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Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the Sofitel case

The press saw him as next president of France, he was put in a cell that does not has the comfort of the Elysee palace

The most recent case is the accusation of rape by an employee of a Sofitel in New York, and it is far from being the first.

Some polls put him at the head of the second round of French presidential elections, beating the UMP candidate with 60% of the votes. Popularity entirely manufactured by the media. He had been beaten in the first round of the 2008 primary socialist. The French Socialists in particular, would they like to have for president a banker with a lavish lifestyle? Where begin this sudden passion for the IMF?

Since the beginning of the case DSK never gave his version of events. He refuses to say what happened and his defense tactic is essentially trying to discredit his accuser, smear her reputation. His circle suggest a consented relationship (hard to imagine) and deny a priced relationship. But DNA tests prove the relationship.

Chronology

• May 13, 2011. Dominique Strauss-Kahn get a $ 3000 suite at the Sofitel of New York. He obtained the favor of paying only $ 800. He would have asked the receptionist to join he in his room after service and would have done the same with another employee of the hotel (great opinion on women).
• May 14, 2011. We learn that a maid complaint of rape against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, then Chairman of the IMF. He was arrested at JFK airport in New York.
• May 16. He is indicted and imprisoned in Rikers Island prison.
• May 18 He resigned from the IMF management.
• May 20. He gets out of jail against a deposit of $ 1 million. He is under house arrest.
• June 6. Hearing in front of the grand jury. He pleaded not guilty.
• July 1. Following revelations by the prosecutor on the lies of the complainant, he was released, bail refunded but must still be tried and can not leave the territory of the USA.
• July 4. Tristane Banon complaint against DSK in France for an attempted rape that allegedly took place on February 11, 2003. She wants to end a case that morally mine her for years and ruined her career because of the influence on media of DSK.
• July 4. DSK responds with a false accusation suit.
• July 5. Naffisatou Diallo sued the New York Post and five of its journalists for defamation after they have accused her to be a prostitute, without any evidence. The newspaper even said she had continued to work as prostitute in the hotel where prosecutors put her under protection!
• July 5. Finally, records of magnetic cards confirm the first declaration of Nafissatou Diallo. She had not lied, as said by the prosecutors in a letter (see references).
• July 6. The prosecutor and defense attorneys met. No accord have been concluded and the investigation continues.
• July 6. The ND lawyer asks the Attorney Vance to recuse himself and to be replaced. He criticizes the numerous leaks in the case and the way a prosecutor screamed at and disrespected  ND (they never interrogate the accused).
  This demand is understandable given the procrastination of the prosecutor and his reluctance to investigate the accused.
• July 8. A preliminary investigation is opened by Paris prosecutors following the claim of Tristane Banon.
• July 13. The mother of Tristan Banon is heard by the French police for the purposes of the investigation. She said she had brutal sex with DSK in an office of the OECD in Paris, three years before (in 2000). He would have had the obscenity of a grunt soldier.
  So after the mother, the daughter... Details.
• July 27. ND has a meeting with the prosecutor and when she quits her lawyer gives a clarification on the words attributed to her during a telephone conversation with an inmate. (See the To prosecution and to defense section).
• August 8. ND sues DSK, seeking for damages in a civil lawsuit.
• August 22. After a survey wholly against the victim, in a report that does not even speak of the accused, the attorney Cyrus Vance asked the judge to drop the proceedings.
  
• September 26. William Taylor, one of the DSK lawyers asked that the civil complaint be closed because he enjoyed diplomatic immunity as head of the IMF.
• October 13. The prosecutor acknowledged a sexual assault by DSK on Tristane Banon but drop the charges but the statute of limitations. Attempted rape is not retained.
• October 17. The name of Dominique Strauss-Kahn was quoted in a case of prostitution in Lille and New York. The most surprising is that DSK, who would not say a word to the prosecutor about what happened in the Diallo case, this time asking to be heard by the judge. Amazing contrast.
• November 22, 2011. The conspiracy theory surfaced again. See below.
• March 26, 2012. DSK is indicted for pandering at Lille, France. In SMS  he spoke of girls like of equipment to be provided. He defends himself by claiming to have been naive, once again. But the girls evoke a total lack of human respect from him.
• May 1, 2012. Facing the judge who must decide whether a civil trial to be held or not, DSK invoked his immunity as head of the IMF at the time. The judge rejected this argument. A second attempt on appeal is possible for him (apparently you can have a right to rape with no risk according to him).

