On 1 July, prosecutors told the judge that they had reassessed the strength of their case in the light of the housekeeper's diminished credibility.[3][4] On 23 August 2011, the judge formally dismissed all charges following a recommendation for dismissal filed by the District Attorney's office, which asserted that the complainant's untruthfulness made it impossible to credit her.[5][6] At the time of the alleged attack, Strauss-Kahn was the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and considered to be a leading candidate in the 2012 French presidential election. Four days after his arrest, he voluntarily resigned his post at the IMF.
Chronology
Arrest and indictment
On 14 May 2011, Strauss-Kahn was arrested and charged with the sexual assault and attempted rape of 32-year-old Nafissatou Diallo, a housekeeper at the Sofitel New York Hotel in the Manhattan borough earlier that day. After calling the hotel and asking them to bring his missing cell phone to the airport, he was met by police and taken from his Paris-bound flight at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport minutes before takeoff. He was later charged on several counts of sexual assault plus unlawful imprisonment. Strauss-Kahn was accused of four felony charges—two of criminal sexual acts (forcing the housekeeper to perform oral sex on him), one of attempted rape and one of sexual abuse—plus three misdemeanor offences, including unlawful imprisonment.[7][8]
Strauss-Kahn hired New York lawyer Benjamin Brafman to represent him.[10] He was reported as having sought public relations advice from a Washington-based consulting firm.[11] His defense team hired a private detective agency to investigate the housekeeper's past.[12]
Nafissatou Diallo was represented by Kenneth Thompson and Douglas Wigdor of Thompson Wigdor LLP, a two-partner law firm whose areas of expertise include employment law and civil rights cases.[13][14] Thompson hired a Paris lawyer to look for women in France who may have been victimized by Strauss-Kahn.[15]
Strauss-Kahn appeared in court on May 16 before New York City Criminal Court judge Melissa Jackson. During the proceedings the prosecution stated that the housekeeper, Diallo, an immigrant asylee from the West African state of Guinea,[16] had provided a detailed account of the alleged assault, had picked Strauss-Kahn out of a lineup, and that DNA evidence recovered at the site was being tested.[17] Strauss-Kahn, who had earlier agreed to a forensic examination, pleaded not guilty.[18][19] Judge Jackson denied his bail request stating that the fact that Strauss-Kahn was apprehended on a departing airplane "rais[ed] some concerns".[20]
On 19 May, Strauss-Kahn was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on seven criminal counts, two of which were first-degree criminal sexual acts, each punishable by a sentence of up to 25 years in prison.[21] On that date New York Supreme Court Justice Michael J. Obus granted Strauss-Kahn's bail request,[22][23] which was set at $1 million with the additional restrictions of 24-hour home detention and an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet.[24][25]
After Strauss-Kahn turned over his passport and posted an additional $5 million bail bond,[26] he was placed under house arrest in a residence[27] in Lower Manhattan.[28]
On 24 May, it was reported that DNA tests of the semen found on Diallo's shirt had shown a match with the DNA sample from Strauss-Kahn.[16]
He was arraigned on June 6 and pleaded not guilty.[29] Outside the court, lawyers for the parties made statements. Benjamin Brafman, for Strauss-Kahn, said: "In our judgment, once the evidence has been reviewed, it will be clear that there was no element of forcible compulsion in this case whatsoever. Any suggestion to the contrary is simply not credible." Kenneth Thompson, Diallo's lawyer, said all of Strauss-Kahn's power, money and influence would not stop the truth from coming out.[30][31]
Prosecution disclosures
On 30 June 2011, the district attorney sent a letter to Strauss-Kahn's defense team disclosing information about the housekeeper.[32]
Prosecutors met with Strauss-Kahn's defense team the same day. That evening The New York Times reported the case as being on the verge of collapse and quoted law-enforcement officials as saying investigators had uncovered major holes in the housekeeper's credibility.[3] Following Strauss-Kahn's release on bail the following day, the same paper reported that Diallo had admitted she lied about the events immediately following her encounter with Strauss-Kahn. She had initially said that after the alleged assault she waited in a hallway until Strauss-Kahn had left. She later said she cleaned an adjacent room, and then returned to Strauss-Kahn's room to clean there before reporting to her supervisor that she had been attacked. Among the discoveries were statements by Diallo to investigators differing from what she had put in her asylum application, her claiming to have only one phone while paying hundreds of dollars a month to five phone companies, and individuals, including known felons, depositing almost $100,000 into her bank account over the previous two years.[33]
