed designed to mitigate the fallout from Condit's appearance Thursday
night on ABC's "PrimeTime Live" with Connie Chung. It was at least the
second time Lowell made roundabout comments suggesting that Condit had a
romantic affair with Levy without admitting that publicly; the first
remarks were on ABC's "Nightline" on Thursday evening.
Politicians, viewers and pundits overwhelmingly agreed that Condit, 53,
appeared evasive and less than forthright during the Chung interview and
did little to bolster his sagging political fortunes.
Yesterday, Lowell said that Condit had no plans to resign and that he sees
no need for Condit to relinquish his seat on the House Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence, a move suggested by some colleagues.
He said Condit's life is now an open book; therefore, "he's probably the
person on the Intelligence Committee who can't be blackmailed anymore."
Lowell appeared on television just before James Robinson, attorney for
flight attendant Anne Marie Smith, was to board a plane from Seattle to
Modesto, Calif., to take legal action that he said may "make Gary Condit
want to resign."
Robinson remained tight-lipped on the specifics in a telephone interview
but indicated his displeasure with Condit's remarks to Chung, in which he
denied having a relationship with Smith and suggested she came forward for
financial gain. Robinson said he and his client have accepted no money for
any of their interviews.
In blaming Condit's staff for misleading the public, Lowell said the
congressman's Modesto chief of staff, Mike Lynch, and others "acted very
quickly, and they acted sort of in what they assumed was the issue. And
when that happened the congressman yanked them out of the position of
having to be involved in the press and found somebody to answer press
questions."
Lynch did not return several phone calls made to his home yesterday
afternoon.
Lowell also said the FBI gives credence to a privately administered
polygraph test Lowell said Condit passed in July. "They know the
congressman passed a valid test," he said of the exam administered by a
former FBI agent.
But D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey disputed that yesterday, saying:
"We are unable to validate the results of the polygraph test. We had no
input in the questions. The examiner could not have possibly known all the
facts in the case. Therefore, the FBI had not officially sanctioned the
test."
Many yesterday were still trying to gauge the political fallout.
In a telephone poll published in yesterday's Modesto Bee newspaper, about
two-thirds of the 539 people interviewed said they approved of the job
Condit is doing, but only 27 percent said they would vote for him again.
================================================================
Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
*Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
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