This partial transcript from The Edge with Paula Zahn, July 9, 2001 was provided by eMediaMillworks.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNE MARIE SMITH, ALLEGES AFFAIR WITH CONDIT: I was concerned when I found out about her disappearance. I was very concerned for my own safety. I didn't stay in my own hotel rooms on my layovers. I moved to a place where nobody knows my address, nobody knows my phone number. Basically, I put myself in self-imposed exile. But it's -- I was very scared.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA ZAHN, HOST: We are back now discussing the Chandra Levy case. Joining us now from Seattle is the attorney representing the flight attendant who says Gary Condit asked her to lie about their alleged affair, Jim Robinson.
Welcome to The Edge.
JIM ROBINSON, ANNE MARIE SMITH'S ATTORNEY: Thank you, Paula.
ZAHN: What was your client so afraid of?
ROBINSON: There's already a missing girl and she didn't want to be the second one.
ZAHN: Was there something Mr. Condit had said to her that made her feel threatened about her own personal safety?
ROBINSON: Near the end of their relationship, things started to really disturb Anne Marie. She found what she believed to be Chandra's hair in his bathroom. She saw other things that -- of a sexual nature that she had nothing to do with and was wondering what in the -- what in the world is going on. And then this woman disappears. She was terrified, yes.
ZAHN: Can you elaborate for us when she said she discovered things of a sexual nature that made her nervous? What do you mean by that?
ROBINSON: Well, apparently, there were ties, neckties tied together and tied underneath the bed as if someone had been tied up in bed. And that had never happened to my client before. And apparently, Mr. Condit made a joke about it, just brushed it off. And she told me that she was very afraid for her life at that point.
ZAHN: Just seeing these ties wrapped around the bedpost or was there something else that happened that night that made her nervous?
ROBINSON: She was very concerned about Mr. Condit's veracity near the end of the relationship.
ZAHN: Now did the relationship solely end because she suspected he was involved with another woman. Was there something else involved here?
ROBINSON: Well, the relationship the last time they saw each other was actually in April. She didn't actually stop talking to Congressman Condit until about a week and a half ago. You know, I'm sitting here in Seattle. Anne Marie is from Seattle but she is living now in San Francisco. She called me. It's very difficult for an attorney to deal with a client 800 miles away. I had to get her here before I got the whole story. And Abbe Lowell then called me after the affidavit incident and accused my client of contacting Congressman Condit. I called Anne Marie and said, "What in the world is going on?" She said, "That's absolutely not true. I'm simply returning his phone call." So I said, "What is he calling you about?" She says, "He's trying to get me to fire you and get me to sign that false affidavit." The man suborned perjury flat out.
ZAHN: All right, Jim, can you clarify something for us this evening, because according to Abbe Lowell's office, when that affidavit was sent not through his office by another office, I might add, Mr. Cotchett, who previously represented Mr. Condit, there apparently they said was a cover letter that said that Ms. Smith was capable of adding anything she wanted or deleting anything that wasn't not true. Did that cover letter exist?
ROBINSON: That's not quite true. There is a paragraph at the top that said, "If you want to make any corrections," et cetera, you know, "feel free." It's common for attorneys to have those kinds of documents e- mailed back and force so I can download it into Word, make you know, change in a date or whatever. In fact, in this case, they misspelled Anne. Her name is spelled A-n-n-e. They had A-n-n. So it's just a common practice. I didn't think anything of it at the time till I got down to paragraph five. And paragraph five is the direct opposite of the truth.
ZAHN: All right, let's come back to the last time your client describe that she was in Mr. Condit's apartment. You said she discovered what was long hair and then what appeared to be some sort of -- perhaps something indicative of something sadomasochistic that had happened in this apartment. What else did Anne Marie tell you about that?
ROBINSON: She found a new bottle of massage oil that had been used, that she never used around her. She also knew that the congressman's wife had not been around for quite some time and all kinds of different things.
ZAHN: All right, so is she -- I've got to make sure I understand this this evening. I mean, other than -- people have all kinds of sexual practices. This obviously was something that she wasn't comfortable with. Was there something else that she described about his behavior that she found intimidating or threatening in some way? Or was it the veracity of what you described as a lack of veracity that was exposed here?
ROBINSON: I really don't want to get in specifically because I've been asked by criminal investigators not to, but apparently, Congressman Condit had some peculiar sexual fantasies that a normal heterosexual man does not have. That's her testimony, not mine. And we've been asked not to talk about that specifically but you know...
ZAHN: All right, and Jim, I'm obviously not in a position where I can verify this at this point. There are people, as you know, who are out there saying, "OK, Mr. Robinson just left his law practice. He's trying to get himself some new clients here. What can you say to them tonight to prove that you're not just fishing for some publicity here and what you're saying is the truth?
ROBINSON: Paula, I went back to law school after being an investment banker and being a very successful investment banker for 20 years. I went back for a specific case. That case is now taken care of. I'm now going back into investment banking and I'm taking on this case for Anne Marie. And it's my only case right now. I'm pro bono on it. I don't want to do this for a living. But you know, I've been around the block. I've been on Wall Street. I was an officer in the Marine Corps, and I was talking to Anne Marie last night, and I said, "Did you call me because of the fact that I'm a good attorney or I'm an ex-Marine?" And she said, " I think ex- Marine would be more accurate."
ZAHN: I can only give you 10 seconds now. Are you saying if I read between the lines tonight that you think Congressman Condit had something to do with Chandra Levy's disappearance?
ROBINSON: I believe so.
ZAHN: And in what way?
ROBINSON: His wife was in Washington, D.C. She's normally not. I think that that may have been a ploy to keep Chandra away from his apartment so that whatever happened could happen. It's my pure speculation that, you know -- it's just a very odd set of circumstances. The man has asked my client to suborn perjury. I don't trust him.
ZAHN: All right, Jim Robinson, we're going have to leave it there. That's a very serious allegation you made. And we're going to have to do our best through the rest of this broadcast to find someone who can verify any of what you've just said this evening. We appreciate you joining us tonight.
ROBINSON: Thank you.
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