The Sofitel case

There has been no ruling on the merits so far, what is described are the charges from Nafissatou Diallo (pictured right), a maid of Fulani origin (Guinea), aged 32 years and mother of a 15 year old daughter. She lives in the U.S. since 1998.
Those who know her see her as serious and honest.
She worked in this hotel for three years but had never met DSK, she never cleaned his room as shown be records of the hotel, and investigators from her personality have considered her very credible. First encouters (including two former cops) found her chocked and in distress. Since the facts she is under police protection which is why we do not see anywhere.

• It happened Saturday, May 14, 2011 at 12:00.
• Aged 62, the director of the Monetary Fund Internationnal occupied a room at 1300 or 3000 dollars a night according to sources, at the Hotel Sofitel in New York, 45 West 44th Street
• Nafissatou Diallo cleans the room 2820 that is near that of DSK between 10:30 and 11:30.
• At 12:06 she enters his suite number 2806, believing it was empty.
• DSK then exited the bathroom, completely naked. He grabbed her and pushed her into the bedroom and closed the door.
• He sexually assaulted her and she struggles.
• She tries to leave the room, but it leads her into the bathroom where he tries to force him to perform oral sex.
• He kept on the ground and held her head. When she was able to get away, she spat on the carpet, which explains the scattered traces of semen found by investigators.
• Obviously she defended herself, having no desire to grant her favors to an old geezer, of which she must clean the trash after he passes (we are taking here her point of view).
• She nevertheless managed to free himself and escape the room.
• Records of magnetic card prove she leaved the room à 12:26 and entered in the room 2820 she had just cleaned before.
• She does not stay here for long, the supervisor find her shocked spitting and trying to vomit.
• They went into 2806 the room of DSK at 12:26. (We do not know for now if ND entered alone or not).
• When they arrive the room is empty, DSK deserted the place.
• Video show him on the front desk at 12:28, very nervous with toothpast on his lips.
• Police specialized in sex cases arrived around 13:30 (we do not know at what time they were called).
• After the hearing, ND is transported to the Processing Center for Victims of Crime, in St. Luke's-Roosevelt hospital. Experts confirm in a report the physical and psychological state of a rape victim. She is stunned, is noted. She is even enable to say where she lives.
• He would have gone to join his daughter before heading to the airport.
• The investigators found the cell phone he had forgotten in his hasty departure.
• He telephoned from the airport to the hotel to indicate that he forgot his phone in the room.
• Police then learned that he is in Kennedy International Airport, bound for Europe.
• They warn the airport.

• Two detectives pulled him out of the plane that went off in 10 minutes. The doors were being closed.
  It was then 4:40 p.m..
• He wants them to believe that he have diplomatic immunity. "It's not on your passport", he was told. "I have another he answer" and then asks his lawyer. (See documents).
• He was taken to a police station in Harlem, questioned for eight hours and was indicted on Sunday at 14.15.
• After viewing the surveillance videos, and made an expertise of bruises on the victim, traces of scratches on the chest of DSK, the investigators found the charges credible.
• At the hearing on 16 May, the judge refused bail.
• Investigators say that DSK would be involved in another such case in New York.
• According to the indictment, DSK is accused of attempted rape, kidnapping and sexual abuse.
• He was then interned in Rikers Island prison, in a single cell. His badge number was 1225582.

DSK proclaims his innocence, but two other similar cases do not plead for him. Tests have identified his DNA on the neck of the blouse of the victim.

Even after he appeared in front of the grand jury which decided is there must be trial or not, he provided no version about the events. He expects to know what evidence will be presented to choose with his counsels a line of defense.
And this is not the attitude of an innocent. An innocent man does not wait to know the evidence against him because there are none, and he is quick to give his version of events that is easy to verify in his eyes.

