WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Gary Condit has kept a public silence in the Chandra Levy case in hopes of protecting his family's privacy and not jeopardizing the search for the former federal intern, his lawyer said Sunday.

Speaking a day after a source said the California Democrat had told police he had a romantic relationship with Levy, lawyer Abbe Lowell refused to discuss what his client has told investigators and said Condit has satisfied their every request for information.

In a press conference Monday, Lowell further stressed that Condit is cooperating fully with police, if not the media.

Condit, 53 and married, does not know what happened to the 24-year-old California woman and has no plans to quit Congress, Lowell said.

A source familiar with the investigation and speaking on condition of anonymity said Saturday that Condit, in his third interview with Washington police and the FBI, told investigators for the first time on Friday that he had a romantic relationship with Levy, who has not been seen since April 30.

Police have said Condit is not a suspect. They are investigating Levy's disappearance as a missing persons case, not a crime.

Lowell parried questions about the relationship during appearances on three talk shows and went on the offensive about coverage of the case.

''It's not important that you know the nature of the relationship. It's important that the police do, and the police have what they need to see if it helps them find Chandra Levy,'' he said on CBS' ''Face the Nation.''

''What he told the police about what his relationships were with her or anybody else is not the news,'' Lowell said on CNN's ''Late Edition.'' ''You're making it the news. It's not helping find Chandra Levy.''

Lowell contended the media focus has obscured the search and invaded the Condit family's privacy.

''He's a public figure who still believes that a public figure can have a private life,'' Lowell told CNN.

Condit has given police ''every shred of information'' they have sought, has not received any subpoenas and has no more meetings scheduled with investigators, Lowell said. Should authorities want something else, ''We'll find the means to get the information into the hands of the police,'' he said.

Lowell said disclosing anything the lawmaker has provided investigators could make it harder to find Levy, whose Modesto, Calif., home is in Condit's district.

''I think being a little bit more cautious as to feeding this media frenzy is something that the congressman has tried to do,'' the lawyer said on CNN. ''People don't quite get it. That why we are here trying to explain.''

The lawmaker ''doesn't have a particular idea one way or the other'' about what has happened to Levy, Lowell said.

Lowell was asked if he had any reason to believe Condit, who was elected to Congress in 1989, would not complete his term or run again.

''I have no reason to think that's on his brain, radar screen, purview, constellation,'' Lowell said on ABC's ''This Week.'' On CNN, Lowell added that he thinks Condit's constituents ''would like him to serve, and he wants to continue.''

Once the investigation is over, Lowell said, ''I'm sure the congressman will talk to his constituents in a way that makes sense.''