Until now, I have stayed out of the controversy surrounding Dominique Straus-Kahn, prominent French Social Democrat and former IMF head. Experience in volunteer work with prisoners has taught me that things are not always what they appear to be, and that both false defense claims of innocence and false prosecution claims of quilt are all too common. As much as we may want to jump to a conclusion, wisdom dictates waiting, as new evidence now confirms.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, whose indictment on sexual-assault charges reshaped French politics and touched off a global scramble to replace him as head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was released from house arrest Friday after prosecutors acknowledged serious problems in their case.
In a hearing, New York Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon said her office no longer trusted the testimony of Strauss-Kahn’s accuser, a housekeeper at the Sofitel New York hotel who said Strauss-Kahn violently attacked her May 14.
As the investigation proceeded in recent weeks, Illuzzi-Orbon said, there had been "salient, confirmed impeachment" of the woman’s story, from a concocted tale of political repression and gang rape in Guinea that was used to gain political asylum in the United States in 2004 to her shifting account of what happened May 14 in the $3,000-a-night suite.
Prosecutors said they still believe a "sexual encounter" occurred between the two, something "corroborated by forensic evidence" collected after Strauss-Kahn, 62, was arrested, Illuzzi-Orbon said in remarks submitted to the court.
But the difficulty of supporting a rape charge without credible testimony from the woman involved led prosecutors to agree Strauss-Kahn should be released from the house arrest, electronic monitoring and armed guard that have governed his movements since he was indicted by a grand jury. His $1 million cash bail is being returned… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Seattle Times>
When the prosecution gives back the bail money, that is not a good sign.
Straus-Kahn was expected to overturn the Sarkozy regime in France and be a formidable counter to European conservatives responsible for Europe’s disastrous austerity programs. So very powerful people have a vested interest in removing Straus-Kahn from contention. Since, in addition to a history of falsely claiming rape, the alleged victim also has strong underworld connections, the possibility of a Breitbart-like operation, with Sarkozy’s fingerprints, is now a distinct possibility.
Now I strongly oppose violence against women in all its forms, and I’m not saying that Straus-Kahn is innocent. I just think that assuming and publicizing guilt, in Nancy Grace fashion, is a very bad way to approach such matters.
20 Responses to “Was Straus-Kahn Set Up?”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Agree with you ; I learned long ago that everything is not always as it seems ;the old ‘innocent until proven guilty’ is so very true .
Thank Phyllis.
I imagine that “they” (whoever that is) had studied Straus-Kahn’s habits and weaknesses and had him set up. It’s a good thing he’s independently wealthy. Any lesser man would rot in jail and be ruined for the rest of his life!
Maybe some”truth” can start surfacing about the “vast right wing conspiracy”, Hillary alluded to, one time. 👿
SOME? 😐
I too agree, this is a suspicious case indeed – I doubt that I would attend a “love fest” for the guy – but it beginning to look questionable – found it odd since the gitgo!
We need to keep an open mind.
Nonetheless, where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire…but I hope he does prevail and reverse much of what the current French Bush-clone has been up to.
Jack, there was clearly sexual contact. The question is one of force.
There is some evidence left – semen left on her clothing- that could bring this all back, but given the number of times she’s lied, I think this case is dead. Although he does look like the kind of person who would think he would get away with something like that.
Lisa, he never denied that sex happened.
It’s a long American legal tradition to “try the victim”, thereby excusing the behavior of the accused. Remember the defense in the O. J. Simpson trial? Nicole Simpson was a drug user; the murder was no doubt a drug deal gone wrong. One of the most famous cases nationally goes back to the ’70’s, when Texas oil millionaire Clinton Davis was accused of murdering his ex-wife’s boyfriend and their daughter. Defended by Richard “Race Horse” Haynes (a famous Houston attorney), Davis was acquitted after the defense painted his ex-wife as a chippie and drug user (despite eye-witness testimony of the actual murders) to an incredibly conservative Amarillo jury. Like O. J., there is no doubt Davis literally got away with murder.
The examples are endless, but only for wealthy defendents.
As for this case, I personally doubt it will actually go to trial and can even see DSK suing the NYPD and prosecutors’ office for the damage to his reputation and career. But, yes I think he did it and just got lucky that his accuser has creditability problems.
Welcome again Hans. 🙂 I recognized your doggie as soon as I saw it. How would you like to be addressed?
There is a key difference here. Nicole Simpson didn’t lie to the prosecution or brag that there is big money to be had in a recorded phone call to her prisoner boyfriend. What got OJ off was the jury’s visceral reaction to blatant police misconduct.
I never said Kahn is innocent. I said that rushing to judgment is bad.
