Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexual assault case
Encyclopedia
New York v. Strauss-Kahn was a criminal case relating to allegations of sexual assault
and attempted rape made by a hotel maid, Nafissatou Diallo, against Dominique Strauss-Kahn
at the Sofitel New York Hotel
on May 14, 2011. The charges were dismissed at the request of the prosecution which pointed out serious doubts in Diallo's credibility and inconclusive physical evidence. In a TV interview in September, Strauss-Kahn admitted that his sexual encounter with the maid was “a moral fault” and described it as “inappropriate” but that it “did not involve violence, constraint or aggression”.
On May 19, 2011, Strauss-Kahn was indicted by a grand jury
and after posting $1 million bail and pleading not guilty he was placed under house arrest
. On July 1, prosecutors told the judge that they had reassessed the strength of their case in the light of the housekeeper's diminished credibility
, and the case against him was near collapse. On August 23, 2011, the judge formally dismissed all charges based on the prosecutors' assertions, including that the maid's "pattern of lies" had "made it impossible to trust her."
At the time of the alleged attack, Strauss-Kahn was the head of the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and considered to be a leading candidate for the 2012 French Presidency
. Four days after his arrest, he voluntarily resigned his post at the IMF. There was widespread speculation in France after his arrest that he was the victim of a conspiracy
, with that speculation being renewed after a detailed report providing new facts was published in late November, 2011.
borough earlier that day. After calling the hotel and asking them to bring his missing cell phone to the airport, he was met by police and taken from his Paris-bound flight at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport
minutes before takeoff and was later charged on several counts of sexual assault plus unlawful imprisonment. Strauss-Kahn was accused of four felony charges—two of criminal sexual acts (forcing the housekeeper to perform oral sex
on him), one of attempted rape and one of sexual abuse
—plus three misdemeanor
offences, including unlawful imprisonment. The U.S. State Department determined that Strauss Kahn's diplomatic immunity
does not apply to this case.
Strauss-Kahn appeared in court on May 16. During the proceedings the prosecution stated that the housekeeper, Diallo, an immigrant asylee from the West African state of Guinea
, had provided a detailed account of the alleged assault, had picked Strauss-Kahn out of a lineup, and that DNA
evidence recovered at the site was being tested. Strauss-Kahn, who had earlier agreed to a forensic examination, pleaded not guilty. The judge detained him without bail pending the grand jury
investigation.
On May 24, it was reported that the DNA tests of the semen
found on Diallo's shirt had shown a match with the DNA sample from Strauss-Kahn.
Strauss-Kahn hired New York lawyer Benjamin Brafman
to represent him. He was reported as having sought public relations advice from a Washington-based consulting firm. His defense team hired a private detective agency to investigate the housekeeper's past.
The housekeeper is represented by Kenneth Thompson and Douglas Wigdor of Thompson Wigdor LLP, a two-partner law firm whose areas of expertise include employment law and civil rights cases. Thompson hired a Paris lawyer to look for women in France who may have been victimized by Strauss-Kahn.
On May 19, Strauss-Kahn was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury
on seven criminal counts, two of which are first-degree criminal sexual acts, each of which is punishable by a sentence of up to 25 years in prison. Bail was set at with 24-hour home detention and an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet.
After Strauss-Kahn turned over his passport and posted an additional bail bond, he was placed under house arrest in a residence in Lower Manhattan
.
Strauss-Kahn was arraigned on June 6 and pleaded not guilty. Outside the court, lawyers for the parties made statements. Benjamin Brafman, for Strauss-Kahn, said: "In our judgment, once the evidence has been reviewed, it will be clear that there was no element of forcible compulsion in this case whatsoever. Any suggestion to the contrary is simply not credible."
reported the case as being on the verge of collapse and quoted law-enforcement officials as saying investigators had uncovered major holes in the housekeeper's credibility. She admitted she lied about the events immediately following her encounter with Strauss-Kahn. She had initially said that after the alleged assault she waited in a hallway until Strauss-Kahn had left. She later said she cleaned an adjacent room, and then returned to Strauss-Kahn's room to clean there before reporting to her supervisor that she had been attacked. She now says that after the assault she only visited another room briefly to pick up some personal effects. Among the discoveries were statements by Diallo to investigators differing from what she had put in her asylum application, her claiming to have only one phone while paying hundreds of dollars a month to five phone companies, and individuals, including known felons, depositing almost $100,000 into her bank account over the previous two years.
