Levy Investigation Moves Forward on Several Fronts
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this hour in Washington, where the investigation into the disappearance of Chandra Levy is moving forward on several fronts today. Police are preparing to search the apartment of Congressman Gary Condit for possible clues in that case. Meantime, a flight attendant who claims to have had an affair with the congressman will meet with representatives from the U.S. attorney's office. Joining us from Washington, our national correspondent Bob Franken -- Bob.</s>BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Of course, the latest development is the fact that D.C. police say they are going to, in fact, search the apartment of Congressman Gary Condit -- the Washington apartment. You are seeing a live picture of it there. The D.C. police are going to do this simply because that they were offered by Congressman Condit's attorney, Abbe Lowell, in a news conference last night that, in fact, if they wanted to, they could cooperate, that a warrant wouldn't be needed. So, later in the evening, police officials decided -- and they told CNN -- that if the offer was there, why not? It could happen as early as today. This is what Lowell had to say.</s>ABBE LOWELL, ATTORNEY FOR GARY CONDIT: Not only has he allowed access to his apartment, some of you might know -- maybe some of you don't know -- that on the very first time he spoke to the police, he, the congressman invited the police -- where? To his apartment. It happened in May. They sat right there. This has not been anything but the congressman's attempt to be open.</s>FRANKEN: But, of course, they didn't search that at the time, so the congressman has now said, through his lawyer, that the police are welcome. The police are going to take him up on that 10 weeks after the disappearance of Chandra Levy. Now, of course, this story has so many different aspects to it. And one of them concerns a woman who also claims to have had a romantic relationship with Congressman Condit, much like the one that Condit has now acknowledged to police that he had with Chandra Levy. The woman you are seeing here is Anne Marie Smith. She is the now- famous flight attendant who says that she too had that romantic relationship with Condit -- more importantly, that Condit asked her to sign a false affidavit -- that is to say, a sworn statement in which she would say under oath that she did not have a romantic relationship. Anne Marie Smith says that is a lie. Now, Condit's lawyers say that it was not like that at all. They just sent her an affidavit with those words and said at the top of it: "If you want to change anything, feel free." Now, that is the words that we got from Congressman Condit's side on this thing. Anne Marie Smith is expected to meet tomorrow with the U.S. attorney here -- was invited by the government officials to tell her story, so there can at least be an investigation into the possibility that there was some sort of illegal behavior. That is denied, by the way, by Condit and his attorneys. One other thing: The lie detector test that's been batted back and forth for several days now, the Levy family is saying that since Condit took so long to tell the truth about his relationship with Chandra Levy that he should in fact take a lie detector test. It's being pursued and pushed very hard not only by the Levys, but also by the attorney for the Levy family, Billy Martin.</s>BILLY MARTIN, ATTORNEY FOR LEVY FAMILY: As a good-faith gesture toward the family, take a polygraph. We're not accusing Congressman Condit of anything. We believe a polygraph would, once and for all, show the family that he has told the truth and has nothing to hide.</s>FRANKEN: Abbe Lowell points out that many people consider lie detector tests unreliable. Nevertheless, he said if the police ask for one, then it would be something that they could discuss. The police thus far are noncommittal. Bob Franken, CNN live, Washington.</s>KAGAN: And, Bob, thank you for the latest on that report.