Sex, Lies And American Justice: French Still Try To Understand Strauss-Kahn Case (Time.com)

By PIOTR SMOLAR / LE MONDE / WORLDCRUNCH Piotr Smolar / Le Monde / Worldcrunch – Sat Jul 2, 2:25 am ET

This post is in partnership with Worldcrunch, a new global-news site that translates stories of note in foreign languages into English. The article below was originally published in Le Monde.

The startling turnaround in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn affaire has nothing to do with what happened May 14 in the now famous Sofitel hotel room 2806. It is all about the credibility of the plaintiff, the Guinean housekeeper who has accused "DSK" of sexual assault. For the American judicial system, in its Protestant and Puritan culture, lying is considered absolutely unacceptable.

According to the revelations in the New York Times, and subsequent details from prosecutors, there was a healthy amount of incoherence in the statements of the Sofitel Hotel employee. (See pictures of the legal battle of DSK.)

"The American system is based on truth," explains Arthur Dethomas, a Parisian lawyer who is also a member of the New York bar. "Litigants take an oath, they swear not to lie, even in matters that involve themselves. In France, on the contrary, a person who is testifying on his own case is not required to be sworn in, because it is assumed that he can protect himself."

The French system thus gives the accuser a sort of "right to lie." In court, before any statement is recorded, the witnesses are questioned about their connections with the individuals involved in the case. Are they close friends or relatives? Have they had any connection of dependence on them, such as a salary?

According to Dethomas, the revelations mark a decisive turn of events in the investigation. "It has to do with an unexpected affair in a closed room, between two individuals," says the lawyer. "The accusation rests on a sexual encounter between them. For a rape to be established, there must be an absence of consent. If the person who claims to have not given consent ceases to be credible, it's over. Even the fact that she possibly lied on a federal document, the application she filled out for refugee status, would be a felony, a perjury sufficient enough to disqualify everything else she says." (Who was Strauss-Kahn's accuser?)

U.S. Justice Works Both Ways

Between France and the United States, the differences in judicial philosophy and practice, notably concerning the status of the victim, explains part of the incomprehension coming from this side of the Atlantic. But so too does the soap opera of a judicial procedure that has taken place since the beginning in New York against Dominique Strauss-Kahn: his being paraded before the media, handcuffed in front of the cameras, his three-day temporary detention, then the heavy weight given to the prosecution, in contrast to the tactical silence of the defense. "In its brutality, the American justice system works both ways," says a Parisian lawyer.

For his part, Patrick Baudoin, a lawyer as well as the honorary president of the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), listened rather incredulously to the avalanche of commentaries since the latest turn of events. "One thing struck me: as soon as certain unfavorable, thorny elements were discovered in the past history of the plaintiff, it was deduced that her testimony no longer stands."

Baudoin himself encountered the ways of the American justice system when he defended the mother of Zacarias Moussaoui, accused of having wanted to participate in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The comparison between the United States and France prompted him to distinguish justice from public life. "In terms of public morality, it is much better in the United States," he notes. "In France, there is much more leeway and allowance for half-truths. However, in terms of law, it is striking to see what is going on in the United States from one extreme to another. We saw a vilified and reviled DSK who was being dragged through the mud. Suddenly, the victim, who contrary to the French system is merely a witness and not a plaintiff, is discredited." (See pictures of the flashly life of Strauss-Kahn.)

The lie is not only a "mortal sin" inside the courtrooms of America. It is also devastating in front of the cameras. In 1998, Bill Clinton was nearly thrown out of office through an impeachment procedure for having been accused of perjury in the Monica Lewinsky affair. He was not criticized for having a sexual relation with his assistant, but for having lied about it.

In the same way and more recently, the Democratic representative Anthony Weiner had to resign from his position in Congress on June 21. He had sent risquE photos of himself in his underwear through his Twitter account. But the reason for his fall was caused by his first version of the facts, which were misleading and dishonest. He had pretended that his account was hacked. This insupportable line of defense forced him, within a few days, to backtrack and confess with sobs in his voice in front of the cameras. It was already too late.

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See France's reaction to the collapse of the DSK case.

See pictures inside Rikers Island.

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Judge releases Strauss-Kahn

New York (CNN) -- A New York judge released Dominique Strauss-Kahn from house arrest Friday, after prosecutors presented evidence questioning the credibility of the hotel maid who accused the former International Monetary Fund chief of sexual assault.

