Prosecutors Seek to Dismiss Strauss-Kahn Charges

From the Globe and Mail:

Early in the sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, prosecutors held out his accuser as its strongest point. Her account was “compelling and unwavering,” complete with “very powerful details” and corroborated by a medical exam, they said.

When they moved Monday to drop the biggest case on their docket, the woman was portrayed as its fatal weakness. She “has not been truthful on matters great and small” and has an ability to present “fiction as fact with complete conviction,” and medical and DNA evidence is “simply inconclusive” as proof of a forced sexual encounter, they wrote.

“Our grave concerns about (her) reliability make it impossible to resolve the question of what exactly happened” between the hotel maid and the former International Monetary Fund leader, they wrote.

With that, the Manhattan District Attorney's office asked a judge to put an end to a case that created a cross-continental sensation. A formal dismissal is expected at Mr. Strauss-Kahn's court date Tuesday, though the maid, Nafissatou Diallo, is asking the judge to boot the DA's office off the case and put it on hold until a special prosecutor can be appointed.

Still, if the criminal case is dismissed, efforts to shed light on what transpired in Mr. Strauss-Kahn's luxury suite May 14 are bound to continue in civil court, where Ms. Diallo has sued Strauss-Kahn.

Before his arrest, Mr. Strauss-Kahn was seen as the Socialists' leading contender for next year's French presidential elections.

France's Socialists on Tuesday lauded the move to drop the attempted rape case, but few expect Mr. Strauss-Kahn to jump back into politics very soon.

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