Embattled California Rep. Gary Condit has told his constituents he had nothing to do with the disappearance of an intern with whom he allegedly had an affair but conceded he made his "fair share of mistakes."
Condit, a Democrat who is fighting for his political life, said in the letter distributed on Thursday ahead of a television interview, he had cooperated fully with police trying to find former intern Chandra Levy who was last seen on April 30.
"Despite my best attempts to help the police find Chandra some in the media have criticized me for remaining silent. I have not been silent with those in charge of finding Chandra," said the letter, which broke Condit's public silence on the issue.
Amid calls from local newspapers and some politicians for him to quit, Condit has been roundly criticized for not appearing in public to answer questions about Levy, a 24-year-old former Bureau of Prisons intern with whom he reportedly had a relationship.
The married congressman, who did not refer to his relationship with Levy in the letter, complained that the tabloids had turned the tragedy of her disappearance into a public spectacle and that rumors had been reported as facts.
"Some suggest that not talking with the media could mean I had something to do with Chandra's disappearance. I did not. I pray that she has not met the same fate as the other young women who have disappeared from the same neighborhood."
Several other young women have been killed in the tony Dupont Circle neighborhood in recent years but police have said that there is no indication Levy was the victim of foul play. They have also stressed Condit is not a suspect in the case.
Condit, whose image has been seriously dented by the Levy affair, struck a personal tone in the letter, telling constituents he had known many of them for a long time.
"You know me to be hard working, committed to our issues and dedicated to my community and my family. I hope you also will understand that I am not perfect and have made my share of mistakes," he said.
Levy's parents have urged Condit to come forward to provide more information about his relationship with their daughter and her state of mind when she disappeared from her Washington apartment.
Condit said he was "sorry" for the pain felt by the Levy family and the young woman's friends, telling his constituents Levy's father had contacted the congressman for his help in finding Chandra.
"I contacted the police to see if a reward fund would help find her. They said it would and so I helped start one," he wrote.
"I invited the police to my apartment, I asked the FBI to help. I have answered every single question asked by the police and the FBI," he wrote.
Later on Thursday, Condit is set to give his first television interview to ABC's Connie Chung. He has already spoken to the gossipy news magazine People for its Friday edition and posed for its front cover with his wife Carolyn. He also plans to speak to Newsweek, a local television station and two newspapers from his district.
"Hopefully I will be able to answer questions that help people understand. It is not something I look forward to but things have gone on long enough," Condit said of the television interview.
Condit's spokeswoman, Marina Ein said the congressman had decided to speak out because he wanted to set the record straight about the Levy issue.
"He is interested in expressing his concern for Chandra and the Levy family and for clearing the record with regard to an extraordinary amount of inaccurate and erroneous reporting that has gone on," Ein told Reuters.
