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Strauss-Kahn: I made a moral error
Source: Agencies |
September 20, 2011, Tuesday
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DOMINIQUE Strauss-Kahn apologized to his country on Sunday for a sexual encounter with a hotel maid he said was a "moral error" he would regret all his life, and vowed to stay out of the Socialist Party's 2012 election campaign in France.
In his first interview since a New York sex assault case derailed his International Monetary Fund career and wrecked his chances of running for French president, Strauss-Kahn said he was angry with himself for what he called an ill-judged but consensual liaison that had let down his country and hurt his family.
"It was a moral error, and I am not proud of it," he told French TV channel TF1's prime-time Sunday evening TV news program. "I regret it, infinitely, and I do not think I am finished with regretting it."
Sounding repentant but also defensive, the former IMF head said he had "lost everything" over the incident.
Once seen as the left's best chance of winning power in the April 2012 presidential election, Strauss-Kahn returned to France a fortnight ago after a New York prosecutor dropped attempted rape charges related to his nine-minute encounter with a hotel maid.
He told TF1 interviewer Claire Chazal, a friend of his wife Anne Sinclair, he was a changed man.
He said: "I have paid heavily for it. I am still paying for it. I have seen the pain I have caused around me and I have reflected deeply."
The attempted rape charges were dropped late last month after doubts arose over the hotel maid's credibility. Strauss-Kahn's lawyers had said from the start that the encounter with the maid in his luxury suite was sexual but consensual.
Strauss-Kahn, 62, also said it involved no payment.
Rather than gloss over the scandal and focus on restoring his credibility as a world economic authority, as many expected, Strauss-Kahn spent most of the interview expressing his regret and defending his innocence.
"What happened was not only an inappropriate liaison but more than that, an error vis-a-vis my wife, my children, my friends and the French people," he said.
Strauss-Kahn took a strongly defensive tone at times, holding up a copy of the prosecutor's report and stressing that it ruled out signs of force during the encounter, in which he sought oral sex from the maid moments after she entered his room.
Strauss-Kahn told TF1 he would take time to reflect on what to do with his career.
"I wanted to be a candidate (for the election). I thought I could be useful. All that is behind me," he said. "I do not think it is my role to get involved in the (Socialist) primary.
"I am going first of all to rest, spend time with my loved ones, take time to think. But my whole life has been dedicated to trying to be useful for the public good and we will see."
Strauss-Kahn still faces a civil case in New York over the incident at the Times Square Sofitel, and has been questioned in France over a separate sexual assault accusation dating back to 2003 by a woman 30 years his junior.
In his first interview since a New York sex assault case derailed his International Monetary Fund career and wrecked his chances of running for French president, Strauss-Kahn said he was angry with himself for what he called an ill-judged but consensual liaison that had let down his country and hurt his family.
"It was a moral error, and I am not proud of it," he told French TV channel TF1's prime-time Sunday evening TV news program. "I regret it, infinitely, and I do not think I am finished with regretting it."
Sounding repentant but also defensive, the former IMF head said he had "lost everything" over the incident.
Once seen as the left's best chance of winning power in the April 2012 presidential election, Strauss-Kahn returned to France a fortnight ago after a New York prosecutor dropped attempted rape charges related to his nine-minute encounter with a hotel maid.
He told TF1 interviewer Claire Chazal, a friend of his wife Anne Sinclair, he was a changed man.
He said: "I have paid heavily for it. I am still paying for it. I have seen the pain I have caused around me and I have reflected deeply."
The attempted rape charges were dropped late last month after doubts arose over the hotel maid's credibility. Strauss-Kahn's lawyers had said from the start that the encounter with the maid in his luxury suite was sexual but consensual.
Strauss-Kahn, 62, also said it involved no payment.
Rather than gloss over the scandal and focus on restoring his credibility as a world economic authority, as many expected, Strauss-Kahn spent most of the interview expressing his regret and defending his innocence.
"What happened was not only an inappropriate liaison but more than that, an error vis-a-vis my wife, my children, my friends and the French people," he said.
Strauss-Kahn took a strongly defensive tone at times, holding up a copy of the prosecutor's report and stressing that it ruled out signs of force during the encounter, in which he sought oral sex from the maid moments after she entered his room.
Strauss-Kahn told TF1 he would take time to reflect on what to do with his career.
"I wanted to be a candidate (for the election). I thought I could be useful. All that is behind me," he said. "I do not think it is my role to get involved in the (Socialist) primary.
"I am going first of all to rest, spend time with my loved ones, take time to think. But my whole life has been dedicated to trying to be useful for the public good and we will see."
Strauss-Kahn still faces a civil case in New York over the incident at the Times Square Sofitel, and has been questioned in France over a separate sexual assault accusation dating back to 2003 by a woman 30 years his junior.
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