If her ‘underworld connections’ were that strong she wouldn’t have to clean rooms for three years. The narrative of the devout, naive woman has fallen apart, but she could still have been the victim of an assault. DSK has a bad history too, and he lied at first about what happened. The jury will have to hear all the evidence and decide.
Welcome Nancy. 🙂
For a poor person, a couple thousand crooked dollars can seen quite the windfall. Big tips for big favors are quite common in the hotel industry.
Everyone. I did not say and do not think he is innocent (or guilty, for that matter).
I said that the Nancy Grace evaluation method is wrong.
The accuser has issues. She apparently sells (or at the least collects money ) from drug transactions and she lied about her immigration status. But the phone call between her and her jailhouse boyfriend was not IF the attack had taken place, not IF she was raped, but what she should do following it. It appears there was talk of trying to blackmail the million for money form the event, or if she should go to the police at all about considering her connections and undocumented bank account dealings. I wish they would release the conversation, because twice I have heard that this was there conversation, everyone else just says “there was talk of blackmail”, as if it was the motive for being raped. The conversation came afterwards, not before.
Also, even a “bad” person can be raped or injured. It does not make what they do better, nor their attacker’s assaults any less violent and damaging. If K-S is innocent, let him be innocent. But if he raped a drug queen, let him be sent to jail for that, and let her crimes be another case altogether!
Welcome Bindy. 🙂
Your points are well taken, except that we do not know that she told her boyfriend in prison that she had been raped or how she would profit from it, just that she would profit from the incident. The details of the conversation have not been released.
Given all the publicity surrounding the case. for KS or the ar the alleged-victim to get a fair hearing is virtually impossible.
I AM AN OUTSPOKEN ADVOCATE OF PROTECTION OF WOMEN AGAINST VIOLATION BY MEN, WHETHER IN HIGH or LOW PLACES, WHETHER RICH or POOR, WHETHER POWERFUL or DISENFRANCHISED, but have remained silent up to now this case from the outset BECAUSE “I SMELT A RAT ” for the following reasons : –
i).It is extremely unusual in the USA for a rape suspect to be apprehended in an AIRPLANE with a couple of a complaint being lodged. Even in Mike’s (Tyson) case, it took longer than it did in DKS’s case though even in his case I still had reservations about there having been prior collusion and entrapment (THAT DID NOT JUSTIFY RAPE, however)
ii).The EXTRAORDINARILY HEAVY HANDED APPREHENSION AND INCARCERATION TACTICS IN THIS CASE of a man who had held a highly responsible GLOBAL FINANCIAL POSITION over several years IS ACTUALLY MIND BOGGLING !
iii).The fact that DKS REMAINED UNDER SEVERE RESTRICTIVE JUDICIAL CONDITIONS for up to 2 weeks even after the POLICE WERE AWARE THE COMPLAINANTS conversation with CRIMINAL UNDERWORLD CHARACTERS SPECIFICALLY REGARDING THIS CASE, DISCREDITS ANY IMPARTIAL INTEGRITY THE OFFICERS PROSECUTING THE CASE MIGHT CLAIM TO HAVE !
iv).It is unbelievable that the PROSECUTOR CAN STILL STRIDENTLY TO HAVE A “STRONG CASE” when ALL THAT HE HAS IS “STRONG FORENSIC EVIDENCE” of sexual contact but not necessarily that the accompanying evidence of physical trauma was contemporaneous with carnal contact with DKS and that no other person was involved !
I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO SYMPATHY FOR DKS’s historical LASCIVIOUSNESS and REPORTED DALLIANCES , BUT I THINK SCRUPULOUS IMPARTIAL JUSTICE MUST BE SEEN TO BE DONE REGARDLESS OF GENDER or ETHNICITY !!!!! I WONDER WHETHER BEGRUDGING, RIGHT WING ELEMENTS OVER WHOSE “CORNS HE MIGHT HAVE TRODDEN or ABOUT TO TREAD” did not sieze the opportunity to combine with the Underworld to destroy a BECKONING CROWNING GLORY FOR DKS ! He had become TOO COMPLACENT ABOUT THE ROBUSTNESS OF HIS SURVIVAL KIT !! STILL I wish to see EVEN HANDED JUSTICE DONE EVEN IF IT BRUISES EGOs , EVEN OF THE NYPD !!!
Welcome d’Albert. 🙂
May I respectfully suggest that in the online world the use of CAPS in that matter give the impression of screaming or insane ranting, thus taking attention fro what you want to say.
To the Republican who commented as KS, while cowering behind a bogus email address:
Both refusing to identify yourself and calling me and others who comment here “liberal subhuman pieces of garbage” are not acceptable here. Read the rules page before commenting again. If you conduct yourself in like manner again, you shall be permanently banned here.