Condit staffers defend their boss

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Five staffers of Rep. Gary Condit defended their boss Thursday night, saying he is being wrongly judged by people who don't know him or the hard work he does for his constituents.

Appearing on CNN's "Larry King Live," they all said Condit does not deserve the abuse he is getting and they would not be surprised if he decides not to run again.

VIDEO Members of Rep. Gary Condit's staff talk with Larry King in an exclusive interview Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   MORE STORIES • D.C. police chief says Condit 'difficult'   • Condit children quit California governor's staff   • The Condit interviews     EXTRA INFORMATION • Transcript: Gary Condit interview   • Key players   • Timeline   • Profile: Gary Condit     RESOURCES Message Board: Condit and the Levy case

"I see the future of the valley, and Gary has done so much for the valley, and after he's gone everybody is going to kick themselves in the butt for allowing this to happen," said Maggie Mejia, who represents Condit in the Hispanic community.

All the staffers described him as a good employer and good friend. They said they never asked him about his relationship with missing former intern Chandra Levy.

"I don't feel that what he does is any of our business," Mejia said when asked about whether allegations about alleged affairs bothered the staff. "It hurt because our boss was being attacked. It's like a mother defending her child .... I wouldn't be here today if I didn't feel that strongly."

Condit's executive secretary, Jackie Mullen, did acknowledge the congressman could have handled differently the media's questions about Levy.

"I would have like to have seen him go out in the very beginning and say to the media, 'I'm not going to talk about this, I have nothing to say to you folks, this is something that between me and my family, this is private,'" said Mullen.

She has worked with Condit since 1983 when he was an assemblyman. She recalled that when her oldest son died and before her parents could arrive, Condit and his father were at her door to help her through the difficult time.

The staffers said that because of the rough treatment Condit has received from the media he was probably nervous and did not come across as well as he should have during his interview by ABC's Connie Chung.

Condit's top aide, Mike Dayton, refused to discuss some issues, saying his lawyer thought he was crazy to appear on CNN.

Dayton has come under fire for driving Condit to the Virginia location where the congressman disposed of a box for a watch that another woman allegedly gave him.

Dayton said it was not a great distance because he lives in Virginia and sometimes rides his bike to work.

"There's been a lot of hay made about that watch box, and I regret that that has added to suspicion," Dayton said. "I sat down with police over a two-day period, [and] I've told them everything I know about that."

Dayton has worked for the congressman for more than a decade. The administrative assistant told King he does not regret certain denials he made to the media about allegations of affairs.

He said that while that was part of his job, some of those answers came to questions put to him out of the blue in the early hours of the morning.

The aide also said that no matter how difficult the times have been for Condit and his staffers it could not compare to the pain Chandra Levy's parents are going through.

"How can you possibly get angry at them, I mean you see them on TV and their pain is so apparent," said Dayton. "No, all I've got is sorrow."