CONDIT - Another girlfriend turns up

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The Fresno Bee

Staffer romance revealed

Woman's affair with Condit mirrors Levy's.

By Michael Doyle Bee Washington Bureau

(Published July 25, 2001)

WASHINGTON -- A former receptionist who gave a gift watch box that Rep. Gary Condit reportedly discarded before police searched his condo told colleagues she was romantically involved with her boss, an informed source told The Bee on Tuesday.

The alleged relationship between the married congressman and a young woman on his congressional payroll took place years before Chandra Levy disappeared. But investigators searching for Levy have reportedly already interviewed the woman, now living in Northern California, as they seek to understand Condit's behavior.

Moreover, the informed source's description of the alleged earlier relationship appears remarkably similar to the way Levy's relatives described Chandra's relationship to Condit. These characteristics -- including a two-decade-plus age gap between Condit and the woman, Condit's careful security procedures and the younger woman's mistaken belief that the relationship had long-term potential -- were all discussed among Condit staffers in the mid-1990s, well before the world had heard of Chandra Levy.

Condit's chief of staff, Mike Lynch, and Washington-based spokeswoman Marina Ein said they would not respond to the latest allegations because the accusations are outside the scope of the Levy investigation.

"We simply do not comment on matters that are not related to the Chandra Levy investigation," Ein said.

Nonetheless, investigators have, according to several published reports, interviewed the former staff assistant who left Condit's employment in the mid-1990s. Investigators traced her as the woman who gave Condit a gift watch, whose box he was allegedly discovered placing in an Alexandria, Va., garbage can several hours before police searched his condo late July 10.

"We want to follow up to find out what there is to it," Executive Assistant Police Chief Terrance Gainer told The Associated Press on Monday night.

The Bee is not naming the woman in question, who has married since leaving Washington. She could not be reached Tuesday to discuss the situation.

The woman grew up in Stanislaus County and graduated from high school in 1989, the same year Condit first won election to the House of Representatives. After college, she went to Washington and by early 1994 was on Condit's payroll as a staff assistant, earning about $19,600 a year. Condit at the time was 46.

As often happens in the fast-paced world of Capitol Hill, the 20-something woman eventually moved from an entry-level receptionist job to take on more legislative responsibilities. At the same time, her apparently evolving relationship with Condit sparked discussion both on Capitol Hill and in the San Joaquin Valley.

"There were lots of manifestations that this was a relationship that went beyond the purely professional, like arguments and her running out of the office, crying," said one former Condit staffer, speaking on condition of anonymity.

This one-time congressional staffer vividly recalled following the tearful woman outside after she had rushed from Condit's Capitol Hill office. Independently, another former Condit staffer likewise recalled seeing the woman running from the office in tears. The woman was "nearly hyperventilating" in emotional distress, according to the staffer who recalled following her and spending about half an hour on a humid day trying to get the woman to calm down.

"I asked her flat out and said, 'Are you having an affair with Gary?' " the former staffer said, recalling the discussion the two had on an outdoor bench. "And she said, 'Oh, my god. Oh, my god' ... and then she said, 'Yes, it's him.' "

The two staffers would subsequently talk, but carefully. The woman confided that she was upset because she wanted Condit to leave his wife, according to her confidante, but Condit showed no inclination to do so. The woman also described "lots of rules" she had to follow to keep the relationship secret, including a "secret telephone number she had to call" to get in touch with Condit.

"She was constantly paranoid," the former staffer said. "She didn't want Gary knowing that anyone else knew."

Nonetheless, reporters for at least one Washington newspaper caught wind of rumors and questioned Condit staffers at the time about the relationship. The rumors were denied, and no story appeared; among Condit's staff, though, the secret spread at least some distance.

"I had put Condit on a pedestal, and when I first heard about this, I thought 'Oh, my gosh,' " a third former staffer said.

Chandra Levy's aunt, Linda Zamsky, has described a somewhat similar scenario in a 15-page account of what she says Levy told her of a secret relationship with Condit. Zamsky says Levy told her this relationship included "rules she had to follow for this relationship to flow" and some specific security procedures, including secret telephone numbers.

Condit's spokespersons formerly denied allegations that there was a romantic relationship between the congressman and the former Bureau of Prisons intern. They now neither confirm nor deny published reports that Condit admitted an affair in his third interview with Washington, D.C.police, but stress that the public focus should remain on finding Levy.

Police have emphasized that though they could benefit from talking to Condit for a fourth time, they do not see any connection between the gift watch box and the Levy disappearance. Police have also, in public interviews, voiced some dissatisfaction with how forthcoming Condit has been about his personal relations with Levy.

"There is evidence, certainly, that he didn't cooperate in the beginning," Levy family friend and lawyer Donald Vance said Tuesday night on CNN's "Wolf Blitzer Reports" program. "He has to give everything he knows."

Abbe Lowell, Condit's lawyer, says Condit will continue cooperating with investigators if they have new questions to ask. He indicated a fourth interview was possible.

Condit's congressional colleagues, meanwhile, continue to weigh in with harsh assessments. Colorado Rep. Scott McInnis became the third House Republican this week to call on Condit to resign. A fourth House member and longtime Condit political ally among conservative Democrats, Texas Rep. Charles Stenholm, stopped short of demanding a resignation Tuesday but sharply criticized Condit's actions.

"Through his actions and behaviors, Congressman Condit brought controversy and discredit to his family, his district and Congress," Stenholm said Tuesday in a prepared statement.

The reporter can be reached at mdoyle@mcclatchydc.com or (202) 383-0006.

-- Anonymous, July 25, 2001


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