The alleged victim, a 32-year-old immigrant from Guinea, admitted to prosecutors that she lied about the specifics of her whereabouts following the incident, the details of an asylum application and information she put on tax forms, according to documents filed in court Friday by prosecutors.

But while the case has taken a dramatic turn, it has not been dismissed, said Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance. The indictment and charges -- including criminal sexual acts and sexual abuse -- against Strauss-Kahn, 62, still stand, Vance said.

His lawyers said the alleged victim told "substantial lies about her own background and the facts of this case."

Defense attorney Benjamin Brafman commended Vance for doing what he said was appropriate.

"We believed from the beginning that this case was not what it appeared to be," he said. "We are absolutely convinced that while today is a first giant step in the right direction, the next step will lead to a complete dismissal of the charges."

Strauss-Kahn's release significantly eases the extraordinary bail conditions that had been previously ordered.

The French financier had been released from jail on $6 million bail but was under house arrest in a luxury townhouse in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood. He was paying roughly $250,000 a month for court-ordered 24-hour armed guards posted at the townhouse.

The presiding judge said authorities will continue to withhold Strauss-Kahn's passport but that he is free to travel in the United States.

The stunning twist in the case came after prosecutors, in the course of their investigation, discovered that the alleged victim had not been truthful in a variety of topics regarding her history and circumstances, prosecutors said in a letter submitted to the court.

Prosecutors said the woman admitted lying in her application for asylum in the United States and that she had been a victim of a gang rape, providing details of that attack. She cried when she first told prosecutors about the rape but in a subsequent interview, she admitted the gang rape never occurred.

She said the fabricated account on the asylum application was made with the assistance of a man who "provided her with a cassette recording of the facts" so that she could memorize them.

The woman told prosecutors that she has declared the child of a friend as her own dependent on her tax return in order to receive a larger refund. She "also admitted to misrepresenting her income in order to maintain her present housing," the prosecutors said.

After the alleged hotel assault, the woman told prosecutors that she "fled to an area of the main hallway of the hotel's 28th floor and waited there until she observed the defendant leave," the prosecutors said. She said she then reported the incident to her supervisor.

But in subsequent interviews, the woman admitted her testimony before the Grand Jury was false; that she "proceeded to clean a nearby room, and then returned to Suite 2806 (the room occupied by Strauss-Kahn) and began to clean the suite before she reported the incident to her supervisor."

In angry remarks delivered outside the courthouse, the woman's attorney, Kenneth Thompson, admitted problems with his client's credibility, but the bottom line, he said was that she was attacked.

"That was true the day it happened and it is true today," he said, describing in chilling detail the account the woman gave of her attack and the bruising on her body.

"She has described that sexual assault many times to the prosecutors and to me. And she has never once changed a single thing about that account."

The development is particularly stunning given prior statements by New York authorities, who spoke forcefully about the accuser's credibility, and it leaves the felony case against Strauss-Kahn teetering on collapse, despite incontrovertible DNA evidence of sexual contact recovered from the hotel suite.

"It's just an extraordinary, extraordinary development considering this case was brought with such great fanfare by the Manhattan district attorney and they very loudly trumpeted the credibility of the accuser," said Jeffrey Toobin, CNN's senior legal analyst.

"What makes it even more extraordinary is that the (DNA) evidence apparently shows a sexual encounter between Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the woman who is the maid. Yet even with DNA evidence, the prosecution is considering dropping the case. That shows how bad her credibility may be."

Kenneth Thompson, her attorney, said allegations about the woman's involvement in drugs, published in The New York Times, are a lie, adding that Manhattan District Attorney Vance was afraid of losing the high-profile case.

Thompson also said one of Vance's top aides is married to an individual connected Strauss-Kahn's defense team, creating an untenable conflict of interest in the case.

Vance told reporters Friday that Strauss-Kahn's release did not dismiss the indictment or any of the charges against the former IMF chief, though he did not address Thompson's accusations of impropriety.

The implications of the case are far reaching, especially in France, where before his arrest, Strauss-Kahn was considered a viable candidate in France's presidential election.

The turnaround in the case comes just ahead of the July 13 filing deadline for the French presidential primaries. If the case collapses, Strauss-Kahn theoretically has enough time to file.

His supporters would still like to see him run, though some Parisians interviewed on the streets Friday said even if Strauss-Kahn was cleared of wrongdoing, it was too late for him to seek office this go-around.

