NYDailyNews

CONDIT SIDESTEPS MOST OF CHUNG'S QUESTIONS

By WILLIAM NEUMAN

August 24, 2001 -- Rep. Gary Condit dug in his heels last night and refused to reveal details of his relationship with Chandra Levy in his first TV interview since the Washington intern went missing.

"Did you kill Chandra Levy?" ABC News interviewer Connie Chung asked the embattled congressman early in the half-hour sit-down on "PrimeTime Thursday."

"I did not," answered Condit, who appeared at times uncomfortable and defensive, but generally remained calm.

But the bluntness of that exchange contrasted sharply with the rest of the interview, in which Condit repeatedly deflected questions.

"We had a close relationship," Condit said of Levy. "I liked her very much."

But he refused to answer when asked if he had a sexual relationship with Chandra, who disappeared May 1.

"I've been married for 34 years, and I've not been . . . a perfect man, and I've made my share of mistakes," he said.

"But out of respect for my family, and out of a specific request from the Levy family, I think it's best that I not get into those details."

Condit was referring to a TV interview the Levys' lawyer gave recently, in which he said the family didn't want to hear details of the California congressman's affair with Chandra.

Asked if he and Levy were in love, Condit replied: "Well, I don't know that she was in love with me. She never said so. And I was not in love with her."

Condit was then grilled about a conversation he had with Susan Levy, Chandra's mother, shortly after the 24-year-old intern's disappearance.

Mrs. Levy has said Condit answered "no" when she asked if he was having an affair with her daughter.

But Condit said Mrs. Levy never actually asked him if he was sleeping with her daughter.

"I never lied to Mrs. Levy," he said. "I'm sorry if she misunderstood the conversations."

Condit's refusal to give details of his relationship, including how often Chandra went to his D.C. apartment, finally prompted Chung to ask if he was stonewalling.

"I don't think I'm stonewalling at all," he said. "I think that people expect that you can maintain some of your privacy."

Sources said a furious Condit left in a huff after the sometimes combative interview, which took place at a friend's California ranch.

Police have criticized Condit for impeding their early investigation of Levy's disappearance - and sources have said Condit didn't admit to having an affair with the young woman until his third interview with cops.

Last night, Condit insisted, "I don't think there's anyone in Washington, D.C., who's been more cooperative."

The lawyer for the Levys, Billy Martin, said after the interview, "I don't think he was candid. I don't think he's been forthcoming."

Condit also denied claims by flight attendant Ann Marie Smith that they had a yearlong affair - and that he urged her to conceal the relationship from investigators.

Smith afterward told Fox News: "He's a sociopath. It's ludicrous for him to say everyone else is lying but him. . . . This man has no conscience."

-- Anonymous, August 24, 2001

Answers

{Og Note: The following is one of the more thoughtful pieces on Condit's performance.]

Boston Herald

Congressman seals slippery image by Monica Collins

Friday, August 24, 2001

When Connie Chung asked Congressman Gary Condit if he killed intern Chandra Levy, a shadow of a smile passed over his face. ``I did not,'' he declared.

The camera caught the eerie moment early in last night's hotly anticipated Chung interview with Condit on ABC's ``Primetime Live.'' And it was creepy. On TV, Condit became a dead man talking. Making his national media debut, Condit's slippery image was sealed.

He looked like an aging member of a preppy guy group - a Four Freshman 40 years later. The hair brushed in a stylish thatch, the skin taut and visibly made up, the eyes steely - Condit's appearance was slick and soulless.

Chung, whose aggressiveness became overbearing at times, tried everything short of throttling the man to get him to admit a sexual liaison with Chandra Levy.

Condit deflected all queries, citing his need for privacy, his 34-year marriage, his ``respect for my family'' and ``a request by the Levy family.''

Condit slid away from nearly every question asked of him by Chung. He blamed the tabloids, he blamed police, he blamed the Levys for distortions. He might as well have blamed Chandra Levy. The network air was tainted.

``I'm trying to maintain some privacy for my family and their family. I think viewers out there will understand.''

Not.

We saw an epic show of desperation as Chung desperately asked the questions - and let some drop - while Condit desperately ran from the queries.

Even before the Chung-Condit interview aired on ABC, the cable networks churned with leaked tidbits. ``We have additional details about Connie Chung's interview with Gary Condit,'' announced Geraldo Rivera on CNBC's ``Rivera Live.''

Those details included Condit's assertion that he and Chandra Levy never discussed love, marriage or any kind of a future together. Rivera declared that the Condit's media assault ``smacked of infomercialism.''

On the Fox News Channel, Mark Fuhrman, the former LAPD detective who became a household name during the trial of O.J. Simpson, popped up as a Condit pundit on the high-octane shout show, ``Hannity and Colmes.''

``This guy's dirty for something,'' said Fuhrman of Condit.

Sean Hannity, co-host of the program, kept citing ``my sources'' who had leaked him nuggets from the Chung interview. Those sources told him that Condit claimed he threw away an empty watch box because, simply he was cleaning out his office. Seemed ridiculous he would have said such a thing, but it turned out to be true.

Even if Congressman Condit believed he was redeeming his reputation by submitting to the Chung interview on ABC, he was the target for unrelenting attack on cable.

Facing off against Chung, the once little-known politician officially joined our national rogues gallery.

And while Mark Fuhrman held forth on Fox News Channel, yet another notorious ghost from TV scandals past, former Olympic skater Tonya Harding, appeared on CNN's ``Larry King Live.'' King questioned Harding about Connie Chung and their famous interview conducted at the height of the Harding-Nancy Kerrigan imbroglio.

``How did Connie get that?'' King asked Harding of the famed exchange.

``She was very, very considerate and very nice at that time,'' answered Harding, ``but then she became a little bit more pushy.''

Pushy too when Gary Condit skated on his thin ice.

-- Anonymous, August 24, 2001

thanks for the additional coverage. Maybe Chung is trying to show she can take baba wawa's place when the time comes? heh heh

-- Anonymous, August 24, 2001

Gawd, I'm just watching another TV interview with Condit and SB6, which I guess is a local TV channel--he is repeating word for word many of the statements he made to Chung! This is amazing! The guy is better at learning his lines than any Hollywood actor. What an asshole.

-- Anonymous, August 24, 2001

probably has his own teleprompter by now...

-- Anonymous, August 24, 2001