The plot thickens!
Monday, July 9, 2001 11:43 p.m. EDT
Condit Girlfriend Saw Evidence of Sadomasochistic Sex
A lawyer for a former girlfriend of California congressman Gary Condit said late Monday that she saw evidence in Condit's apartment suggesting he indulged in sadomasochistic sex practices that could be linked to the disappearance of 24-year-old Washington, D.C., intern Chandra Levy.
Appearing on Fox News Channel's "The Edge with Paula Zahn," attorney Jim Robinson - whose client Anne Marie Smith sent the Levy case into overdrive a week ago with her bombshell allegation that Condit tried to get her to lie about their affair - told Zahn that what she saw frightened her into thinking she might suffer the same fate as the missing intern.
ZAHN: What was your client so afraid of?
ROBINSON: There's already a missing girl. She didn't want to be the second one.
ZAHN: Is there something Mr. Condit had said to her that made her feel threatened about her own personal safety?
ROBINSON: Near the end of their relationship things started to really disturb Anne Marie. She found what she believed to be Chandra's hair in his bathroom. She saw other things of a sexual nature that she had nothing to do with and was wondering what the - what in the world is going on. And then this woman disappears. She was terrified.
ZAHN: Can you elaborate for us when you say she discovered things of a sexual nature that made her nervous? What do you mean by that?
ROBINSON: Apparently there were ties - neckties tied together, tied underneath the bed - as if someone had been tied up in bed. And that had never happened to my client before. And, apparently, Mr. Condit made a joke about it, just brushed it off. And [Smith] told me that she was very afraid for her life at that point.
ZAHN: Just seeing these ties wrapped around the bedpost? Or was there something else that happened at night that made her nervous?
ROBINSON: She was very concerned about Mr. Condit's veracity near the end of the relationship.
ZAHN: Now, did the relationship solely end because she suspected he was involved with another woman? Or was there something else involved here?
ROBINSON: Well, the last time they saw each other was actually in April. She didn't actually stop talking to Congressman Condit until about a week and a half ago. ...
Zahn asked Robinson about his client's charges that Condit had coaxed her to sign a false affidavit, which she refused to do, then returned to the sadomasochistic sex shocker.
ZAHN: All right, let's come back to the last time your client described that she was in Mr. Condit's apartment. She said she discovered what was long hair and then what appeared to be some sort of - ah - perhaps something indicative of something sadomasochistic that had happened in his apartment. Ah ... what else did Anne Marie tell you about that?
ROBINSON: She found a new bottle of massage oil that had been used, which he never used around her. She also knew that the congressman's wife had not been around for quite some time. And all kinds of different things.
ZAHN: All right. So is she - and I gotta make sure I understand this, this evening. I mean, other than - people probably have all kinds of sexual practices. This obviously was something that she wasn't comfortable with. Was there something else that she described about his behavior that she found intimidating or threatening in some way? Or whether it was his veracity or what you describe as a lack of veracity that was exposed here?
ROBINSON: Ah ... I really don't want to get into it, specifically as I've been asked by criminal investigators not to. But apparently Congressman Condit had some peculiar sexual fantasies that a normal heterosexual man does not have. That's her testimony, not mine. And we've been asked not to talk about that specifically. Um ... you know.
ZAHN: All right. And Jim, I'm obviously not in a position where I can verify this at this point. There are people who are out there, as you know, who are out there saying, "OK, Mr. Robinson just left his law practice. He's trying to get himself some new clients here." What can you say to them tonight that proves you're not just fishing for some publicity here and what you're saying isn't true.
ROBINSON: Paula, you know, I went back to law school after being an investment banker, being a very successful investment banker for 20 years. I went back for a specific case. That case is now taken care of. I'm now going back into investment banking. I'm taking on this case for Anne Marie and it's my only case right now. I'm pro-bono on it. I don't want to do this for a living. But I've been around the block. I've been on Wall Street. I was an officer in the Marine Corps.
And I was talking to Anne Marie last night and I said, "Did you call me because of the fact that I'm a good attorney or I'm an ex-Marine?" And she said, "I think ex-Marine would be more accurate."
ZAHN: I can only give you 10 seconds to answer this. Are you saying, if I read between the lines tonight, that you think Congressman Condit had something to do with Chandra Levy's disappearance?
ROBINSON: I believe so.
ZAHN: And in what way?
ROBINSON: His wife was in Washington, D.C. She's normally not. I think that may have been a ploy to keep Chandra away from his apartment so that whatever happened could happen. It's my pure speculation that, you know, it's just a very odd set of circumstances. The man has asked my client to suborn perjury. I don't trust him.
ZAHN: All right, Jim Robinson. We're going to have to leave it there. That's a very serious allegation you made and we're going to have to do our best to direct this broadcast to find someone who can verify any of what you just said. We appreciate you joining us tonight. |
