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Report: Authorities Suspect Dominique Strauss-Kahn's Accuser Is Lying
By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 30, 2011
Modified Jul 1, 2011
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 30, 2011
Modified Jul 1, 2011
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The Post and Daily News just reported that Dominique Strauss-Kahn is due in court tomorrow to discuss terms of his house arrest—"to beg for a yet-unspecified loosening of the conditions," "Details of what he will be asking for were not clear"—but the NY Times has the big scoop on why: According to its sources, the case against the former head of IMF "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." Further: "Among the discoveries, one of the officials said, are issues involving the asylum application of the 32-year-old housekeeper, who is Guinean, and possible links to criminal activities, including drug dealing and money laundering."
On May 14, Strauss-Kahn, whom many believed could defeat French president Nicolas Sarkozy in its next elections, was arrested for allegedly trying to rape a maid at the Times Square Sofitel and then forcing her to perform oral sex on him. His DNA was supposedly found on her shirt, but his lawyers previously have claimed any encounter was sexual.
The Times reports that prosecutors will tell the judge they have "problems with the case." What kind of problems?
According to the two officials, 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.
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.
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.
While Strauss-Kahn's high-powered defense team have said they questioned the accuser's credibility (his supporters have also suggested he was set up), the Times points out that the Manhattan DA's investigators discovered the holes in the case. A source said, "It is a mess, a mess on both sides."
Tagged
dominique strauss-kahn
manhattan da
nypd
rush to judgement
sexual assault
sofitel
times square sofitel
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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