Condit No Suspect, Police Say

Rep. Gary A. Condit (D-Ceres) has been interviewed by police for the third time in the case of missing intern Chandra Levy, and authorities said Saturday he had continued to fully cooperate with their investigation and is not a suspect in her disappearance nine weeks ago.

“He is not a suspect today, and he was not a suspect yesterday,” Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer said in a news conference outside police headquarters Saturday night.

Asked why a third interview was necessary, Gainer said, “We challenged him for clarity, and he answered each one of our questions.”

In addition, District of Columbia police officials said they still consider it possible that the 24-year-old intern from Modesto killed herself--a slight variation from the police chief’s remarks earlier last week that suicide has been all but ruled out.

The police declined to detail the third interview with the seven-term congressman who represents Levy’s hometown except to say it lasted about 90 minutes Friday at an undisclosed location.

Gainer also would not confirm reports, most notably by several television networks, that the Condit, 53, a married man with children, had acknowledged Friday that he had been romantically involved with Levy.

He added, however, that authorities are “comfortable that we understand the nature of the relationship.”

But describing that relationship, he said, would be “unfair to him, unfair to the investigation of the process and probably unfair to the Levy family.”

Several people close to Levy, including an aunt, Linda Zamsky, said she did speak of an ongoing affair with Condit.

Levy was an intern at the Federal Bureau of Prisons and vanished at the end of April as she was preparing to return to California.

Condit has not publicly addressed his relationship with the missing woman except for a statement he released soon after her disappearance in which he said she was a “good friend.” His office has repeatedly denied that the two were intimately involved.

Friday’s police interview of Condit came after his wife, Carolyn, arrived in Washington to give her own interview to authorities. According to the congressman’s office, she was in town visiting him immediately before and after Levy disappeared.

Gainer also shot down a report in the San Francisco Chronicle that said a grand jury investigation had been convened to consider evidence in the Levy case and to hear testimony from Condit and his staff.

“We’ve not called for a grand jury, we’re not looking for a grand jury,” Gainer said.

He also said police have not subpoenaed any information from Condit.