Also, Diallo told a compelling and detailed story of being gang raped by soldiers in Guinea
—that was completely fabricated. Over a two week period she told the story to prosecutors twice. Both times with great emotion, precision, and conviction, including: tears; halting speech; the number and nature of her attackers; pointing out scars that were supposedly from the attack; and how her 2-year old daughter was present. When she finally admitted that the story was fabricated, she at first said that she made up the attack to be consistent with her asylum application. But that too turned out to be untrue—as her asylum application makes no mention of any gang rape.
In addition, the prosecution learned that, the day following the alleged assault, the housekeeper had made a phone call in her native Fula language
to her boyfriend in an immigration detention center. The New York Times quoted a law enforcement official as saying that a translation of the call revealed she had used words to the effect of "Don’t worry, this guy has a lot of money. I know what I’m doing." Prosecutors claimed that the conversation, one of at least three they recorded, raised "very troubling" questions about the credibility of the accuser "because she discussed the possible benefits of pursuing charges against a wealthy man." According to the Times, the translation of the call "alarmed prosecutors" as being another in a "series of troubling statements." However doubts have been expressed about the accuracy of this translation by the accuser's attorney.
Thompson, the accuser's attorney, challenged the prosecutors' handling and interpretation of the phone call and asked them to withdraw and appoint a special prosecutor. The prosecutors declined to recuse their office, claiming Thompson's request was without merit.
without bail. His passport remained surrendered though he was free to travel within the US. After the hearing, Kenneth Thompson, the housekeeper's attorney, defended his client: "It’s a fact that the victim here has made some mistakes, but that doesn’t mean she’s not a rape victim."
The next scheduled hearing was postponed twice, from July 18 to August 1, and then again to August 23, with the prosecutors saying that they need more time for further investigation and defense saying they hoped it would lead to a dismissal of charges.
On August 8, 2011, Diallo filed a civil action against Strauss-Kahn in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Bronx.
Consequently, prosecutors stated they could no longer believe Diallo beyond a reasonable doubt, and could not expect any jury to do so either. Diallo's attorney, Kenneth Thompson, publicly attacked DA Vance, claiming that Vance's office had been abusive to their client, had leaked false information, and sought to undermine Diallo's credibility; he requested a stay
in the case which was later denied.
On August 23, 2011, all charges against Strauss-Kahn were dismissed as requested by the prosecution.
Strauss-Kahn returned to Paris
on September 3, 2011. On September 9, 2011, the accuser's attorney filed a civil suit against Strauss-Kahn in New York City, followed weeks later by a motion for dismissal by Strauss-Kahn.
On September 18, 2011, Strauss-Kahn was interviewed on French TV, where he again denied any criminal acts stating that his accuser had lied about the assault. He conceded that any sexual encounter in New York by him was an error in judgment and a moral failure, and made it impossible for him to be a candidate for the French presidential elections.
on April 28, 2011, Strauss-Kahn stated he was "worried his political opponent, Nicolas Sarkozy
, would try to frame him with a fake rape". Paris politician and advocate of gender equality Michèle Sabban
said she was convinced there was an international plot to frame him. A few days after his arrest, a poll showed that 57% of the French public believed he was the "victim of a smear campaign".
On May 15, Strauss-Kahn's political opponent Henri de Raincourt
, a minister for overseas co-operation in the ruling UMP party, stated, "one cannot exclude thinking about a setup." Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
expressed his personal doubts about the allegations.
On November 27, 2011, investigative journalist Edward Jay Epstein presented a minute-by-minute documentation of events, published in The New York Review of Books, which involved the alleged assault, with many facts never before reported. It gave details which renewed speculation that Strauss-Kahn's arrest was part of a conspiracy to remove him from running in the 2012 presidential race in France. An analysis of hotel door key and phone records traced links to Strauss-Kahn's potential political rivals, suggesting the "possibility that he had been set up." The hotel where the alleged assault took place denied many of the facts described in the report.
was in Paris when he was arrested. A week after the arrest, on May 21, 2011, she said: "I don’t believe for a single second the accusations of sexual assault by my husband." Friends of the couple said their 20 year old marriage remained strong despite the new strains and that the allegations were unlikely to separate them.
