"French writer to file sexual assault complaint against ex-IMF chief; Strauss-Kahn faces new charge as NY case teeters" July 05, 2011|By Michael Weissenstein, Associated Press
PARIS - A French novelist will file a complaint today accusing Dominique Strauss-Kahn of attempted rape, her lawyer said, raising the prospect of a new sexual assault investigation starting just as the US case against the former International Monetary Fund chief falters....
Related: Kahn Case Collapses
Strauss-Kahn went on the offensive against his French accuser yesterday evening, saying through his legal team that he planned to file his own criminal complaint accusing her of slander....
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"Writer files assault charge against Strauss-Kahn" by Michael Weissenstein and Pierre-Antoine Souchard Associated Press / July 5, 2011
PARIS—A young French author has formally accused former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of attempted rape, breaking her long public silence with a dramatic account of fending off an attacker who ripped at her clothes as they fought on his apartment floor.
Tristane Banon's criminal complaint, which was filed Tuesday, was already spawning an ugly public battle that appeared to be dividing France and follows trans-Atlantic mudslinging over the Guinean chambermaid who accused Strauss-Kahn of forcing her to perform oral sex in his New York hotel room.
The sudden weakening of the maid's case because of New York prosecutors' doubts about her credibility revived hopes in Strauss-Kahn's Socialist Party that he could return to France and retake his position as the strongest potential challenger to conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2012 election.
Those hopes could be undermined by the 31-year-old writer's legal action, which is expected to set off a lengthy preliminary investigation by prosecutors into whether there is enough evidence to pursue a case in France.
While many here saw Strauss-Kahn, 62, as a victim of rough U.S. justice, the French public may recoil at a drawn-out case in French courts brought by a woman whose mother is a Socialist Party official. Polls already have found French voters evenly divided over whether they want Strauss-Kahn to return....
Strauss-Kahn allies took to the airwaves Tuesday to try to undermine Banon and question the timing of her complaint about an incident that she says took place in 2003....
But not the substance?
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"Lawyers, prosecutors meet on faltering case against ex-IMF chief" by Tom Hays and Jennifer Peltz, Associated Press / July 7, 2011
NEW YORK - Lawyers for Dominique Strauss-Kahn met with prosecutors yesterday for what the defense called a productive discussion, but there was no immediate word on what would happen to the sexual assault case that has been threatened by doubts about the accuser’s credibility.
The two sides met privately for about 90 minutes in the offices of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., but participants were tight-lipped about the exchange, which came five days after prosecutors said the accuser had not been truthful about her background and the aftermath of the alleged attack.
Lawyers for the former leader of the International Monetary Fund, Benjamin Brafman and William W. Taylor III, called the session with Vance and assistant prosecutors “constructive.’’ Vance’s office said only that it was continuing to investigate and that no decisions had been made about the case’s future.
Also yesterday, the lawyer for Strauss-Kahn’s accuser asked that a special prosecutor be appointed to take over the matter, citing questions about the way prosecutors have treated the woman.
Vance’s office had no immediate comment.
The discussion in Vance’s office came amid intensifying public debate over the allegations, with a police fraternal group and others pressing prosecutors not to drop the matter, which some commentators and legal specialists gave up for dead last week.
The defense has said it wants an outright dismissal, insisting that the encounter with a Manhattan hotel maid was not forced. Prosecutors must decide whether to forge ahead with a flawed case, seek a face-saving plea deal, or cut their losses - a decision fraught with political peril for Vance.
When has that ever stopped government?
When has that ever stopped government?
Some legal specialists have said the allegations would be difficult, if not impossible, for prosecutors to prove because the accuser’s history of fabrications could make a jury reluctant to believe her.
Why don't you LET the JURY DECIDE THAT!?
Government never seems to worry about FBI informant scum and their credibility.
Vance’s office says it did the appropriate thing at every stage.
Yesterday, members of the police fraternal organization 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care urged Vance’s office to go ahead with the prosecution, noting that there was physical and other evidence to support it. Group founder Noel Leader said he recalled Vance meeting with his organization when he was running for DA.
“This is not the Cy Vance we thought we were getting, the one who said he would prosecute fairly across the board,’’ he said. “This is a female immigrant victim of humble means. We have to question whether there’s issues of race, gender and economic status involved here.’’
Call it the Obama effect, and he is certainly right about those qualifiers in this case.
The group also wants to see a special prosecutor appointed, he said.
In Paris, the prosecutor’s office said it had received a criminal complaint accusing Strauss-Kahn of attempting to rape a writer eight years ago.
He denies the latest allegation. His French lawyers have called the writer’s account “imaginary’’ and say they plan to file a complaint accusing her of slander.
Just a few weeks ago, the New York case looked destined to be a long legal fight.
Strauss-Kahn was accused of chasing down the 32-year-old hotel housekeeper in his luxury suite, forcing her to perform oral sex, and yanking down her pantyhose. Her version of the May 14 events was unwavering, and police and prosecutors called her credible.
Prosecutors have not publicly questioned her account of the encounter itself, but they appear to have lost faith in the accuser’s prospects of helping them prove it.
Oh, so the RAPE REALLY DID HAPPEN!!
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"Much of the news conference was devoted to questions about the fund itself. Strauss-Kahn was allowed to remain atop the fund after the disclosure of an affair in 2008 with a subordinate.
A number of women have come forward in recent months to describe the fund as a problematic workplace, where superiors often felt free to press subordinates for dates and little effort was made to prevent or to punish sexual harassment....
It feels good to be a banksta.
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Also see: Globe Editorial As rape charges crumble, soul-searching in France goes on
DSK has Israel in his heart
Former IMF chief recently charged with rape says Israel is first thing on his mind every morning.
Now can you guys get me out of this rape charge?
Mounting Evidence [maybe] that Dominique Strauss Kahn was Framed
Or that the maid has been PAID OFF!
