Condit lawsuit against Arizona newspaper dismissed
By Leah McBride Mensching, Tuesday 24 July 2007 at 00:10 :: Press Freedom & Laws :: #301 :: rss
An Arizona judge has dismissed former U.S. Rep. Gary Condit's defamation lawsuit against weekly The Sonoran News, which said in an article the California representative lied to investigators about his relationship with a Washington intern who disappeared and was found murdered.
After 13 years in Congress, the Democrat lost his 2002 re-election when news coverage about Washington intern Chandra Levy's 2001 disappearance made national headlines. Her remains were found in a Washington park in May 2002, and Condit denied he had anything to do with her disappearance or death.
Judge Kristin Hoffman of Maricopa County Superior Court granted a motion by the newspaper to dismiss the suit. She ruled that Condit is a public figure who failed to prove that the newspaper's statement was false. He also was not able to prove the newspaper published the statement with reckless disregard of the truth or knowing that the statement was false, Hoffman ruled. The newspaper describes itself on its Web site as “The Conservative Voice of Arizona.”
In an affidavit, Condit did not deny he lied to investigators about Levy's disappearance, and he hesitated to answer questions about whether he had a “romantic and/or sexual relationship” with Levy, Hoffman stated in her ruling, which was filed Thursday.
In an Associated Press article, Condit's attorney Jeff Brown said he and Condit had not decided whether to appeal the case.
“It's unfortunate that there's no protection for public figures in Arizona and that the defamations can just be repeated, irrespective of their truth,” Brown is quoted in the article as saying. “I don't think we could have proved any more than we proved.”
Daniel Barr, an attorney for the Sonoran News said the newspaper would request Condit be ordered to pay its legal fees.
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