Police Question Condit Again

Rep. Gary A. Condit has been questioned for a fourth time by District of Columbia police detectives and FBI agents looking into the May 1 disappearance of Chandra Levy, the 24-year-old Modesto woman who was completing a federal internship in Washington.

Police Sgt. Joe Gentile said Friday that the California Democrat met at his lawyer’s office with investigators for about an hour Thursday evening, but Gentile would not disclose the substance of the interview.

Marina Ein, a spokeswoman for Condit, also would not reveal details. But she said the congressman “answered every question and provided all the information and opinions that he had . . . to help law enforcement authorities find Chandra Levy.”

Authorities had been expected to ask Condit about claims by flight attendant Anne Marie Smith that he tried to persuade her to deny to investigators that they had a 10-month affair. Her assertion raised the question of whether Condit tried to obstruct the investigation.

Investigators also had wanted to ask Condit about a witness’ account that he saw the congressman toss a watch case into a trash container in Alexandria, Va., hours before his Washington condominium was searched by police July 10.

The watch case was discovered to be a gift to Condit from a former female staff assistant in San Francisco, an official said.

Police have insisted that Condit, who acknowledged in his third police interview that he had an affair with Levy, is not considered a suspect because no crime involving her disappearance has been alleged.

An FBI expert drafting a psychological profile of Levy also sat in on the interview along with Condit’s Washington lawyer, Abbe Lowell. Ein said Condit had agreed to help the FBI compile “a more detailed profile” of the missing woman.

It was learned that two of Condit’s top aides recently retained prominent Washington lawyers to represent them in official inquiries about their own roles, if any, in helping the congressman conceal some of his past activities.

Police, meanwhile, dismissed reports in the National Enquirer tabloid this week that Levy and Condit’s wife, Carolyn, had a “blowup phone call” just days before her disappearance, in which Levy reportedly told Mrs. Condit her husband was leaving her to start a new life with the intern. Ein also said the story had no foundation.

“I don’t think there is any truth to that whatsoever,” said Executive Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer. He discounted reports that police want a second interview with Condit’s wife.

Levy’s parents, who have hired a lawyer in an effort to find their daughter, have questioned whether Condit, their congressman, has been as helpful as he might be.

William R. “Billy” Martin, their attorney, has threatened to file a civil lawsuit against Condit to force him to answer questions under oath. Martin said in an interview there has been “a lack of candor” by Condit to disclose all that he knows, and the congressman has refused to meet directly with private investigators hired by Martin.

Condit’s lawyer earlier this month submitted results of a privately administered polygraph test to law enforcement officials to demonstrate that Condit was not concealing relevant information. But the FBI later said publicly that it will not accept the results.

The Levys last heard from their daughter May 1, when she was preparing to return home and then attend USC graduation ceremonies later that week. She had just completed an internship at the Federal Bureau of Prisons and was to receive her master’s in public administration.

Police who searched her apartment found packed luggage and items they believe she normally would have taken on a trip, including credit cards and her driver’s license. The search produced no signs of a struggle nor any useful clues, such as blood traces, hair samples or strange fingerprints.