While considered a womanizer and described by Le Journal du Dimanche
as un grand séducteur ("a great seducer"), a number of close friends nevertheless said the allegations were out of character. His previous wife, Brigitte Guillemette, insisted that violence was not part of his temperament and that the allegations were "unthinkable and impossible." The Spanish writer Carmen Llera, a former lover, defended him in an open letter, declaring that " ...violence is not part of his culture." This conclusion is supported by Strauss-Kahn's biographer who claims that he was a "typical French lover, but he's not able to rape a woman."
Journalist and essayist Jean-François Kahn
apologised for initially characterizing the allegations as a troussage de domestique (literally, stripping or having casual, forced sex with a servant) and retired from journalism. Marine Le Pen
, leader of the Front National
, said “I am utterly unsurprised...everyone in the Paris political village knew of Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s pathologic relations with women”, and criticised both the ruling UMP
and Socialist parties for ignoring his flaws. Bernard Debré
, a UMP member of the National Assembly of France, described Strauss-Kahn's behaviour as a humiliation for France.
In response to the allegations Unite Here
, the biggest union in the hospitality industry, said that hotels should provide sexual harassment training for workers. When Strauss-Kahn appeared in court on June 6, a group of room attendants, members of the New York Hotel Trades Council (NYHTC), arrived on a bus arranged by the union and demonstrated in front of the courtroom.
noted that a media circus
had begun because the case involved three elements of viewer interest: sex, politics, and money. The media impact of the case after the arrest was measured by the French media analysis firm Kantar Media
. They found that during the first ten days of the scandal, 'DSK' appeared on the front page of more than 150,000 newspapers around the world.
On May 17, 2011, Paris Match
published the name of the housekeeper. Other French newspapers quickly followed suit in naming her, eventually adding photos and details of her private life. On June 14, The New York Times
followed the lead begun by other anglophone media in running an "unusually extensive" story on the housekeeper's background, while continuing to withhold her name. In the United States, the media does not normally identify by name persons making an accusation of rape, although nothing legally prohibits them from doing so.
Former French justice minister Élisabeth Guigou
, architect of the 2000 law Guigou on the presumption of innocence, said she found the televised images of Strauss-Kahn prior to the preliminary bail proceedings as absolutely disgusting and described the coverage as a pre-trial indictment. Jack Lang
, a former Minister of Culture
and Minister of Education
, described the published images of Strauss-Kahn as a lynching and wondered why Strauss-Kahn had not been granted bail at his first application since, according to Lang, the case was not that serious. He later apologised.
Hugh Schofield of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that Strauss-Kahn's arrest and incarceration had provoked a national trauma in France far deeper than anyone could have imagined: images of Strauss-Kahn's post-arrest perp walk
had "reawakened an anti-Americanism that is latent in many French souls. ... such humiliating pictures would never be taken in France – indeed the French law on the presumption of innocence bans 'degrading photographs of prisoners awaiting trial.'" Bernard-Henri Lévy
, the French philosopher and media intellectual, declared that Strauss-Kahn had already been found guilty in the court of public opinion.
Following his release from house arrest on July 1, The New York Times, amongst other media, speculated as to whether he could revive his political career. In France, Michèle Sabban asked that the ongoing French Socialist Party presidential primary be suspended to discuss the possibility of Strauss-Kahn's participation.
, governor of the Mexican central bank, and Christine Lagarde
, French finance minister. On June 28, the IMF announced they had selected Lagarde.
announced her candidacy for the presidency, joining François Hollande
and Ségolène Royal
amongst party contenders. Strauss-Kahn endorsed Aubry's candidacy. François Hollande was elected the Socialist Party presidential candidate on 16 October 2011.
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
and attempted rape made by a hotel maid, Nafissatou Diallo, against Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn , often referred to in the media, and by himself, as DSK, is a French economist, lawyer, politician, and member of the French Socialist Party...
at the Sofitel New York Hotel
Sofitel New York Hotel
Sofitel New York is a boutique hotel on West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, owned and managed by the Sofitel corporation. It lies about north of Bryant Park and New York Public Library and next to the New York Yacht Club. The hotel is inspired by French traditions in...
on May 14, 2011. The charges were dismissed at the request of the prosecution which pointed out serious doubts in Diallo's credibility and inconclusive physical evidence. In a TV interview in September, Strauss-Kahn admitted that his sexual encounter with the maid was “a moral fault” and described it as “inappropriate” but that it “did not involve violence, constraint or aggression”.
