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WASHINGTON -- Lawyers for the man convicted of killing Washington intern Chandra Levy said in documents unsealed Tuesday that his prosecution was "predicated on a lie," and that they intend to file a motion for a new trial.
The statements made by attorneys for Ingmar Guandique were included in approximately 200 pages of documents related to hearings held in December and January. Reporters and the public were not permitted to hear the discussion between the judge and lawyers because prosecutors argued that making the hearings open would endanger a witness.
The decision to close the proceedings was challenged by media organizations including The Associated Press. The judge in the case said some material would be unsealed.
The records show that government prosecutors asked to seal the Dec. 18 hearing to talk about information they learned about after Guandique was sentenced. Defense attorneys say the information calls into question the testimony of one witness and "drastically undercut" the government's case.
More than 20 witnesses testified for the prosecution during the trial. The original case hinged on a jailhouse informant who said Guandique had confessed to killing Levy. The unsealed documents show prosecutors learned a year ago about a problem with a witness but it's not clear if that person was the informant.
The Levy case was one of the most high-profile trials in Washington in years when it began in 2010. Levy, a 24-year-old intern for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, disappeared in 2001 after leaving her apartment in jogging clothes.
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The case attracted particular attention because of her romantic relationship with Gary Condit, then a California congressman. Her remains were found in 2002 in a heavily wooded area of Washington's Rock Creek Park. Guandique, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, was ultimately convicted of her murder and is serving a 60-year prison sentence. He said when he was sentenced that he had nothing to do with her killing.
Chad Condit calls the "drama and scrutiny" over his father Gary's involvement with his intern, Chandra Levy, who was murdered, "mostly unfair," saying "it's been a tough time" on his entire family."
The documents unsealed Tuesday include transcripts from hearings on Dec. 18 and Jan. 4. They also include court documents filed by prosecutors and Guandique's defense attorneys. Significant portions of the records are blacked out, sometimes for pages.
"Mr. Guandique and the public have a right to know precisely what happened at Mr. Guandique's trial and why the government allowed its prosecution to be predicated on a lie," Guandique's attorneys argue in a motion unsealed Tuesday.
A transcript also shows John Anderson, one of Guandique's attorneys, said during the January hearing that the defense plans to file a motion to dismiss the indictment and request a new trial.
In a document filed with the court, defense attorneys compare the Guandique case to the prosecution of the late Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, whose 2008 conviction on corruption charges was vacated after the Justice Department admitted withholding evidence from the defense.
Susan Levy, the mother of Chandra Levy, speaks to reporters after a jury found a Salvadoran immigrant guilty of murdering her daughter in 2001.
It wasn't clear, however, that the new information would have been admissible at trial. The unsealed transcripts seem to show that during the hearing in December, a government prosecutor, Fernando Campoamor, told the judge "it would have been litigated whether it could have been used at trial, and if so, to what extent it could have been used at trial." A defense attorney, James Klein, said that was "astounding."
The transcripts also show attorneys wrestling with the closure of the proceedings. The defense had wanted them to be open, but the judge sealed the hearings after prosecutors argued that a witness' personal safety would be endangered if they were public. The defense has said prosecutors were not specific about the threats the witness would face.
The last hearing in the case was Thursday and its transcript was not released. The judge has scheduled another hearing for April 11.
Related:
Secret hearings held in killing of Washington intern Chandra Levy
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Sounds a bit suspicious. The case definitely needs to be re-tried.
Are you out of your mind? Because one witness has their testimony questioned absolutely does not warrant a new trial. If that were the case half of the convicts in America would be granted new trials.
This dirt bag is a known serial rapist and being from El-Salvador he's a member of MS-13. Which means the witnesses life is in danger if these hearings are opened to the public.
Guandique is guilty as hell and should remain where he is forever.
Why don't we ever concern ourselves with the VICTIMS RIGHTS? Chandra Levy will never get a new trial and this rapist, murderer and scumbag is alive and well.
LET HIM ROT IN HELL!
More than a bit suspicious I would say -- blacked out portions of the transcript which went on for "pages" at a time?? Prosecution based it's case on the testimony of a jail-house informant?? Sealed closure hearing?? Prosecutors knew of a "problem with a witness" a year ago and have done nothing?? I say lets give the man a fair trial.
Sure, after Chandra Levy gets her second chance.
And if this man has been railroaded? Nothing will bring Chandra Levy back. Lets not compound the tragedy by sending a possibly innocent man to prison. The constitution guarantees a fair trial, and all I'm saying is that this looks very suspicious.
Always thought the politician had a thug kill her.
My gut instinct still says that Gary Condit was involved. Married congressman, carrying on an affair with a young woman, who is suddenly demanding of more of the Congressman's life. Then she leaves her apartment one day, sans wallet, and is never seen again, alive that is.
Now we hear of redacted portions of the hearing transcript.
Sounds very suspicious.
dman, I have those same feelings. He may have hired Guandique or maybe someone else. A jailhouse informant is usually not reliable.
I have often wondered if Ms. Levy had become pregnant. I remember a similar situation where a young woman ended up drowning after an automobile accident, where amazingly the senator driving the car walked away.
Are there Any fair trials in America? ... "Prosecutors" have turned into "Persecutors" ..... They don't care about innocence ... they just want convictions .... sacrificing the principal of "fair & impartial" for expediency and personal gain.
This case is a prime example of a "rush to judgement" to convict anyone to get it out of the public eye..! ...
Prosecutors should be held criminally responsible for convicting & coercing plea agreements from victims of their abuse of power ... We have more innocent people behind bars than at any other time in our nations history ... Time for a change ...
Ridiculous! Congressmen don't have to kill anyone to silence them.
If the murder victim had been poor, do you believe for a second that she would have received a fraction of these efforts at posthumous justice? Of course not. It seems that Gary Condit was ruined, unjustly, in the mad dash to hang someone out to dry, and that is no less a crime.
I have no sympathy for Gary Condit. Just another politician who couldn't keep it in his pants. My sympathy is for the rest of Condit family because they did nothing wrong and there now will always be a taint on their name.
This is just another common case of the government railroading someone into prison with complicity of judges, prosecutors, investigators and police. Government does not hesitate to put its own agenda ahead of truth and justice. This is true from the federal level down to such courts as Superior Court of Ventura County, California.
I am sure this has to be retried because politics had everything to do with this but they decided to use an innocent person to throw into jail and sweep this under the carpet.
It smelled badly from the very start and now there has to be more money spent to clean this mess up sad but true.
I thought the whole thing was fishy from the start, I hope he gets a fair trial and the family finds closure in what really happened to Chandra.
I've always suspected that Gary Condit had blood on his hands and that Ingmar Guandique was innocent.
He's a lot of things, however as a career criminal 'innocent' isn't one of them...
I do not care who killed the jew whore.
SO NAZI @!$%#, you look like some P.O.S. that failed out of high school to go on to smoke crystal meth and take it up the butt from all the boys.
Chandra Levy is worth 100 times more in death than you are alive!
Oh forgive me I didn't realize I needed your permission to have an opinion.
People that have affairs with politicians, and are discovered and made known to the public generally do not have a very long life expectancy.
JUSTICE FOR CHANDRA LEVY! That's what is the most important element of this case. If the prosecution KNOWS Guandique murdered Ms. Levy than any way they must put him away!