Ex-lawmaker files libel suit against Cave Creek paper

The Sonoran News, a small Cave Creek weekly newspaper, now has something in common with the National Enquirer and a world famous crime reporter: Former congressman Gary Condit has sued them for defamation.

Condit, who owns a home in Phoenix, sued the 30,000-circulation publication on July 14, alleging that it permanently harmed his reputation when it published a story that referred to his involvement with Chandra Levy.

Levy was a Bureau of Prisons intern whose body was found in a Washington, D.C., park about a year after her May 2001 disappearance.

“How could a newspaper in Cave Creek, Arizona, printing a statement that’s been printed thousands of places all over the country and all over the world — what additional harm could they inflict on Gary Condit even if it was ultimately false?” said attorney Dan Barr, who represents the Sonoran News.