On May 19, 2011, Strauss-Kahn was indicted by a grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
and after posting $1 million bail and pleading not guilty he was placed under house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
. On July 1, prosecutors told the judge that they had reassessed the strength of their case in the light of the housekeeper's diminished credibility
Credibility
Credibility refers to the objective and subjective components of the believability of a source or message.Traditionally, modern, credibility has two key components: trustworthiness and expertise, which both have objective and subjective components. Trustworthiness is based more on subjective...
, and the case against him was near collapse. On August 23, 2011, the judge formally dismissed all charges based on the prosecutors' assertions, including that the maid's "pattern of lies" had "made it impossible to trust her."
At the time of the alleged attack, Strauss-Kahn was the head of the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
(IMF) and considered to be a leading candidate for the 2012 French Presidency
French presidential election, 2012
The 2012 French presidential election is the next presidential election, to be held on 22 April and 6 May 2012, the latter being used for a run-off if necessary...
. Four days after his arrest, he voluntarily resigned his post at the IMF. There was widespread speculation in France after his arrest that he was the victim of a conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
, with that speculation being renewed after a detailed report providing new facts was published in late November, 2011.
Arrest and indictment
On May 14, 2011, Strauss-Kahn was arrested and charged with the sexual assault and attempted rape of 32-year-old Nafissatou Diallo, a housekeeper at the Sofitel New York Hotel in the ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
borough earlier that day. After calling the hotel and asking them to bring his missing cell phone to the airport, he was met by police and taken from his Paris-bound flight at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
minutes before takeoff and was later charged on several counts of sexual assault plus unlawful imprisonment. Strauss-Kahn was accused of four felony charges—two of criminal sexual acts (forcing the housekeeper to perform oral sex
Oral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
on him), one of attempted rape and one of sexual abuse
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
—plus three misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
offences, including unlawful imprisonment. The U.S. State Department determined that Strauss Kahn's diplomatic immunity
Diplomatic immunity
Diplomatic immunity is a form of legal immunity and a policy held between governments that ensures that diplomats are given safe passage and are considered not susceptible to lawsuit or prosecution under the host country's laws...
does not apply to this case.
Strauss-Kahn appeared in court on May 16. During the proceedings the prosecution stated that the housekeeper, Diallo, an immigrant asylee from the West African state of Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
, had provided a detailed account of the alleged assault, had picked Strauss-Kahn out of a lineup, and that DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
evidence recovered at the site was being tested. Strauss-Kahn, who had earlier agreed to a forensic examination, pleaded not guilty. The judge detained him without bail pending the grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
investigation.
On May 24, it was reported that the DNA tests of the semen
Semen
Semen is an organic fluid, also known as seminal fluid, that may contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize female ova...
found on Diallo's shirt had shown a match with the DNA sample from Strauss-Kahn.
Strauss-Kahn hired New York lawyer Benjamin Brafman
Benjamin Brafman
Benjamin "Ben" Brafman is a criminal defense attorney based in New York. He maintains a firm focused on criminal defense, Brafman Associates, in New York City and has handled cases for clients including Jacob Arabo, James Patino, Peter Gatien, Plaxico Burress, Michael Jackson, Carl Kruger, Charles...
to represent him. He was reported as having sought public relations advice from a Washington-based consulting firm. His defense team hired a private detective agency to investigate the housekeeper's past.
The housekeeper is represented by Kenneth Thompson and Douglas Wigdor of Thompson Wigdor LLP, a two-partner law firm whose areas of expertise include employment law and civil rights cases. Thompson hired a Paris lawyer to look for women in France who may have been victimized by Strauss-Kahn.
On May 19, Strauss-Kahn was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
on seven criminal counts, two of which are first-degree criminal sexual acts, each of which is punishable by a sentence of up to 25 years in prison. Bail was set at with 24-hour home detention and an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet.
After Strauss-Kahn turned over his passport and posted an additional bail bond, he was placed under house arrest in a residence in Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
.
Strauss-Kahn was arraigned on June 6 and pleaded not guilty. Outside the court, lawyers for the parties made statements. Benjamin Brafman, for Strauss-Kahn, said: "In our judgment, once the evidence has been reviewed, it will be clear that there was no element of forcible compulsion in this case whatsoever. Any suggestion to the contrary is simply not credible."
