Even while one of Condit’s senior advisors today acknowledged that the congressman and Levy had been having an intimate affair, Condit again repeatedly refused to publicly confirm the nature of the relationship to NEWSWEEK, insisting that his was a “principled position.” Said Condit: “The press is not entitled to know everything about my private life or the private life of any other member of Congress,” he said. “You’re not the church, and you’re not the court.”
Some of Condit’s ire was reserved for ABC’s Connie Chung, who had been selected by his own media advisors to conduct the most sought after prime-time news interview since Monica Lewinsky talked to Barbara Walters in March, 1999. Condit said that Chung “didn’t seem to be too interested in what I had to say.” Later, he commented acidly: “I sat there the whole time with Connie Chung waiting for her to ask me something other than a sex question.”
Condit’s comments today came as his advisors and aides tried to reassess the congressman’s precarious political position in the wake of a public-relations offensive that they privately acknowledged had turned into an unmitigated disaster. Overnight polls showed that the public’s assessment of Condit’s Thursday-night interview with Chung was overwhelmingly negative and that reaction from some quarters in Condit’s Northern California district was harsh. The Modesto Bee, the largest paper in what was once known as “Condit country” referred acidly today to his “weasel-like performance” and renewed its call for the congressman to resign.
In his interview with NEWSWEEK, Condit tried to repair some of the damage. The session was conducted at a Modesto condo, owned by a staff member, that has served as a hideaway for Condit and a core group of longtime aides and family members-including his son, Chad-that have been seeing him through the crisis. Wearing a white monogrammed shirt and appearing exhausted from the ordeal, Condit sat outside on a deck with chief lawyer Abbe Lowell and sipped ice water as he answered questions in a soft-spoken, matter-of-fact voice.
Condit’s first priority was to express his sympathy for the Levy family–a message that he felt didn’t come across during his Thursday–night interview because of Chung’s repeated questions about “sex.” “She didn’t seem to be too interested in what I had to say,” said Condit about Chung. “There were things that I would have liked to have gotten into that I couldn’t get into…. My heart goes out to the Levys,” said Condit of the intern’s parents, who have repeatedly criticized him and, through their lawyer, even hinted that they may file a civil suit accusing him of playing a role in the disappearance of their daughter. “I do have kids, and I’d say and do just about anything to get them back.”
Condit also described the antagonistic relationship that has developed between him and the Levys as “an awkward situation.” “I’ve heard them say a number of things that bother me and one is that they’re suspicious of me, and that bothers me greatly. I liked Chandra very much, and I would never have done anything to hurt her. Next to them and probably her family, I’m the next person in line that would like to see her return.”
If those feelings haven’t come through to date, Condit said, it may be because he has failed to sufficiently show it. “I’m not one of those guys who wears his emotions on his sleeve,” said Condit. “I’m not a sappy guy.” But, he added: “I hurt inside.”
