LOS ANGELES, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The world won't know what comes out of California wine country's 2001 products for awhile, but Condit Country in California's central valley produced a bumper crop of scandal last summer.
Now it seems to be cropping up again.
Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif., target of news photographers, paparazzi, reporters and grand juries, is running to retain his seat in Congress. He's raising money, shaking hands, and appearing on CNN's Larry King Live.
Condit deflected questions about missing intern Chandra Levy Monday during his interview with King. He added that there was no reason he shouldn't seek re-election.
"I have a good 30 years of public service," Condit told King. "There was just no reason for me to walk away from something I love to do, and that's to be a public servant."
Condit said he did some soul-searching before deciding to run for office again.
"The negatives were that I would go through the same kind of news media pursuit that I had just gone through for like six or seven months," he said.
Condit's interview comes about a week before the Democratic primary on March 5.
Just last week, Condit's wife Carolyn reminded the world about last summer when news broke that she was suing the National Enquirer over an article that alleged a screaming match between her and still-missing Washington intern Chandra Levy, who disappeared last spring at the end of an affair with the congressman. The Enquirer vows a vigorous fight.
The California Democrat told King that reporters should focus on police trying to find out what happened to Levy, not on him.
"It's about a missing person and somebody knows," Condit said. "Somebody knows what happened. It's not a romantic novel. It's a tragedy."
A federal grand jury probing the disappearance of missing intern Chandra Levy now considers the investigation a criminal case, The New York Post reported in January.
Levy's disappearance had been handled by D.C. Metropolitan Police as a missing persons case. The grand jury also is taking a hard look at whether Condit held back information or otherwise obstructed the police investigation, the Post reported.
Sources said a dozen FBI agents and Justice Department lawyers are focusing on whether Condit, a California Democrat, tried to derail the police investigation by covering up a reportedly romantic relationship with the 24-year-old Modesto college intern.
A separate District of Columbia grand jury subpoenaed bank, credit card and telephone records from Condit last November.
