Three Men To Undergo Polygraphs

Police Asked Three Men To Undergo Polygraphs

Investigators have interviewed more than 100 people who had knowledge of or contact with Levy in the days and months before she was last seen in downtown Washington on April 30. Daring a third interview with police last week, Condit acknowledged an affair with the 24-year-old former federal intern from Modesto, Calif., reversing the position maintained by his aides since the case broke in early May, two sources familiar with the meeting have said. ' Lowell said Condit hoped his offer of access would allow police to answer whatever questions remained and then move on, noting that scores of people have been interviewed in the case but that the focus seems to be "only on him." He made the same plea of the news media. "Let the police get back to their jobs. Go take your cameras and your pads and pencils and try to find if there is someone else out there," Lowell said. "Police have not revealed the scope of their investigation, which is still classified as a missing persons case, but D.C. detectives here and FBI agents in Condit's home state of California have interviewed many people who knew Levy in the weeks or months before she disappeared. Investigators have asked at least three men who had contact with the missing woman to take lie detector tests, according to two law enforcement sources. One person who knew Levy and sometimes socialized with her said police asked him about three weeks ago whether he would agree to the polygraph test. That person, who asked that his name not be used, said he agreed to be tested but has not been approached since. Levy's family first raised the issue of a polygraph for Condit on Sunday, and Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said a lie detector test was one of the options available. Of Lowell's broader offer, Ramsey said: "That's good. What we have to do is sit down with Mr. Lowell. let's find out exactly what he's willing to do."

Lowell's surprise announcement was followed an hour and a half later by Levy family response, delivered by attorney Billy Martin on CNN's "Larry King Live." "He needs to correct the misstatements and the untruths," Martin said of Condit. Levy's relatives, Martin said, are insisting on a polygraph because he said they caught him in a lie. "Do you know where my daughter is, and more importantly, did you have an affair?" he said Susan Levy asked Condit in the days after Chandra Levy disappeared. "He lied," Martin said. "He misrepresented his relationship. He told her no." Of the family, Martin said: "They have no confidence in the word of Congressman Condit. . . . His credibility is suspect." Polygraphs are often used as an investigative tool by police trying to determine a person's veracity or as a way to gauge the reaction of an individual who is asked to submit to a lie detector test. Law enforcement officials declined to discuss the polygraphs in the Levy case. It is unclear why those who were asked to submit to the examination were chosen and why Condit has not been approached. Legal experts said there were several possibilities to explain the police tactic on polygraphs in this case. Lawyers, for one, often advise their clients not to take them. And in the case of Condit, investigators would want to make certain they have as much information as possible, because a polygraph would probably be given only once. "I would have to believe their being very cautious about how they proceed with a sitting congressman," said lawyer David Schertler, who formerly headed the U.S. attorney's homicide unit.

"They would be more cautious about asking a Congressman to take a polygraph test than a person who was not a high-profile person." Former U.S. attorney Joseph E. di Genova said that "the only thing I can think of is that they have information that makes it absolutely unnecessary to further pursue him... Like they know something?that they've managed to keep secret?that points them to a suspect, evidence that leads them completely away from him and their relationship." Lawyer Nick Kourtesis said of the decision by investigators: "It's either really brilliant or very stupid. You would think that it'd be routine. You'd think they'd go right to the heart, unless they have someone else they're looking at." Former assistant U.S. attorney Kenneth Robinson, now a criminal defense lawyer in the District, said police may be waiting for the right moment to re- quest a polygraph from Condit "He'll only give a polygraph once," Robinson said. "And police are waiting for more information to come in. . . be- fore they spring him with all the specific questions at once. That's far more helpful to your case. I think what's going on here is a shrewd move" by police. Polygraph examinations have not been admitted in D.C. Superior Court and U.S. District Court in Washington. Some courts across the nation are re-examining the reliability of polygraph evidence, but most continue to bar it.