Prosecution disclosures
On June 30, 2011, the district attorney sent a letter to Strauss-Kahn's defense team disclosing information about the housekeeper. Prosecutors met with Strauss-Kahn's defense team the same day. That evening The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reported the case as being on the verge of collapse and quoted law-enforcement officials as saying investigators had uncovered major holes in the housekeeper's credibility. She admitted she lied about the events immediately following her encounter with Strauss-Kahn. She had initially said that after the alleged assault she waited in a hallway until Strauss-Kahn had left. She later said she cleaned an adjacent room, and then returned to Strauss-Kahn's room to clean there before reporting to her supervisor that she had been attacked. She now says that after the assault she only visited another room briefly to pick up some personal effects. Among the discoveries were statements by Diallo to investigators differing from what she had put in her asylum application, her claiming to have only one phone while paying hundreds of dollars a month to five phone companies, and individuals, including known felons, depositing almost $100,000 into her bank account over the previous two years.
Also, Diallo told a compelling and detailed story of being gang raped by soldiers in Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
—that was completely fabricated. Over a two week period she told the story to prosecutors twice. Both times with great emotion, precision, and conviction, including: tears; halting speech; the number and nature of her attackers; pointing out scars that were supposedly from the attack; and how her 2-year old daughter was present. When she finally admitted that the story was fabricated, she at first said that she made up the attack to be consistent with her asylum application. But that too turned out to be untrue—as her asylum application makes no mention of any gang rape.
In addition, the prosecution learned that, the day following the alleged assault, the housekeeper had made a phone call in her native Fula language
Fula language
The Fula or Fulani language is a language of West Africa. It is spoken as a first language by the and related groups from Senegambia and Guinea to Cameroon and Sudan...
to her boyfriend in an immigration detention center. The New York Times quoted a law enforcement official as saying that a translation of the call revealed she had used words to the effect of "Don’t worry, this guy has a lot of money. I know what I’m doing." Prosecutors claimed that the conversation, one of at least three they recorded, raised "very troubling" questions about the credibility of the accuser "because she discussed the possible benefits of pursuing charges against a wealthy man." According to the Times, the translation of the call "alarmed prosecutors" as being another in a "series of troubling statements." However doubts have been expressed about the accuracy of this translation by the accuser's attorney.
Thompson, the accuser's attorney, challenged the prosecutors' handling and interpretation of the phone call and asked them to withdraw and appoint a special prosecutor. The prosecutors declined to recuse their office, claiming Thompson's request was without merit.
Subsequent events
The morning after the prosecution's disclosures, in a brief court hearing in which prosecutors said they had reassessed the strength of their case, Strauss-Kahn was released from house arrest on his own recognizanceRecognizance
In some common law nations, a recognizance is a conditional obligation undertaken by a person before a court. It is an obligation of record, entered into before a court or magistrate duly authorized, whereby the party bound acknowledges that he owes a personal debt to the state...
without bail. His passport remained surrendered though he was free to travel within the US. After the hearing, Kenneth Thompson, the housekeeper's attorney, defended his client: "It’s a fact that the victim here has made some mistakes, but that doesn’t mean she’s not a rape victim."
The next scheduled hearing was postponed twice, from July 18 to August 1, and then again to August 23, with the prosecutors saying that they need more time for further investigation and defense saying they hoped it would lead to a dismissal of charges.
On August 8, 2011, Diallo filed a civil action against Strauss-Kahn in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Bronx.
Dismissal of case
On August 22, 2011, prosecutors filed a recommendation for dismissal of all charges against Strauss-Kahn. They told the court that inconsistencies in the accuser's testimony led to the decision to recommend all charges be dropped. Their decision to drop the case was supported was based on a number of facts outlined in a 25-page document:- The physical evidence indicated a sexual encounter but did not prove use of force or non-consent;
- The prosecution noted multiple instances of the accuser's untruthfulness, including fabricating the story that she was gang raped in her native GuineaGuineaGuinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
to gain asylum in the U.S. (although her asylum application did not include it); - Changing her version of the events before, during, and after the alleged assault.
