WASHINGTON — There's a new problem for California Rep. Gary Condit, who's already under intense criticism at home and in Washington for his responses to questions about his relationship with missing intern Chandra Levy.
James Robinson, the lawyer for flight attendant Anne Marie Smith, says he'll ask a grand jury to indict Condit on grounds the congressman tried to coerce Smith into denying they had an affair.
Robinson said he would meet Monday with the foreman of the Stanislaus County, Calif., grand jury to seek the indictment of Condit; his chief of staff, Mike Lynch; and Don Thornton, an investigator for a California lawyer who has represented Condit.
Smith says she and Condit had a 10-month affair. After Levy's disappearance, she says, Condit called her several times and asked her to sign a statement denying they had an affair.
In an interview with ABC last week, Condit said he never had an affair with Smith and never asked her to sign a statement.
"I didn't ask anyone to lie about anything. I did not ask Anne Marie not to cooperate with law enforcement. That's an absolute lie," he said.
Federal officials have questioned Smith twice as part of their preliminary criminal investigation to determine whether Condit obstructed the investigation of Levy's disappearance.
Joleen McKay, a former Condit aide, also has spoken to investigators about her allegations that she had an affair with Condit and that Condit aides tried to pressure her to remain silent about it.
Condit ended a nearly four-month public silence and agreed to a series of print and broadcast interviews last week. He repeatedly declined to provide details about the nature of his relationship with Levy, a 24-year-old from Modesto, Calif., who disappeared May 1.
Condit's reluctance to discuss his relationship with Levy brought harsh criticism from many constituents and even some Democratic colleagues, most notably House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., who raised the possibility of removing the congressman from the House Intelligence Committee.
Abbe Lowell, Condit's attorney, said Sunday that the congressman's aides misled the media. Lowell said the aides spoke without authorization from Condit and that he then told them to say no more about his relationship with Levy.
Lowell said there's no reason for Condit to be removed from the committee.
"Everything about him is out there. He's probably the person on the Intelligence Committee who can't be blackmailed anymore," Lowell said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "If it's not punitive for some reason, there's no good reason. He's served very well. His colleagues will tell you."