Condit, Dunne reportedly settle lawsuit

updated 12:57 a.m. ET March 15, 2005

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Former congressman Gary Condit has won an undisclosed sum of money and an apology from writer Dominick Dunne over his claims about the lawmaker’s role in the 2001 disappearance of intern Chandra Levy, according to media reports.

The reports on the settlement with Dunne, a special correspondent to Vanity Fair, appeared Monday on The Sacramento Bee’s Web site and on Fox News.

In a statement, Dunne said he did “not say or intend to imply that Mr. Condit was complicit in her disappearance, and to the extent my comments may have been misinterpreted, I apologize for them,” The Bee reported.

Dunne specifically renounced statements he made on radio’s “Laura Ingraham Show” in December 2001 in which he cited a man called “the horse whisperer” who told him Condit frequented Middle Eastern embassy sex parties, The Bee reported.

On “ET Online” in January 2002, Dunne was quoted as suggesting Levy was taken away by someone on a motorcycle as a favor to Condit. On “Larry King Live” in February 2002, Dunne stated: “I believe firmly that he knows more than what he has ever said.”

In his lawsuit, Condit said he had no involvement in the disappearance and death of Levy and no knowledge of how she was abducted and killed or who was responsible. Levy’s body was found in a park in Washington, D.C., in May 2002.

Condit had argued Dunne’s statements led millions of people to believe he was criminally involved in Levy’s death and contributed to his loss in the March 2002 primary election.

Neither Condit nor his attorney Lin Wood could be reached for comment Monday.

Condit settled libel lawsuits in December with American Media Inc., which publishes the National Enquirer, Star and Globe. The specifics were not released.

Levy, an intern with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, disappeared in May 2001, and Condit, who represented her hometown of Modesto, fell under a shadow of suspicion. Police never described him as a suspect.

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