Consequently, prosecutors stated they could no longer believe Diallo beyond a reasonable doubt, and could not expect any jury to do so either. Diallo's attorney, Kenneth Thompson, publicly attacked DA Vance, claiming that Vance's office had been abusive to their client, had leaked false information, and sought to undermine Diallo's credibility; he requested a stay
Stay of proceedings
A stay of proceedings is a ruling by the court in civil and criminal procedure, halting further legal process in a trial. The court can subsequently lift the stay and resume proceedings. However, a stay is sometimes used as a device to postpone proceedings indefinitely.-United Kingdom:In United...
in the case which was later denied.
On August 23, 2011, all charges against Strauss-Kahn were dismissed as requested by the prosecution.
Strauss-Kahn returned to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on September 3, 2011. On September 9, 2011, the accuser's attorney filed a civil suit against Strauss-Kahn in New York City, followed weeks later by a motion for dismissal by Strauss-Kahn.
On September 18, 2011, Strauss-Kahn was interviewed on French TV, where he again denied any criminal acts stating that his accuser had lied about the assault. He conceded that any sexual encounter in New York by him was an error in judgment and a moral failure, and made it impossible for him to be a candidate for the French presidential elections.
Conspiracy speculation
In an interview with LibérationLibération
Libération is a French daily newspaper founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Originally a leftist newspaper, it has undergone a number of shifts during the 1980s and 1990s...
on April 28, 2011, Strauss-Kahn stated he was "worried his political opponent, Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
, would try to frame him with a fake rape". Paris politician and advocate of gender equality Michèle Sabban
Michèle Sabban
Michèle Sabban is a French politician born 28 June 1954, especially committed to equality between men and women.- Political Life :*Membership in the Socialist Party in 1981*Member of the National Counsel of the Socialist Party since 1983...
said she was convinced there was an international plot to frame him. A few days after his arrest, a poll showed that 57% of the French public believed he was the "victim of a smear campaign".
On May 15, Strauss-Kahn's political opponent Henri de Raincourt
Henri de Raincourt
Henri de Raincourt is a French politician, formerly a senator representing the Yonne department, was Minister for Relations with Parliament. He was elected senator of the Yonne on 28 September 1986, and reelected on 24 September 1995 and 26 September 2004. From 15 January 2008 to 23 June 2009,...
, a minister for overseas co-operation in the ruling UMP party, stated, "one cannot exclude thinking about a setup." Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
expressed his personal doubts about the allegations.
On November 27, 2011, investigative journalist Edward Jay Epstein presented a minute-by-minute documentation of events, published in The New York Review of Books, which involved the alleged assault, with many facts never before reported. It gave details which renewed speculation that Strauss-Kahn's arrest was part of a conspiracy to remove him from running in the 2012 presidential race in France. An analysis of hotel door key and phone records traced links to Strauss-Kahn's potential political rivals, suggesting the "possibility that he had been set up." The hotel where the alleged assault took place denied many of the facts described in the report.
Support and opposition
Strauss-Kahn's wife, Anne SinclairAnne Sinclair
Anne Sinclair is a French television and radio interviewer who hosted one of the most popular political shows for more than thirteen years on TF1, the largest European private TV channel. She is heiress to much of the fortune of her maternal grandfather, Paul Rosenberg...
was in Paris when he was arrested. A week after the arrest, on May 21, 2011, she said: "I don’t believe for a single second the accusations of sexual assault by my husband." Friends of the couple said their 20 year old marriage remained strong despite the new strains and that the allegations were unlikely to separate them.
While considered a womanizer and described by Le Journal du Dimanche
Le Journal du Dimanche
Le Journal du Dimanche is a French weekly newspaper. It is only published on Sundays.-History:The newspaper was created by Pierre_Lazareffin 1948. It now belongs to the Lagardère Group, through Hachette Filipacchi Médias...
as un grand séducteur ("a great seducer"), a number of close friends nevertheless said the allegations were out of character. His previous wife, Brigitte Guillemette, insisted that violence was not part of his temperament and that the allegations were "unthinkable and impossible." The Spanish writer Carmen Llera, a former lover, defended him in an open letter, declaring that " ...violence is not part of his culture." This conclusion is supported by Strauss-Kahn's biographer who claims that he was a "typical French lover, but he's not able to rape a woman."