Still, many in France felt vindicated over concerns that New York prosecutors were perhaps over zealous and that there had been a rush to judgment.

They were shocked by widely broadcast footage of Strauss-Kahn in handcuffs in May, since a French law passed in 2000 prohibits the publication of images of suspects in handcuffs or in court in order to protect defendants' presumption of innocence.

Jack Lang, France's former minister of culture and education, said he was very happy about the latest developments -- and hoped to see his fellow Socialist party politician make a comeback.

"If the prosecutor and the court decide to declare the innocence of DSK, it will be a good day -- a good day for Dominique himself, a good day for American justice, a good day for France and a good day for the Left," he said.

CNN's Susan Candiotti in New York and Jim Bittermann and Saskya Vandoorne in Paris contributed to this report.

CNN

Strauss-Kahn pleads not guilty at arraignment

New York (CNN) -- Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former chief of the International Monetary Fund, pleaded not guilty Monday to seven charges involving a May 14 incident in which a housekeeping employee at New York's Sofitel hotel accused him of sexual assault.

Strauss-Kahn, who was considered a front-runner in France's next presidential race before his arrest, faces charges including criminal sexual acts and sexual abuse.

His attorney, Ben Brafman, declined to comment on details of the case in a brief statement to reporters outside the courtroom following the plea.

"We intend to defend this case and defend it vigorously, but we are going to do so in the courtroom," Brafman said, renewing earlier statements that evidence in the case will reveal his client is innocent.

According to New York police, the alleged attack happened soon after the housekeeper entered Strauss-Kahn's suite to clean it.

Strauss-Kahn allegedly emerged naked from a room, ran down a hallway, shut a door to prevent the woman from leaving and attacked her, according to police and prosecutors.

According to court documents and prosecutors, Strauss-Kahn grabbed the woman's chest, tried to take off her pantyhose and forcibly grabbed her between her legs.

The criminal complaint against Strauss-Kahn alleges that he forced the woman to engage "in oral sexual conduct and anal sexual conduct" and tried to force her to engage in sexual intercourse.

The next court date for Strauss-Kahn is July 18, according to Erin Duggan of the district attorney's office. No date for a trial has been set, Duggan said.

The alleged victim, who has not returned to work, intends to testify against Strauss-Kahn, said her attorney, Ken Thompson.

"She is going to come into this courthouse, get on that witness stand and tell the world what Dominique Strauss did to her," Thompson said.

He declined to discuss specifics of any possible settlement negotiations with Strauss-Kahn, saying his focus is preserving the good name of his client.

She was described by a former attorney as a 32-year-old single mother living in the New York borough of the Bronx who moved to the United States from the West African country of Guinea.

At the hearing, defense lawyers formally requested that Manhattan prosecutors provide discovery materials -- copies of scientific reports as well as police reports and formal statements made by the hotel employee.

Prosecutors have not yet turned over the information to defense attorneys, Duggan said.

The defense has said that some of that information has already been leaked to the media.

"Our client's right to a fair trial is being compromised by the public disclosure of prejudicial material even before these materials have been disclosed to counsel," Strauss-Kahn's attorneys wrote prior to the hearing in a letter to the judge presiding over the case.

They said if they chose to, they could "release substantial information that in our view would seriously undermine the quality of this prosecution and also gravely undermine the credibility of the complainant in this case."

In response, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon wrote in a letter that the request for the materials would be addressed if the request was made in writing.

Illuzzi-Orbon told the defense she agreed with the need to safeguard information from leaks, but was "troubled that you chose to inject into the public record your claim that you possess information that might negatively impact the case and 'gravely' undermine the credibility of the victim."

If the defense does possess such information, it should be forwarded to prosecutors, she said.

Strauss-Kahn was released from jail on bond, but is under house arrest in a luxury townhouse in New York's Tribeca neighborhood, according to a source with knowledge of his whereabouts.

He is under court-ordered watch as part of the terms of his $6 million bail agreement, and must pay for 24-hour armed guards posted at the door, as well as electronic surveillance.

CNN's Adam Reiss, Ross Levitt and Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.

CNN

If Strauss-Kahn is out, who might become IMF chief? (The Christian Science Monitor)

Berlin – Dominique Strauss-Kahn may be sitting in a Rikers Island jail cell on charges of sexual assault, but officially, he's still managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

That hasn't stopped governments around the world from looking for a successor.

