DSK lawyers want NY charges dropped
Source: Agencies |
July 7, 2011, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
Manhattan prosecutors were yesterday meeting with Dominique Strauss-Kahn's defense lawyers, who are pushing for sexual assault charges against him to be immediately dropped, a person familiar with the case has revealed.
The person was not authorized to speak publicly about the case and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, the Paris prosecutor's office said yesterday it had received a criminal complaint accusing Strauss-Kahn of attempting to rape a writer eight years ago.
Just a few weeks ago, the New York case against Strauss-Kahn looked iron-clad. Physical evidence linked the French politician and former International Monetary Fund leader to the hotel maid accusing him of sexual assault. Her version of events was unwavering, and police and prosecutors called her credible.
Now, prosecutors are rethinking whether they can even go forward with the case after finding that Strauss-Kahn's accuser wasn't truthful about her background and the aftermath of the alleged attack. But they haven't questioned her account of the encounter itself, at least publicly.
The details sketch out a legal conundrum: prosecutors who may still have faith in the accusation but not in the accuser's prospects of helping them prove it.
The Manhattan district attorney's office on Tuesday would say only that it was still investigating and had made no decisions about what to do. The charges, which include attempted rape, have not been dropped.
Strauss-Kahn, meanwhile, has zero incentive to agree to a plea deal.
In Paris, the official receipt of the complaint from novelist Tristane Banon means prosecutors must decide whether there is enough evidence to charge Strauss-Kahn in France.
Banon says Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her in an empty apartment during an interview for a book project, struggling with her on the floor as he tried to tear off her clothes. His lawyers have described the account as "imaginary" and plan to file a complaint accusing Banon of slander.
Her complaint faces a series of difficult tests in the French justice system and could be dismissed long before reaching trial. Prosecutors must decide first if her claims would support a charge of attempted rape rather than the less serious crime of sexual aggression, an attack that does not involve an attempt to penetrate the victim.
The person was not authorized to speak publicly about the case and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, the Paris prosecutor's office said yesterday it had received a criminal complaint accusing Strauss-Kahn of attempting to rape a writer eight years ago.
Just a few weeks ago, the New York case against Strauss-Kahn looked iron-clad. Physical evidence linked the French politician and former International Monetary Fund leader to the hotel maid accusing him of sexual assault. Her version of events was unwavering, and police and prosecutors called her credible.
Now, prosecutors are rethinking whether they can even go forward with the case after finding that Strauss-Kahn's accuser wasn't truthful about her background and the aftermath of the alleged attack. But they haven't questioned her account of the encounter itself, at least publicly.
The details sketch out a legal conundrum: prosecutors who may still have faith in the accusation but not in the accuser's prospects of helping them prove it.
The Manhattan district attorney's office on Tuesday would say only that it was still investigating and had made no decisions about what to do. The charges, which include attempted rape, have not been dropped.
Strauss-Kahn, meanwhile, has zero incentive to agree to a plea deal.
In Paris, the official receipt of the complaint from novelist Tristane Banon means prosecutors must decide whether there is enough evidence to charge Strauss-Kahn in France.
Banon says Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her in an empty apartment during an interview for a book project, struggling with her on the floor as he tried to tear off her clothes. His lawyers have described the account as "imaginary" and plan to file a complaint accusing Banon of slander.
Her complaint faces a series of difficult tests in the French justice system and could be dismissed long before reaching trial. Prosecutors must decide first if her claims would support a charge of attempted rape rather than the less serious crime of sexual aggression, an attack that does not involve an attempt to penetrate the victim.
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