John LeBoutillier
Wednesday ,July 25, 2001

1) Most observers are frustrated over the deference paid to Congressman Condit by the D.C. cops. Why? Why, if he misled them about his relationship with Chandra and did not mention to them in his first interview that his wife just happened to be in town that crucial week, aren't the cops being tougher with Condit?

Because to be a congressman inside the Beltway is as close to being born into a royal family as we have in our post-revolutionary society. The treatment afforded to Members of Congress in D.C. is courtly, flattering – and intoxicating. For example, there is a 'Members Only' House Dining Room. When a Member – or a former Member, for that matter – eats there, the very attentive dining room staff pull out your chair and even use a hand brush on your suit coat.

Parking restrictions? No such thing – if you chuck a congressional license plate onto your dashboard. With that in place, you are free to park anywhere.

Up on the Hill, each Member of Congress is given a small lapel pin to wear that identifies him or her as a Member of the present Congress. With that pin, a congressman can waltz through the buildings like a king. The security men nod and deferentially mutter "Congressman" as you walk by. No one dares to question you or stop you or to check your bags.

As for sex – or the potential of sex – it is everywhere. Just take a walk someday down the hall of one of the House office buildings and you will see that all the receptionists and busy staffers are young and attractive and full of the love of power. For male congressmen these young women are always looking to "hook up" with the so-called powerful Members of Congress. Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac, as Henry Kissinger once said.

The cheating and playing around is rampant on the Hill – in both parties. And none of the Members want to rat out their colleagues, because so many of them are doing it!

If Gary Condit had 27 girlfriends over the past 12 years in the House, that would not be such a surprise. Some Members have had more.

Staff? Obsequious to a fault. The idea that his Hill staffers are going to confront Condit over the fact that he misled them and had him lie to the public about the nature of his relationship with Chandra is ridiculous. Those staffers need their jobs – and worry that if they rat him out to the cops and feds, no other Member will ever trust them enough to hire them.

All of this helps explain the kid-gloves treatment Condit has so far received. Plus we have to remember that the D.C. cops get all their funding from Congress, so they have to walk a fine line here.

2) Where is Abbe Lowell? Since the Friday afternoon lie detector test press conference on July 13, we have not seen him even once! Strange for a publicity-hungry lawyer, no?

That privately administered lie detector test ended up hurting Condit's case. Perhaps Lowell feels unsteady about how much public exposure he wants for himself on this case.

Or perhaps he is uncertain of his own client.

Famed lawyer and investigator Terry Lenzner once told me, "Everyone lies. I don't trust anything anybody says – especially not my own clients."

Perhaps Lowell – as he gets to know Condit better – is deeply troubled by incidents like the chucked watch box.

3) A NewsMax reader offered a unique investigative idea: Check Chandra's and Condit's phone records from May 1 on. If Condit stopped calling her on May 1 – several days before her parents told him she was missing – then perhaps he knew she was no longer reachable. That would be a clue to what he knew.

3) The announcement that Condit will meet with FBI profilers – but not the D.C. cops – will backfire for Condit. The FBI will pack the room with agents there to study not just Chandra, but also Condit himself. These agents want to get a "feel" for Condit.

Yes, the case seems to lag at the moment. And, yes, it has always had the potential to be another Jon Benet case: unresolved, with a cruel killer walking free and the cops bearing the burden for screwing up the case. But do not despair: Much is going on behind the scenes to solve this case.

It is far, far from over.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Levy-Condit