Also, Diallo told a compelling and detailed story of being gang raped by soldiers in Guinea, which was completely fabricated. Over a two-week period she told the story to prosecutors twice. Both times with great emotion, precision, and conviction, including: tears; halting speech; the number and nature of her attackers; pointing out scars that were supposedly from the attack; and how her 2-year old daughter was present. When she finally admitted that the story was fabricated, she at first said that she made up the attack to be consistent with her asylum application. But that too turned out to be untrue—as her asylum application makes no mention of any gang rape.[34][35][36]
In addition, the prosecution learned that, the day following the alleged assault, the housekeeper had made a phone call in her native Fula language to her boyfriend in an immigration detention center.[37][38]The New York Times quoted a law enforcement official as saying that a translation of the call revealed she had used words to the effect of "Don't worry, this guy has a lot of money. I know what I'm doing." Prosecutors said that the conversation, one of at least three they recorded, raised "very troubling" questions about the credibility of the accuser "because she discussed the possible benefits of pursuing charges against a wealthy man."[4][39] According to The New York Times, the translation of the call "alarmed prosecutors" as being another in a "series of troubling statements."[37] After obtaining the recorded audio from the call, the accuser's attorney countered that it was the inmate who expressed fear about the financial power of DSK and Nafissatou merely dismissed his fears by saying that her lawyer knew what he was doing.[40]
Thompson, the accuser's attorney, challenged the prosecutors' handling and interpretation of the phone call and asked them to withdraw and appoint a special prosecutor.[39] The prosecutors declined to recuse their office, saying Thompson's request was without merit.[41][42]
Subsequent events
The morning after the prosecution's disclosures, in a brief court hearing in which prosecutors said they had reassessed the strength of their case, Strauss-Kahn was released from house arrest on his own recognizance without bail.[3][43] His passport remained surrendered although he was free to travel within the US.[44][45] After the hearing, Kenneth Thompson, the housekeeper's attorney, defended his client: "It's a fact that the victim here has made some mistakes, but that doesn't mean she's not a rape victim."[37]
The next scheduled hearing was postponed twice, from 18 July–1 August 2011, and then again to August 23, with the prosecutors saying that they needed more time for further investigation and defense saying they hoped it would lead to a dismissal of charges.[46][47]
Civil lawsuits
On 8 August 2011, Diallo filed a civil action against Strauss-Kahn in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Bronx.[48][49] On 15 May 2012, a few days after the French election for president, Strauss-Kahn filed a countersuit against Diallo for making "baseless accusations that had cost him his job as managing director of the International Monetary Fund and 'other professional opportunities'."[50] Until his arrest, Strauss-Kahn was considered to be a likely candidate to run against the incumbent president, Nicolas Sarkozy.[51]
Diallo's lawsuit was settled, together with Strauss-Kahn's countersuit, for an undisclosed amount on 10 December 2012. A separate suit against the New York Post, who had reported she was a prostitute, was settled at the same time. Diallo's attorney, Kenneth Thompson, described Diallo as a strong and courageous woman who had never lost faith in the American system of justice.[52][53] Previous news reports emanating from Le Monde that Strauss-Kahn was settling for $6 million were denied by both parties.[54]
Le Journal du Dimanche (JDD) later reported the settlement as for $1.5 million, of which Diallo received a little less than $1 million after fees. JDD noted that negotiations between the parties had commenced after an application for diplomatic immunity by Strauss-Kahn had been rejected by the judge. Settling the suit meant that Strauss-Kahn avoided a long and humiliating examination in court.[55][56]
Dismissal of case
On 22 August 2011, prosecutors filed a recommendation for dismissal of all charges against Strauss-Kahn.[5][57][58] They told the court that inconsistencies in the accuser's testimony led to the decision to recommend all charges be dropped.[59] Their decision to drop the case was based on a number of facts outlined in a 25-page document:
The physical evidence indicated a sexual encounter but did not prove use of force or non-consent;[60]
The prosecution noted multiple instances of the accuser's untruthfulness, including fabricating the story that she was gang raped in her native Guinea to gain asylum in the U.S. (although her asylum application did not include it);
Changing her version of the events before, during, and after the alleged assault.