At the hearing on June 6, he pleaded not guilty.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn with the President of the USA and his wife.
"Nafissatou, do you know who is the man you accuse?" asked her friend

Defense by a specialist in lost causes

Several private investigators were hired by the defense to investigate the victim and find evidence to discredit her. Benjamin Brafman is known to use tactics at the boundaries to reach his goals, and manipulating the media.
William Taylor, the second lawyer has already defended DSK in the Nagy case.

The victim for his part, with the financial means of a maid, has only one lawyer specializing in hospital malpractices, Jeff Shapiro. It gets paid only when he wins the case. Then the victim replaced him by Kenneth Thompson.

According to the first lawyer, she had no idea of ​​the identity of her attacker. The day after her complaint, a friend phoned her and told her: "To you have only an idea of ​​who this man is and what it means for you?"
She then was startled and incredulous. And, given the power he had, she feared for herself and for her daughter.

The prosecution is represented by attorney Cyrus Vance, John Artie McConnell deputy prosecutor, Joan Illuzzi-Orbon and Ann Prunty who specializes in sex crimes.

An anti-Dreyfus case?

The public defenders of Dominique Strauss-Kahn:

• Bernard-Henri Levy: "There are a victim in this case, Dominique Strauss-Kahn."
• Jean-François Kahn, founder of Marianne, a French popular magazine: it's not a rape case but "sweeping maid". Thereafter he will say sorry about this.
• Jack Lang denounced a media lynching. "There is no loss of life", he said.
• When you ask Robert Badinter, informal defender of DSK if he thinks to the victim he exclaims: "Always the victim!". However, defending the innocence of DSK is also charging her for making a fabrication. Without proof.
• Jay Epstein denounces a conspiracy by agents of the French UMP party disguised as employees of Sofitel.

The editors have not chosen the camp of the alleged victim.

To prosecution and to defense

As expected, the network of DSK has not been idle, after a long investigation, not on the accused to know if he was involved in similar cases, but on her accuser, it is estimated that fishing been successful in the clan.

• She would have kept on his bank account, deposit made by a friend of money from alleged drug trafficking.
  She claims not to be aware of these deposits amounting to 100,000 dollars.
• She have made ​​false statements to obtain asylum in the U.S, 8 years ago. (assuming that it is quite common and she did it repeating a text written for her by an adviser. Her lie did not refer to a person).
• She would have given different versions of the time of the rape, saying once she had seen DSK dress and go and another time that she had fled.
  Experts say that memory problems are common in this case, a form of protection against an unbearable truth.
• She would in a telephone call to her friend, the author of deposits on her account, mentioned what she could claim as damages. "Do not worry, I know what I do, this man is full of money."
  The conversation was heard in the presence of the prosecutor and her lawyer Ken Thompson on July 27 and he says it is a bad translation, she would have said "someone tried to rape me, he is someone important."
  This mistranslation from an African dialect disclosed by the entourage of DSK through the New York Times has been widely reproduced by the media.
• The New York Post presented the victim as a prostitute who sold her services to hotel guests. The source of this information? A member of the entourage of DSK (with no evidence).

In view of this, the defenders of DSK are rubbing their hands and see hom free and already cleared, returning to politics.

• In fact, if it undermines the credibility of the accuser, this does not reduce the evidence such as DNA traces on his collar.
• Traces of blood denote the violence of the acts.
• And also semen with DNA of DSK found all over the floor and walls in the room.
• She did not lied about what she did after the alleged rape, contrary to what the prosecutor said. She did not continued her work a while, this is proven by records of magnetic cards.
• The surveillance video shows DSK leave the room very nervous, his mouth smeared with toothpaste.
• DSK never given a clear version of the facts and to advocate a relationship granted, is a tardy version and rather surprising when comparing protagonists.
• When he was arrested in the airport, he initially tried to pretend he had diplomatic immunity. He has in fact only for his business to the IMF. Proof that anyone can lie when he has problems.
• Despite the huge resources involved, the circle of DSK could find nothing that accredits any manipulation or a history of prostitute..
• The medical report provides the following conclusion: "Diagnosis: aggression. Cause of injury: assault. Rape."