The list of possible replacements is already long a€“ and also indicates that the jockeying for Mr. Strauss-Kahn's post could be contentious and full of conflict. What's more, non-European candidates may be making a strong run for the position.

There's French Economy minister Christine Lagarde. She's known as a competent and smooth operator, but she is the object of a corruption investigation in France. Then there is Peer Steinbruck, former German Finance minister who has been credited with helping consolidate Germany's budget. He is also famously short-tempered. Kemal Dervis is another name on the list, the former Turkish Finance minister steered his country successfully through a financial crisis in 2001.

RECOMMENDED: French outrage over 'inhumane' treatment of Strauss-Kahn highlights culture clash

Europe (mainly France) has traditionally occupied the seat at the top of the IMF. In return, the US gets the post of World Bank director. But with the global economic balance shifting, up-and-coming economies from outside the EU are demanding a bigger say.

The selection process for a new IMF director should be based on fairness, transparency, and performance, says Jiang Yu, spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry. India, Mexico, and South Africa all have their own candidates ready. But German Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted that now is not the time for Europe to let go.

"We know that in the medium term, the emerging markets have a right to the top positions at the IMF and the World Bank," she said Monday in Berlin. "But in the current situation Europe is well advised to have its own candidates."

Officially, the 24-member IMF executive directors elect the person for the top spot. In reality, however, they act on behalf of national governments, and the power balance among them reflects a Western dominance. Nine of them are European, and the US representative's vote counts as four.

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With $900 billion at the IMF's disposal, its managing director can have a major influence on where that money is spent. In recent months, some of the most crucial investments have been in bailing out ailing economies, preventing whole countries from defaulting. In return, the IMF asks for the kind of tough austerity programs that have often turned it into a target of disdain among the political left and trade unions.

Strauss-Kahn made his name as the firefighter of the European economy. A French socialist, he took over as IMF managing director in 2007, not long before the global financial crisis drove several EU countries close to the brink. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz called him a “sagacious leader."

With Greece and Portugal still in crisis, and question marks hovering over other EU economies, whoever takes over from Strauss-Kahn will have a difficult task on their hands.

RECOMMENDED: French outrage over 'inhumane' treatment of Strauss-Kahn highlights culture clash

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IMF's Dominique Strauss-Kahn faces sex charges (Reuters)

NEW YORK/PARIS (Reuters) – IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested and charged on Sunday with sexually assaulting a New York hotel maid, in a scandal that appeared to wreck his hopes of running for president of France.

The charges threatened to create a leadership vacuum at the IMF, overseer of the global economic system, and threw wide open the French presidential election next April, for which opinion polls had made Strauss-Kahn the front-runner.

One of his lawyers, Benjamin Brafman, told Reuters his client "will plead not guilty."

The 62-year-old Socialist, a key player in the response to the 2007-9 global financial meltdown and in Europe's debt crisis, was taken off an Air France plane about to leave for Paris from John F Kennedy International Airport on Saturday.

New York police spokesman Paul Browne said he was charged with a criminal sexual act, unlawful imprisonment and attempted rape. He is expected to go before a state court later on Sunday.

The arrest caused shock and disbelief in France, where a government spokesman called for caution and respect for the presumption of innocence.

"The news we received from New York last night struck like a thunderbolt," said Socialist leader Martine Aubry, appealing for party unity.

Francois Bayrou, a centrist opponent of Strauss-Kahn, said: "All this is completely astounding, immensely troubling and distressing. If the facts prove true ... it's something degrading for all women. It's terrible for the image of France."

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said her rival's presidential hopes had been crushed. Strauss-Kahn and Le Pen have led recent opinion polls ahead of conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy, even though the chief of the International Monetary Fund had yet to declare his candidacy.

In a statement on its website, the Fund declined to comment on the case, saying only that it "remains fully functioning and operational."

But a Greek official told Reuters the arrest could cause some short-term delays in discussions over a European Union/IMF bailout for Athens, in which Strauss-Kahn was closely involved, by forcing the cancellation of key meetings.

MAID'S ACCOUNT

Strauss-Kahn's wife Anne Sinclair said in a statement: "I do not believe for a single second the accusations leveled against my husband."

She added: "I do not doubt his innocence will be established. I appeal for restraint and decency."

