Senator says she urged Condit to go public

Sen. Dianne Feinstein in a January photo

By Dana Bash
CNN Capitol Hill Producer

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, said Tuesday she called Rep. Gary Condit "a few weeks ago," urging him to come forward about his relationship with missing former intern Chandra Levy.

"I thought he should go very public with it, that I thought he should step forward and say whatever it was they had between them," Feinstein told CNN. When asked if she was disappointed that Condit did not take her advice, Feinstein replied, "Yes."

Feinstein said she has not yet decided whether to contact Condit, a California Democrat, again.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, called the news media's focus on Condit "most unfortunate" and said she believes he "wants to do his work."

"This is his issue to handle his way," she said. "It's between him and his family, the people of his district, that's it. It's not appropriate for other people to tell colleagues what to do ... The most important thing is to find Chandra, and I think the media focus on Gary Condit is most unfortunate."

Condit is one of 100 people police have interviewed in connection with their investigation of Levy's disappearance. Law enforcement sources said he admitted to an affair with Levy despite previous denials issued by his office, but he has not been named as a suspect in the case.