The case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn on the verge of collapse
The sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn is on the verge of collapse as investigators have uncovered major holes in the credibility of the housekeeper who charged that he attacked her in his Manhattan hotel suite in May. The revelations are a stunning change of fortune for Mr. Strauss-Kahn, who was considered a strong contender for the French presidency before being accused of sexually assaulting the woman who went to clean his luxury suite at the Sofitel New York.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn (C) and his lawyers Benjamin Brafman (R) and William Taylor (L) during a hearing at Manhattan Criminal Court.
The woman told the authorities that she had gone to Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s suite to clean it and that he emerged naked from the bathroom and attacked her. The formal charges accused him of ripping her pantyhose, trying to rape her and forcing her to perform oral sex; his lawyers say there is no evidence of force and have suggested that any sex was consensual.
32-year-old Nafissatou Diallo
Since her initial allegation on May 14, the accuser has repeatedly lied, one of the law enforcement officials said.- Seeking to profit: The woman had a phone conversation with an incarcerated man within a day of her encounter with Mr. Strauss-Kahn in which she discussed the possible benefits of pursuing the charges against him. The conversation was recorded.
- Money Laundering: That man, the investigators learned, had been arrested on charges of possessing 400 pounds of marijuana. He is among a number of individuals who made multiple cash deposits, totaling around $100,000, into the woman’s bank account over the last two years. The deposits were made in Arizona, Georgia, New York and Pennsylvania.
- The investigators also learned that she was paying hundreds of dollars every month in phone charges to five companies. The woman had insisted she had only one phone and said she knew nothing about the deposits except that they were made by a man she described as her fiancé and his friends.
- Lied about previous rapes: In addition, one of the officials said, she told investigators that her application for asylum included mention of a previous rape, but there was no such account in the application. She also told them that she had been subjected to genital mutilation, but her account to the investigators differed from what was contained in the asylum application.
- Lied about her actions immediately after the alleged assault: She had said she fled the area, but later said she cleaned another room after Strauss-Kahn's:
Here are some New York Post covers from May 2011:
and July 1, 2011
