Scandal: Son of Clinton.(the questionable behavior of Congressman Gary Condit)(Brief Article)

Reasonable people can certainly suspect Rep. Gary Condit of doing away with his lover Chandra Levy. Every passing day makes it more likely that she came to harm; Condit had a possible motive-the fear of exposure-while both his conduct of his affairs and his stonewalling of the police show him to be controlling, secretive, and dishonest. But even if he did her no harm-an equally plausible scenario-Congress should be rid of him. His colleagues should call for him to resign, and if his behavior becomes yet more egregious, they should initiate the process of expelling him.

By denying his affair the first two times the D.C. police spoke to him, Condit impeded their investigation, and guaranteed that important terrain in Levy's life would be unexplored until her trail had grown cold. Condit may also have suborned perjury by urging another girlfriend, stewardess Anne Marie Smith, to swear falsely that they were not lovers. Condit's spinners and some addled press watchdogs have criticized the media and the Levy family for hounding Condit. To be sure, they had divergent motives: The media were after viewers and readers, while the Levys were concerned for their daughter. But the pressure of both was required to make the shifty congressman speak. Not that he has been notably forthcoming. Condit's self-administrated lie- detector test was a particularly shabby evasion. Condit should be speaking to a grand jury.

Condit has also made himself a security risk-not a desirable thing in a member of the House Intelligence Committee. The guidelines for access to classified information note that "sexual behavior is a security concern if . . . it may subject the individual to undue influence or coercion, ...