Police Search Condit Apartment

W A S H I N G T O N, July 10, 2001 -- Police have entered the apartment of Calif. Rep. Gary Condit to search for clues to the disappearance of missing intern Chandra Levy.

Police unloaded gear and entered the back door of Condit's apartment building shortly before 11 p.m. ET, and remain inside the building.

Several reports say Condit is in the apartment with police, but that could not be immediately confirmed.

Police Chief Charles Ramsey told reporters earlier in the day that investigators asked for all of the things Condit's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, offered on Monday — including DNA samples and access to the California congressman's Washington apartment.

Lawyer Says Condit Willing to Comply

Shortly before the search began, Lowell's spokesman released a statement reiterating the congressman's willingness to comply.

"Mr. Lowell would not have made the offer he made last night if it were not serious," spokeswoman Marina Ein said. "The police have taken them up on that offer and the details will be worked out."

Still unclear is whether Condit will take a polygraph test. Ramsey said he has asked Condit to take an FBI-administered test. Levy's parents and their lawyer have called on Condit to take such a test. But Lowell has said only that his client would consider such a request if police asked. In so doing, however, he discounted the effectiveness of lie detector tests.

Ramsey today defended the technology and said any test of Condit would be conducted by "world-renowned" FBI experts.

"We all understand the limitations of the polygraph but … it's a good investigative tool," Ramsey said.

Law enforcement sources tell ABCNEWS that police have administered polygraphs to two male acquaintances of Levy, but they are not considered suspects. Both did well on the tests and the sources made clear the two don't appear to have any information about her disappearance.

Flight Attendant to Talk to Investigators

Amid these developments, a flight attendant who claims Condit tried to get her to lie about an affair is headed to Washington as investigators consider whether the congressman may have tried to obstruct justice in the search for Levy.

United Airlines flight attendant Anne Marie Smith headed to the nation's capital from Seattle this afternoon to talk to federal prosecutors as part of a possible preliminary investigation.

Condit has denied trying to pressure Smith. But she claimed last week that Condit and a private investigator working for him had pressed her to sign an affidavit denying a 10-month affair that she claims took place.

Prosecutors want to ask Smith about her communications with Condit. And they are likely to ask what, if anything, she knows about Levy.

Condit's alleged relationship with Smith has become an issue as police and FBI agents investigate his relationship with Levy, who has been missing for more than two months. After weeks of failing to disclose the true nature of his relationship with Levy, the married Condit, 53, admitted to police Friday that he had a sexual relationship with the 24-year-old Levy, sources said.

Smith has said she knew nothing about any relationship Condit might have had with Levy, but claimed the congressman had told her she did not need to speak to the FBI about their own affair.

Levy was last seen on April 30, and her last known communication — an e-mail to her parents in California — was received on May 1.

In the weeks since Levy's disappearance, speculation has centered around her connection to Condit, the Democratic congressman who represents the Northern California district where Levy's family lives. Levy, who had just finished an internship at the Federal Bureau of Prisons, was apparently planning to return home when she disappeared.

Deputy Police Chief Terrence Gainer said the push to search Condit's apartment did not signal that police now consider Condit a suspect. They just, he said, want to gather and evaluate as much information as possible.

But Billy Martin, the attorney for Levy's parents, said on ABCNEWS' Good Morning America that Condit had not been truthful or cooperative with the Levys. Soon after Chandra disappeared, the Levys spoke to Condit and asked him if the two were having an affair. According to Martin, he said no.

"He lied. He misrepresented their relationship," Martin said. "Getting information from Congressman Condit is like pulling teeth."

ABCNEWS' Pierre Thomas contributed to this report