Journalist and essayist Jean-François Kahn
Jean-François Kahn
-Biography:Born in Viroflay, Yvelines, he is the brother of scientist Axel Kahn, and son of a Jewish father and a Catholic mother. Having obtained a degree in history, he started work at a postal sorting office, then at a printing works. He soon moved into journalism and was sent to cover the war...
apologised for initially characterizing the allegations as a troussage de domestique (literally, stripping or having casual, forced sex with a servant) and retired from journalism. Marine Le Pen
Marine Le Pen
Marine Le Pen is a French politician, a lawyer by profession and the president of the Front National since 16 January 2011...
, leader of the Front National
Front National (France)
The National Front is a political party in France. The party was founded in 1972, seeking to unify a variety of French far-right currents of the time. Jean-Marie Le Pen was the party's first leader and the undisputed centre of the party from its start until his resignation in 2011...
, said “I am utterly unsurprised...everyone in the Paris political village knew of Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s pathologic relations with women”, and criticised both the ruling UMP
UMP
UMP is a three letter acronym that could mean:*Uniformly most powerful test, in statistical hypothesis testing*Union for a Popular Movement or UMP, the main French right political party*United Midwestern Promoters, a racing sanctioning body...
and Socialist parties for ignoring his flaws. Bernard Debré
Bernard Debré
Bernard Debré is French urologist at Hôpital Cochin in Paris and a member of the National Assembly of France. He's one of the representants of the city of Paris, and is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement. He is a son of Michel Debré and twin-brother of Jean-Louis Debré.-References:...
, a UMP member of the National Assembly of France, described Strauss-Kahn's behaviour as a humiliation for France.
Reactions
French politicians were quick to respond, as were their European counterparts. The case prompted response from feminists in both the US and France, who criticised French coverage of the allegations and apparent dismissal of the woman's claims. The reaction led to a rally at the Pompidou Centre on May 22, 2011. French sociologist Irène Théry published two articles in Le Monde commenting on the affair and defending French feminism against American attacks.In response to the allegations Unite Here
UNITE HERE
UNITE HERE is a labor union in the United States and Canada with more than 265,000 active members The union's members work predominantly in the hotel, food service, laundry, warehouse, and casino gaming industries...
, the biggest union in the hospitality industry, said that hotels should provide sexual harassment training for workers. When Strauss-Kahn appeared in court on June 6, a group of room attendants, members of the New York Hotel Trades Council (NYHTC), arrived on a bus arranged by the union and demonstrated in front of the courtroom.
Media coverage
CBS NewsCBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
noted that a media circus
Media circus
Media circus is a colloquial metaphor, or idiom, describing a news event where the media coverage is perceived to be out of proportion to the event being covered, such as the number of reporters at the scene, the amount of news media published or broadcast, and the level of media hype...
had begun because the case involved three elements of viewer interest: sex, politics, and money. The media impact of the case after the arrest was measured by the French media analysis firm Kantar Media
Kantar Group
Kantar, based in UK, was founded in 1993 as the Market Research, Insight and Consultancy Division of WPP plc, a London-based public company. It is a network of 13 specialist companies, with around 28,500 employees working in 100 countries across various research and consultancy disciplines...
. They found that during the first ten days of the scandal, 'DSK' appeared on the front page of more than 150,000 newspapers around the world.
On May 17, 2011, Paris Match
Paris Match
Paris Match is a French weekly magazine. It covers major national and international news along with celebrity lifestyle features. It was founded in 1949 by the industrialist Jean Prouvost....
published the name of the housekeeper. Other French newspapers quickly followed suit in naming her, eventually adding photos and details of her private life. On June 14, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
followed the lead begun by other anglophone media in running an "unusually extensive" story on the housekeeper's background, while continuing to withhold her name. In the United States, the media does not normally identify by name persons making an accusation of rape, although nothing legally prohibits them from doing so.
Former French justice minister Élisabeth Guigou
Élisabeth Guigou
Élisabeth Guigou is a French Socialist politician.-Biography:After attending ENA, France's elite graduate school of public affairs, she worked on Jacques Delors' staff in 1982 before being hired by Hubert Védrine in François Mitterrand's...
