[OG Note: Should we have a pool on when Condit is going to resign?]

http://www.j-marshall.com/talk/july0102.html#071401509am

(July 14th, 2001 -- 5:09 AM EST // link)

Regarding the Condit lie detector test, here's some other morsels to keep in mind.

In his post tonight Mickey Kaus notes that Aldrich Ames, the notorious CIA spy, passed a number of lie detector tests. So clearly the technology is not infallible.

But this only scratches the surface of the story.

The polygraph expert retained by Condit attorney Abbe Lowell is named Barry Colvert, a former CIA lie detector expert. One of the bullet points on Colvert's resume is that he did the interrogations of Aldrich Ames. Now I don't know if the tests Ames beat were administered by Colvert. But it seems like a definite possibility. So it's not just that Ames beat a lie detector test. It may be that he beat this expert.

But there's more. A lot more.

Back in January 1998 when former Teamsters' President Ron Carey was trying to fight off an indictment and expulsion from the union over the campaign donation-swapping scandal, he decided to take a lie detector test to clear himself. He passed the test.

The test was administered by none other than Barry Colvert.

Now this is a little painful for me to say, because I always liked Ron Carey, but the bottom line is that he was eventually indicted. So Colvert's results look a little iffy in retrospect.

More striking though is the way that test was apparently administered. Read this snippet from a January 21st, 1998 AP story and see if the Carey test doesn't sound very similar to the one Abbe Lowell described Colvert administering to Gary Condit.

Barry Colvert, an agent for 35 years who interrogated Aldrich Ames and other high-profile spies, asked Carey two crucial questions about the scheme.

"I did not find any indication of deception in either of those primary questions," Colvert said. He added that, "If the readings were close and flat, I wouldn't have rendered that opinion."

Colvert's questions and the questions posed to Carey by his attorney, Reid Weingarten, were limited to charges that about $735,000 was donated by the Teamsters to generate contributions to Carey's re-election campaign.

Carey was not asked if he knew that other labor leaders, including AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka, allegedly had funneled prohibited donations to his campaign.

Sounds similar, doesn't it? Highly restricted questioning ... "two crucial questions" ... "the primary questions" etc. And apparently no follow-ups on the factual nitty-gritty of the case.

(Carey seems to be the only other high-profile case Colvert has handled since he went into private practice in 1997 -- I base this on a Nexis search on Colvert's name which revealed no mentions beside those tied to Carey.)

And then there's one more detail.

My understanding is that, at approximately this time, Carey had working for him a PR consultant by the name of Marina Ein. (I do not know whether she was still working for Carey at the time of the test in January 1998 -- but I know she was shortly before that.) And as you'll remember, if you're following the case, that's the same Marina Ein who is now working for Gary Condit.

What does this all mean? I'm going to let the information speak for itself. But it does make you wonder.

-- Josh Marshall

-- Anonymous, July 14, 2001

Answers

Anne Marie Smith Larry King interview is here

-- Anonymous, July 14, 2001

So, another no-good, conniving, manipulating, self-serving professional politician stepped into the pungy pit. Aren't at least half of the folks down there in government a bunch of bums? Still, when we want to dig into the personal (and sometimes not so personal) lives of those who run our government we get an eyeful. And that goes right to the *top* of even the current administration. We often are following a bunch of stinkers, like it or not.

I had posted a comment about a book, Blue Thunder. Also in that story was a lot of detail about Gary Hart and his Monkee Business fiasco down there in Miami. Apparently there is a high class, very exclusive, "fun" club whose members are the politically elite, and some highly recognized folks in the entertainment business. The Gary Hart infidelity exposure was all planned by some powerful people in the organized crime world. They didn't want him to be a candidate. That's just life in the deeply negative (STS) world of many of those who influence us, both politicians and entertainment stars.

-- Anonymous, July 14, 2001

"Gary Hart infidelity exposure was all planned by some powerful people in the organized crime world. They didn't want him to be a candidate"

Right now, something along the line of this scenario is my nomination for what is happening.