One of the IMF chief's French-based lawyers, Leon Lef Forster, said: "We must wait until things settle and see if it's true or a provocation. We must be especially careful not to get into a media circus."

A 32-year-old maid filed a sexual assault complaint after fleeing the $3,000-a-night hotel suite at the Sofitel in Times Square where the alleged incident occurred around 1 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Saturday, Browne said.

Strauss-Kahn appeared to have fled the hotel after the incident, the police spokesman said.

Browne told Reuters: "She told detectives he came out of the bathroom naked, ran down a hallway to the foyer where she was, pulled her into a bedroom and began to sexually assault her, according to her account.

"She pulled away from him and he dragged her down a hallway into the bathroom where he engaged in a criminal sexual act, according to her account to detectives. He tried to lock her into the hotel room."

Strauss-Kahn does not have diplomatic immunity, Browne said.

According to New York state law, a criminal sexual act carries a potential sentence of 15-20 years, the same as attempted rape. Unlawful imprisonment carries a potential sentence of three to five years.

The allegation is a major embarrassment to the IMF, which has authorized billions of dollars of lending to troubled countries and played a major role in the euro zone debt crisis.

FRANCE IN SHOCK

Popularly known by his initials DSK, the IMF managing director had been expected to declare by late June if he would run for president of France. The latest opinion polls ranked him as a clear winner over conservative incumbent Sarkozy.

"The case and the charges ... mark the end of his campaign and pre-campaign for the presidency and will most likely prompt the IMF to ask him to leave his post," National Front leader Le Pen told i-Tele television.

Conservative Trade Minister Pierre Lellouche said: "I think we have to grant DSK the presumption of innocence. If all this were true it would be damning."

Even Strauss-Kahn's political allies were pessimistic.

"The most likely outcome is that this case will stick and even if he pleads not guilty, which he may be, he won't be able to be candidate for the Socialist primary for the presidency and he won't be able to stay at the IMF," said prominent Socialist Jacques Attali.

If Strauss-Kahn were out of the race, leading candidates for the Socialist presidential ticket include party leader Aubry, left-wing veteran Francois Hollande and Segolene Royal, the candidate beaten by Sarkozy in 2007.

PLANE HELD AT JFK

In New York, police spokesman Browne said: "The NYPD realized he had fled, he had left his cell phone behind. We learned he was on an Air France plane. They held the plane and he was taken off and is now being held in police custody for questioning."

The woman, who has not been named, was treated in hospital for minor injuries, Browne said.

The French consul general met Strauss-Kahn overnight under the normal rules of protection for French citizens detained abroad, a spokeswoman for the consulate in New York said.

Strauss-Kahn took over the IMF in November 2007 for a five-year term scheduled to end next year. Before that, he was a French finance minister, member of the French National Assembly and a professor of economics.

He has faced controversy before. In 2008, he apologized for "an error of judgment" after an affair with a female IMF economist who was his subordinate. An inquiry cleared him of harassment and abuse of power, but he was warned by the fund's board of member countries against further improper conduct.

Strauss-Kahn apologized to the woman, Piroska Nagy, and his wife, French television personality Anne Sinclair, as well as to IMF employees for the trouble he had caused.

His arrest follows a Thursday's statement that the IMF's No. 2, John Lipsky, plans to step down in August when his term ends.

A crisis of leadership at the Fund would especially worry European nations, given Strauss-Kahn's pivotal role in brokering bailouts for Iceland, Hungary, Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

"The chances are the successor won't be a European, and will want to rebalance the IMF's priorities away from its massive commitment in Europe," said Jean Pisani-Ferry, director of the Bruegel economic think-tank.

Strauss-Kahn had been due to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday and join euro zone finance ministers in Brussels on Monday to discuss the bloc's debt crisis and how to handle Greece, whose economy is struggling despite being bailed out last year.

"This might definitely cause some delays in the short term," a Greek official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "Strauss-Kahn had a very good knowledge of Greece's situation."

Since taking over the IMF, the Frenchman has won praise for putting it at the center of efforts to tackle the global financial meltdown. He introduced sweeping changes to ensure countries swamped by the crisis had access to emergency loans.

He has overseen changes that have given emerging market countries, such as China, India and Brazil, greater voting power in the IMF, and weighed into thornier issues by urging China to let its currency rise in a dispute with the United States.

(Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton, Noeleen Walder, Catherine Bremer and John Irish; Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Peter Millership)

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