A hearing on July 1, 2011 lets he free with a refund of his bail and forbidden to leave the territory of the USA. This will, however, facilitates the possibility to fly.

While the defense was jubilant at the lies of the accuser and requires a dismissal, it's not that simple. Everyone is entitled to justice and the fact that one had past wrongs do not make a complaint automatically void. Fortunately, as this would give a right to rape some people. And if DSK has all a series of cases to his credit that does not make him a sure guilty.
Some of the lies of the accused can be understood. For example, she is said she will lose the benefit of her home if she has only one dependent child. She invented the charge of the child to her sister to not be homeless. This does not make her a compulsive liar as wants to believe the DSK clan.

The prosecutor and his career

About the medical report showing a broken ligament in the shoulder, the prosecutor rejects the item, saying she could get hurt playing sports! Which sport and on what occasion? It is not clear.

The prosecutor acknowledged that there was fast and violent sex but not hasty proof of rape. Unless the players know each other well and are in a hurry, what can match such a sexual relationship?

The procurreur calls to drop the charges because he can probably not win the case. A trial that would have taken place, however. It's more like a concern for his career than justice.

Reaction of the lawyer of the alleged victim:

He has not only turned his back on this victim but he has also turned his back on the forensic, medical and other physical evidence in this case. If the Manhattan district attorney, who is elected to protect our mothers, our daughters, our sisters, our wives and our loved ones, is not going to stand up for them when they're raped or sexually assaulted, who will?

Protesters held a demonstration in support of Diallo outside Vance's office and demanded that he step down.

Complaisant media in France claim that the innocence of DSK was recognized. Certainly not, a civil trial shoud take place in the United States in which a jury will declare him guilty or not.

The conspiracy theory

On 22 November, an article by a member of the club, Jay Epstein, considered seriously except when it relates to his friends, revived the conspiracy theory.
Strangely, this article displays the date of December 22, 2011!

This journey into the future claims collect a series of "disturbing" clues that will disturb those who want to be disturbed. Two hotel employees perform a dance after the fact for 12 seconds, which proves said Epstein, that there is a conspiracy. Employees called into question as spies of the French UMP party claim that it has nothing to do with the case.

And in the kitchen one found an ice pick. Proof that Catherine Trammel - Sharon Stone, is also involved! .

Other sex cases

• In 2008, a Hungarian economist working under his command at the IMF, Piroska Nagy, accuses him of abusing his power to maintain a sexual relationship with her.
  She then will be part of a package of dismissal of 600 people he asked to reduce staffing.
  He will apologize to the IMF, citing a miscalculation and the agency must pay compensation to the employee.
• In 2002, according to the writer Tristane Banon, he tried to rape her, she tells in a book published in 2007. She should have to struggle vigorously to escape.
  He then allegedly called her several times asking "Do I frighten you?".

Financial affairs

• In 2000 he was indicted in the Elf affair for complicity and misuse of corporate assets. There was a nonsuit.
• In 2001, the case of the MNEF. A bill for advice he gave the student insurance was false and fabricated at a later date. He will still be relaxed, the false invoice does not in itself prove that the service was not provided.

Similar cases

• Former Israeli President Moshe Katzav was sentenced in March 2011 to 7 years imprisonment for rape by the court of Tel Aviv. Acts committed in 1990 on two of his subordinates when he was tourism minister.
  DSK has replaced Katsav to deliver the opening address at the Herzliya Conference on Israel's security, which has something prescient.
• U.S. president Bill Clinton has been the subject of a sex scandal with a White House intern.
• Italian President Berlusconi is accused of having sex with a minor at a party.

Documents

• Arrest of DSK.
• Letter from the District Attorney to attorneys of the defense. (PDF). About the lies of the accuser. Records of magnetic card contradict the content of this letter. She did not lied about what she did after the facts.
• What happened in room 2806. By New York Times, taking into account records of magnetic cards.
• Nafissatou Diallo video.

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