-- Anonymous, July 14, 2001

Brooks,

The common ingredient seems to be whether or not the "candidate" will play the "game" according to the way that the real power brokers want it played. Gary Hart got sort of egotistical and self centered to the point that he began to look like the proverbial loose cannon. Can't have that, can we? And, since these political dudes are routinely messing in sex, shady business deals, and whatnot, they are very vulnerable to being hung out to dry. Or kept in line, as our last president can attest to.

Incidentally, according to the book, the young lady who brought Gary down was one of the "hostesses" at that special club. The writer says she never lost her job or suffered any reprimand. Strange, if she was the torpedo to a presidential candidate. As I say, such is the reality of living your life in the negative world, doing deals with the devil, and dancing with all the nymphs. Who was it that was wandering about the countryside with a lantern, in days gone by, looking for an honest man?

-- Anonymous, July 14, 2001

Diogenes, I think.

-- Anonymous, July 14, 2001

Police to turn up heat on Condit

Rep. Gary Condit pushes past reporters and photographers Thursday as he left his apartment in the Adams Morgan section of Washington.

July 13 — Attorney Abbe Lowell says Rep. Gary Condit took and passed a polygraph test. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

NBC NEWS AND WIRE REPORTS WASHINGTON, July 14 — Investigators plan to call on Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif., to submit as soon as possible to a police-administered polygraph test in connection with the disappearance of former intern Chandra Levy, a senior Washington police official told NBC News on Saturday. Condit has already passed a polygraph given privately, his lawyer said, but police weren’t ready to accept those results.

-- Anonymous, July 14, 2001

Here's the remainder of that story:

TERRANCE GAINER, Washington’s No. 2 police official, said police had yet to receive the results of Condit’s first test, administered Friday. He said he had not spoken with Abbe Lowell, Condit’s attorney, since the surprise announcement of the exam Friday. “We are giving each other some space,” Gainer angrily told NBC News correspondent Norah O’Donnell. The test reportedly questioned Condit on three crucial points: whether he had anything to do with Levy’s disappearance, whether he had harmed her or caused anyone else to harm her, and whether he knows her whereabouts. “There was absolutely no deception,” Lowell told reporters, referring to the results of the test. The test was administered by retired FBI special agent Barry Colvert, who has given more than 3,000 polygraph tests during his career, Lowell said. “The charts were so clear, the results were so clear, that anybody looking at them would come to the same conclusion,” said Lowell. POLICE SKEPTICAL OF RESULTS But Gainer expressed doubt about the validity of the results, which he said police still had not received Saturday. “My impression was that we were going to continue that dialogue and get to it,” Gainer said Friday after Lowell’s announcement. “I don’t think it surprises anybody that a defense attorney as sharp as Abbe Lowell would give his client a polygraph before he offers it to the police. I just didn’t expect it quite this way.” Gainer said the test was administered in a “not-normal technique,” in which the questioner was not given the full facts of the case. Advertisement

“There has to be some give and take between the investigators and the polygraph examiner for the results to be meaningful,” Gainer said. A spokesman for the Levy family expressed dismay over the announcement of Condit’s test and also called on him to submit to a police-administered exam. Until then, “the family does not believe that Congressman Condit is fully cooperating with the family in their efforts to find their daughter,” attorney Billy Martin said.

Aside from the three points directly related to Levy’s disappearance, Lowell would not say what other questions Condit was asked and whether he passed those, as well. As he has before, Lowell berated the media for what he said was an obsession about his client’s private life, which he termed “counterproductive” for the search for Levy. Police sources have told NBC that Condit has admitted he was having an affair with Levy at the time of her disappearance on April 30. Police have repeatedly said that Condit is not a suspect in the disappearance of Levy, a graduate student from his congressional district who had just finished an internship with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons when she vanished. ALTERED SKETCHES RELEASED Police began distributing sketches Saturday showing Levy with different hairstyles and hair colors “in case she disappeared on her own,” as one high-ranking department official told NBC News. The sketches show the brunette Levy with her hair cut short, with blonde hair and with a ponytail. Police Chief Charles Ramsey said Friday the sketches were being distributed to cover all the bases in the case and did not indicate that police now believed Levy had vanished of her own accord. Police are exploring the possibility Levy may have changed her appearance since she was reported missing. They asked anyone seeing a person who resembles these composites to call them at (202) 727-2663.