, architect of the 2000 law Guigou on the presumption of innocence, said she found the televised images of Strauss-Kahn prior to the preliminary bail proceedings as absolutely disgusting and described the coverage as a pre-trial indictment. Jack Lang
Jack Lang (French politician)
Jack Mathieu Émile Lang is a French politician. A member of the Socialist Party, he served as France's Minister of Culture from 1981 to 1986 and 1988 to 1992, and as Minister of Education from 1992 to 1993 and 2000 to 2002. He was also the Mayor of Blois from 1989 to 2000...
, a former Minister of Culture
Minister of Culture (France)
The Minister of Culture is, in the Government of France, the cabinet member in charge of national museums and monuments; promoting and protecting the arts in France and abroad; and managing the national archives and regional "maisons de culture"...
and Minister of Education
Minister of National Education (France)
The Ministry of National Education, Youth, and Sport , or simply "Minister of National Education," as the title has changed no small number of times in the course of the Fifth Republic) is the French government cabinet member charged with running France's public educational system and with the...
, described the published images of Strauss-Kahn as a lynching and wondered why Strauss-Kahn had not been granted bail at his first application since, according to Lang, the case was not that serious. He later apologised.
Hugh Schofield of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that Strauss-Kahn's arrest and incarceration had provoked a national trauma in France far deeper than anyone could have imagined: images of Strauss-Kahn's post-arrest perp walk
Perp walk
A perp walk, or walking the perp,The term "perp" is short for "perpetrator", and is commonly used by police departments for those they arrest. It is legally inaccurate since the arrested individual's guilt has not been judicially established at that point...
had "reawakened an anti-Americanism that is latent in many French souls. ... such humiliating pictures would never be taken in France – indeed the French law on the presumption of innocence bans 'degrading photographs of prisoners awaiting trial.'" Bernard-Henri Lévy
Bernard-Henri Lévy
Bernard-Henri Lévy is a French public intellectual, philosopher and journalist. Often referred to today, in France, simply as BHL, he was one of the leaders of the "Nouveaux Philosophes" movement in 1976.-Early life:...
, the French philosopher and media intellectual, declared that Strauss-Kahn had already been found guilty in the court of public opinion.
Following his release from house arrest on July 1, The New York Times, amongst other media, speculated as to whether he could revive his political career. In France, Michèle Sabban asked that the ongoing French Socialist Party presidential primary be suspended to discuss the possibility of Strauss-Kahn's participation.
Economic
Strauss-Kahn resigned from his position as head of the IMF on May 18, 2011. In his letter of resignation he denied "with the greatest possible firmness all of the allegations". He said he wanted to protect the IMF and devote all his energies to proving his innocence. On June 14, the IMF announced two candidates had been shortlisted for the post of managing director of the IMF. These were Agustin CarstensAgustín Carstens
Agustín Guillermo Carstens Carstens is a Mexican economist who has served as Governor of the Bank of Mexico since and was recently seeking to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn as managing director of the International Monetary Fund...
, governor of the Mexican central bank, and Christine Lagarde
Christine Lagarde
Christine Madeleine Odette Lagarde is a French lawyer and the managing director of the International Monetary Fund since July 5, 2011...
, French finance minister. On June 28, the IMF announced they had selected Lagarde.
Political
Though he had not officially declared his candidacy, Strauss-Kahn had been expected to be a leading candidate for the 2012 French Presidency for the Socialist Party. Preliminary polling suggested he was favored to defeat the incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy, but his arrest left the party unsure how to proceed. On June 28, party leader Martine AubryMartine Aubry
Martine Aubry is a French politician. She has been the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party since November 2008 and Mayor of Lille since March 2001...
announced her candidacy for the presidency, joining François Hollande
François Hollande
François Gérard Georges Hollande is a French politician. From 1997 to 2008, he was the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party. He has also served as a Deputy of the National Assembly of France, representing the first constituency of Corrèze, since 1997. He previously represented that seat...
and Ségolène Royal
Ségolène Royal
Marie-Ségolène Royal , known as Ségolène Royal, is a French politician. She is the president of the Poitou-Charentes Regional Council, a former member of the National Assembly, a former government minister, and a prominent member of the French Socialist Party...
amongst party contenders. Strauss-Kahn endorsed Aubry's candidacy. François Hollande was elected the Socialist Party presidential candidate on 16 October 2011.
External links
- PBS interview, video, with legal affairs journalist Jami Flloyd PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, July 13, 2011 (7 minutes) - The Strauss-Kahn Affair Dossier by Radio France Internationale English Service