Gary Condit sues tabloids for $209 million
By Harriet Ryan
Court TV
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Gary Condit
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(Court TV) -- Former congressman Gary Condit hit three supermarket tabloids with a $209 million defamation suit Friday for printing articles suggesting he killed Washington intern Chandra Levy.
The stories published in The National Enquirer, The Globe and The Star portrayed Condit as a "murderer" and "sexual deviant" and "caused him to be exposed to public hatred, contempt and ridicule ... for things that never happened," according to the suit filed in Palm Beach, Florida.
Levy, 24, vanished from her apartment in May 2001. Her aunt said she had been conducting an affair with the married congressman, and the press focused on his possible involvement in her disappearance even as police said he was not a suspect. Condit, a six-term Democratic representative from California, was subsequently voted from office.
A dog walker found Levy's remains in Rock Creek Park in May 2002. No one has been charged in her death.
The suit against the tabloids' parent company, American Media Inc., asks for $11 million for each of 19 stories published between July 2001 and October 2002. The reports carried headlines such as "Condit's goons killed pregnant Chandra" and "Congressman & The Intern: Chandra killed in kinky sex game!"
In a statement issued Friday, American Media said, "We fully stand behind the editorial integrity of what we have published and we will vigorously defend any suit filed by Mr. Condit."
Condit has an $11 million defamation suit pending against author and Court TV host Dominick Dunne. Condit's wife, Carolyn, settled a suit against the Enquirer for a story alleging she "verbally attacked" Levy before she went missing. Carolyn Condit said she never met or talked to the intern.
