The Chandra conspiracy

Wed, 05 Jun 2002 21:34:00 +0000

Late in May, the news broke that Chandra Levy's body had been discovered in a remote section of Washington's Rock Creek Park by a man walking his dog and "looking for turtles." Police searched the woods for more clues that day, and dozens of reporters flocked to the crime scene, hoping for some scoop in the reinvigorated investigation.

I never expected to find a clue searching the Internet.

As a reporter for a small Capitol Hill newspaper, I count as my usual fare campaign finance and congressional elections. We leave the murder investigations for wannabe gumshoes who work the Washington Post's Metro section.

But Chandra Levy -- well, now. This was something special. Not every missing girl who turns up murdered was involved with a sitting member of the U.S. Congress. For this story, I thought, I could justify a couple of hours of research.

Since Levy disappeared more than a year ago, the media had been trailing Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif., around the district like paparazzi, speculating on everything from his supposedly kinky sexual habits to whether his wife of 30-some years, Carolyn, has missing digits. (For the record, Carolyn Condit has both thumbs.)

Holy smoke

Thu, 27 Jan 2000 17:00:00 +0000

From the comfort of his home in McLean, Va., the Rev. Charles Wright gushed with anticipation over his new job. Wright had just been chosen to serve as the next chaplain of the House of Representatives, and the Presbyterian minister told a reporter he could hardly wait to join that "wonderful family on Capitol Hill."

Little did Wright know how dysfunctional that family could be.

News of Wright's appointment in November spread like wildfire through the corridors of
Congress, and so spread the word that Wright was actually the third choice of an
18-member selection panel and that the GOP leadership had rejected a more
popular applicant -- a Catholic priest.

The controversy grew even uglier as lawmakers -- mostly Democrats --
accused their Republican colleagues of bigotry for having asked
the Rev. Timothy O'Brien, the supposed top contender for the job,
"inappropriate questions" during the interview process. Football
stud-cum-congressional star Steve Largent, R-Okla., came under
considerable scrutiny for asking whether O'Brien planned to wear his
Roman collar around the Capitol and whether it might be seen as "divisive."
Another Republican was said to have suggested that a celibate priest might
have difficulty relating to members of Congress and their families in his counseling role.

Salon.com > Amy Keller

The Chandra conspiracy

Holy smoke