Condit Children Resign
Aug. 29, 2001 -- Rep. Gary Condit's two children have resigned from their positions in California Gov. Gray Davis' office today, one day after the longtime political ally criticized their father's handling of the Chandra Levy case.
Chad Condit, 33, was a Central Valley liaison for Davis and Cadee Condit, 26, was his special assistant. Davis, a friend of the Condit family, spoke out for the first time about the case Monday and said he regretted Gary Condit's comments in his interview with ABCNEWS' Connie Chung.
In the resignation letter sent out Tuesday night, the Condits said they "are a proud and loyalfamily, not only in the good times but also during the darkesthours … Continued employment with the governor's office wouldundercut that standard."
Davis criticized Gary Condit for not speaking out sooner about Levy, a 24-year-old former federal Bureau of Prisons intern from Modesto, Calif., who disappeared May 1 in Washington. "What I'm about to say doesn't bring me any joy whatsoever … I'm disheartened that Congressman Condit didn't speak out more quickly or more fully," Davis said.
On Wednesday, Condit's children left their jobs and Davis said he was sorry to see them leave.
"I regret their decision to leave … I wish them all the bestin their future endeavors," Davis said in a statement. The California governor called them "two extraordinary young adults who did an outstanding job."
‘No Honor in Kicking Someone …’
In an interview Monday night on CNN's Larry King Live Chad Condit said the governor's comments were wrong and misinformed, especially since Davis admitted he had not seen the interview and only read media accounts.
"Anybody who is relying on news accounts for this case has probably got it wrong," Chad Condit said. "Gary Condit's been forthcoming with the D.C. police from the beginning. There's no honor in kicking someone when they're down."
The younger Condit, who said he got involved in politics because of his father, said he was considering running for the state Assembly but has since changed his mind. The media's treatment of his father soured his perspective on politics.
"If this is what public service is about, I don't want any part of it," he said. He suggested that Smith and her attorney were only pursuing legal action to gain fame.
Chad Condit also said he was unhappy with his father's interview with Chung, saying they picked "the wrong interviewer" and indicating that Chung was trying to put him on trial before the cameras.
"I don't think she handled the interview right at all," he said. "When you're asked by someone in the second or third question 'Did you murder her' then what kind of interview do you think you're going to get? Not a very good one."