Police also are awaiting FBI laboratory tests to see whether items removed from Condit’s condominium unit during a search Wednesday contained blood. Gainer said Thursday that authorities were expecting no major advances in their investigation as a result of the almost four-hour search, which was conducted with Condit’s consent and in his presence. Condit also has given authorities a DNA sample, which could be compared to any other body fluids that are recovered in the course of the investigation. OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE?

July 13 — John Walsh, host of ’America’s Most Wanted,’ talks about the Levy case and his exclusive interview with the missing intern’s parents.

Meanwhile, sources told The Associated Press that federal prosecutors had broadened a criminal inquiry into whether the congressman sought to obstruct justice. Condit’s camp had been hoping that investigators would conclude, after two days of interviews with a San Francisco woman, that her accusation that Condit sought to interfere with the investigation of Levy’s disappearance was either without merit or unprosecutable. The woman, Anne Marie Smith, 39, a flight attendant, has alleged that Condit urged her to sign a statement denying a 10-month affair she says they had. She also maintains that Condit told her she did not have to cooperate with FBI agents who questioned her. Speaking Friday on CNN’s “Larry King Live,” Smith said Condit repeatedly called urging her to sign the statement.

“He’s very manipulative. He kept pressing me to sign this affidavit,” said Smith, who said she seriously considered signing the document but decided against it at the last minute.

Smith’s attorney, Jim Robinson, said Condit’s urgings put her at great risk. “She could’ve gone to jail for a long time if she’d signed it.” Smith also said Condit told her that he had had affairs previous to their relationship. During the CNN program, she urged anyone who had been involved with Condit to talk with police. “If there are other women that know anything about this and are afraid ... I encourage them from the bottom of my heart to come forward.”

Lowell refused earlier Friday to comment on Smith’s allegations, saying, “I don’t understand ... what anything with Anne Marie Smith has to do with the disappearance of Chandra Levy.” But on CNN, Robinson said Condit’s past involvements may offer important clues about his relationship with Levy. “There’s an MO here,” Robinson said, using police shorthand for “modus operandi.” POLICE SEARCH CONTINUES Police said Saturday they plan to scour a park near Levy’s home Monday in an effort to find her body or other clues related to her disappearance. The effort continues a massive search that began Thursday when police combed through vacant buildings near where Levy was last seen. Police will search areas 100 yards into Rock Creek Park from where someone could have parked a car. “If there was an unplanned homicide and someone wanted to get rid of a body as quickly as possible, they might bury it not far from the road,” Gainer told NBC.

-- Anonymous, July 14, 2001

Condit may be involved in this disappearance, or he may just be trying to take the spotlight off himself. Too late. The hounds are loose now and Condit has *some* kind of odor. Sort of like old Jesse. Once something stinky hits the air, those pesky media flies come looking. Presuming their media bosses approve of the story. Apparently the media bosses are going to give Condit the full treatment. Frankly I find it hard to feel sorry for the guy. He must have doublecrossed somebody who matters. Didn't play by the "rules".

-- Anonymous, July 14, 2001

He must have doublecrossed somebody who matters. Didn't play by the "rules".

You mean besides the constituents, right?

-- Anonymous, July 15, 2001

Barefoot, I don't think the constituents matter a hoot to most pro politicians, except for their votes when they need to stay in power. Does the customer matter to most used car salesmen? Nope. Only the money they have matters and the customer is considered a target. They just hit the target and move on to the next one. Selfish, self- centered, people are incapable of caring about the welfare of others, even though they are experts are appearing to care. I think we saw two of the stars of this type personality with our last president.

-- Anonymous, July 15, 2001

Nail on head, Gordon. When I worked in politics as a naive newcomer from England I was shocked to find out how things actually work. A candidate (or sitting politician), under the guise of a public opinion poll, surveys his constituents to find out what they want. (Why doesn't he know?) Then he designs a platform promising (or appearing to promise) what they want. You know the rest.

-- Anonymous, July 15, 2001