Court TV Host: We're going to be joined by attorney Gloria Allred. In initially describing this chat, we said you could ask about her representation of a woman who said she was raped by Mike but please feel free to ask questions about the big story on all the newschannels today: the Gary Condit interview and the Chandra Levy case. Of course, you can also ask her about her cameo appearance in the new movie Rat Race.

Court TV Host: Gloria Allred is here with us. Let's go to the first question.

ctv_warhorse46: What are your thoughts on the Condit interview & letter?

Gloria Allred: I think it was a disaster for him. He wasn't willing to concede the most minimal type of admission, which is that he had an affair with Chandra Levy. He seemed to be suggesting that just about everybody else is lying, and he's the only one that is truthful. That's a difficult sell and I don't think most people bought it. I don't think he came across as sympathetic. I think his answers in many ways sounded canned. The repetition of his statement that he's been married for 34 years was annoying, knowing what we know about him. Overall, he would have been better off not to have chosen that format to get his message across. He's obviously constrained by a number of considerations. For example, he must have known that law enforcement would be watching, and he wouldn't want to say anything that was inconsistent with what he said to law enforcement. So he chose not to discuss anything that he said to law enforcement. Therefore I don't think he was very persuasive with his theme that he's been fully cooperative with law enforcement. It's still left open the question about at what point did he tell them about the real relationship that he had with Chandra Levy. And he didn't really tell what details he offered to law enforcement. In summary there was nothing new. I think the American people have questions that were not answered. I think the big issue was credibility Between Mrs. Levy and Gary Condit, Mrs. Levy appears to win the credibility contest hands down!

Mik1314: What would his admission of having an affair, if any, with her have to do with her disappearance?

Gloria Allred: What kind of relationship, if any, that he had with her would be relevant on the issue of how much he might know about her. For example, someone in an intimate relationship might know more about personal problems than a business associate would. There are certain confidences that a person might share with someone with whom they're intimate that they might not share with a business associate. He might know about personal problems in her life that might provide leads to law enforcement. Ultimately the information that he can provide might provide leads to Chandra or might not provide leads. But playing a cat-and-mouse game with law enforcement, if that's what he did, would certainly not be helpful.

mijasuus: Gloria, what are your thoughts as to Gary Condit's involvement or lack of involvement regarding the disappearance of Chandra Levy? Do you think it was just bad luck on his part to have an illicit affair with a lady who just happens to turn up missing during this whole escapade?

Gloria Allred: There 's no way of knowing at this time whether he had anything to do with her disappearance. But if he had bad luck, it was bad luck of his own making, in the sense that he could have avoided the bad luck by not having had a relationship with Chandra Levy.

Marty2634: Hello Gloria. Why do you think married men in Congress are having all these affairs with interns in Washington D.C.?

Gloria Allred: Because they have been able to with little or no consequences. Until now. Until Clinton and Condit. I'm sure there are a lot of nervous members in Congress right now, hoping that their mistresses don't turn on them or disappear. Affairs are high-stakes gambles on the part of members of Congress. They take the risks with little or no thought that they could hurt a lot of people, including themselves. It's the arrogance of power and privilege. Many of them are sexual predators.

ed535us: Do you think he really believed the American people would buy that type of interview?

Gloria Allred: Well, first and foremost I think he cares about his constituents because they decide his political future. He must have thought his constituents would buy it, or that it would soften his image. The reviews are really bad. He's really doing a flurry of interviews this weekend with Modesto television stations and the People magazine interview. And it is reported that he's going to be sitting for a Newsweek interview. So at least for the next few days it's going to be all Condit, all the time. He has not handled it well. He's trying to dig himself out of a hole. The hole keeps getting deeper.

ctv_warhorse46: If you were Condit`s attorney, what would your advice to him now be?

Gloria Allred: From a legal point of view, he should not have said anything. From a political point of view, he needed to talk. Ultimately, it appears that a compromise was reached where he would talk but say very little. I don't think it worked.

deedeejensen: What questions would you have asked Condit, Gloria?

Gloria Allred: I don't know that my questions would have been very different. I think that Connie Chung did the best that she could do under very difficult circumstances.

Court TV Host: Switching topics...

fishenfunx: Are you filing a civil suit against Tyson?

Gloria Allred: The client has not made a decision about whether or not to file a civil suit, at this time. She has a year from the date of the incident to file a suit so she still has time to make her decision. In reference to the District Attorney's decision not to file a criminal case, Arlene went to the hospital emergency room the day after the incident. Her medical records from the examination thay was done there indicate tears and lacerations to her genital area. From my discussion with the D.A.'s office, it appeared to me that the issue for the D.A. was whether it was consensual sexual intercourse or rape. I believe this should have been an issue for the jury. In a case where the accused has a previous rape conviction, there should be close scrutiny and I believe that a jury should be permitted to decide. Nothing I have heard would have precluded the D.A. from filing, and the reasons for not filing thay were provided to me were, in my opinion, not substantial reasons for failing to file.

ed535us: Do you feel that one of the obstacles that your client will face against Tyson is that poeople will say she should have known better than to get near him.

Gloria Allred: Well, Arlene is not concerned about what people will say. She's concerned about having her day in court.

Court TV Host: And finally, on a lighter topic...

www_prowrestlingdaily_com: Gloria, what was it like to film "Rat Race" and do you plan on appearing in anymore movies?

Gloria Allred: It was a lot of fun to do Rat Race. I think it is a very funny movie. And I would think that even if I weren't in it. I think that Jerry Zucker and Janet Zucker, the producers, are very talented, and of course the talent and cast are very talented. Whoopie Goldberg, Cuba Gooding, JR. John Lovitz. I thought it would be a sure fire hit. I don't plan to leave the practice of law, which is central to my life, but if offered a future part, if appropriate I would consider it.

Court TV Host: We hope you'll come back to talk to us more about law...and maybe about movies also...I know you've got to run to do your radio show...we don't want to make you late. Thanks for being our guest

Gloria Allred: I love Court TV. I've always loved it, and I love it even more now that my daughter Lisa Bloom is an anchor there.