Consequently, prosecutors stated they could no longer believe Diallo beyond a reasonable doubt, and could not expect any jury to do so either.[60][61][62] Diallo's attorney, Kenneth Thompson, publicly attacked DA Vance, claiming that Vance's office had been abusive to their client, had leaked false information, and sought to undermine Diallo's credibility; he requested a stay in the case which was later denied.[63][64]
On 23 August 2011, all charges against Strauss-Kahn were dismissed as requested by the prosecution.[65] He returned to Paris on 3 September 2011.[66] On 9 September 2011, the accuser's attorney filed a civil suit against Strauss-Kahn in New York City,[67][68] followed weeks later by a motion for dismissal by Strauss-Kahn.[69]
On 18 September 2011, Strauss-Kahn was interviewed on French TV. He conceded that his encounter with Diallo in New York had been an error and a moral failure, but denied it was a criminal act. He accused Diallo of lying about the encounter.[70]
Conspiracy hypothesis
In an interview with Libération on 28 April 2011, Strauss-Kahn stated he was "worried his political opponent, Nicolas Sarkozy, would try to frame him with a fake rape".[71][72] Paris politician and advocate of gender equality Michèle Sabban said she was convinced there was an international plot to frame him.[73][74] A few days after his arrest, a poll showed that 57% of the French public believed he was the "victim of a smear campaign".[75][76]
On 15 May, Strauss-Kahn's political opponent Henri de Raincourt, a minister for overseas co-operation in the ruling UMP party, stated, "one cannot exclude thinking about a setup."[77][78] Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin expressed his personal doubts about the allegations.[79]
On 27 November 2011, investigative journalist Edward Jay Epstein presented a minute-by-minute documentation of events, published in The New York Review of Books, which involved the alleged assault, making a number of new allegations. An analysis of hotel door key and phone records tracing links to Strauss-Kahn's potential political rivals appeared to suggest the possibility that he had been set up.[80][81] However the hotel where the alleged assault took place firmly rebuffed Epstein's suggestions of a conspiracy theory, denying a number of assertions in the report.[82]The New York Review of Books subsequently corrected one of its allegations, reporting that a "dance of celebration" between two Sofitel employees lasted 13 seconds, not the 3 minutes originally reported, an issue that had been raised by Amy Davidson in her The New Yorker examination of Epstein's piece.[83][84] Epstein later wrote that Strauss-Kahn now accepts that his enemies might not have set up his encounter with Diallo, but believes they did play a role, through intercepted phone calls, in making sure that the hotel maid went to the police, turning a private tryst into a public scandal.[85][86]
Support and opposition
Strauss-Kahn's wife, Anne Sinclair, was in Paris when he was arrested. A week after the arrest, on 21 May 2011, she said: "I don't believe for a single second the accusations of sexual assault by my husband."[87] Friends of the couple said their 20-year-old marriage remained strong despite the new strains and that the allegations were unlikely to separate them.[88]
While he was considered a womanizer and described by Le Journal du Dimanche as un grand séducteur ("a great seducer"),[89] a number of close friends said the allegations were out of character.[90][91]
His previous wife, Brigitte Guillemette, insisted that violence was not part of his temperament and that the allegations were "unthinkable and impossible".[92][93] The Spanish writer Carmen Llera, a former lover, defended him in an open letter, declaring "violence is not part of his culture."[94] This conclusion is supported by Strauss-Kahn's biographer who claims that he was a "typical French lover, but he's not able to rape a woman."[95]
Journalist and essayist Jean-François Kahn apologized for initially characterizing the allegations as a troussage de domestique (literally, stripping or having casual, forced sex with a servant) and said he would retire from journalism.[96][97]Marine Le Pen, leader of the Front National, said "I am utterly unsurprised...everyone in the Paris political village knew of Dominique Strauss-Kahn's pathologic relations with women",[98] and criticised both the ruling UMP and Socialist parties for ignoring his flaws.[99]Bernard Debré, a UMP member of the National Assembly of France, described Strauss-Kahn's behaviour as a humiliation for France.[100]
Reactions
French politicians were quick to respond, as were their counterparts in the rest of Europe.[101][102] The case prompted response from feminists in both the US and France, who criticised French coverage of the allegations and apparent dismissal of the woman's claims. The reaction led to a rally at the Pompidou Centre on 22 May 2011.[103] French sociologist Irène Théry published two articles in Le Monde commenting on the affair and defending French feminism against American attacks.[104][105][106][107]
In response to the allegations Unite Here, the biggest union in the hospitality industry, said that hotels should provide sexual harassment training for workers. When Strauss-Kahn appeared in court on June 6, a group of room attendants, members of the New York Hotel Trades Council (NYHTC), arrived on a bus arranged by the union and demonstrated in front of the courtroom.[108][109]
CBS News noted that a media circus had begun because the case involved three elements of viewer interest: sex, politics, and money.[110] The media impact of the case after the arrest was measured by the French media analysis firm Kantar Media. They found that during the first ten days of the scandal, 'DSK' appeared on the front page of more than 150,000 newspapers around the world.[111][112]
On 17 May 2011, Paris Match published the name of the housekeeper in a piece which included appraisals of her attractiveness.[113] Other French newspapers quickly followed suit in naming her, eventually adding photos and details of her private life.[114]
On 14 June, The New York Times followed the lead begun by other anglophone media in running an "unusually extensive" story on the housekeeper's background, while continuing to withhold her name.[115] In the United States, the media does not normally identify by name persons making an accusation of rape.[116]
Images of Strauss-Kahn's perp walk were condemned in France, where it is illegal to publish such photos before the subject is convicted.
Former French justice minister Élisabeth Guigou, architect of a 2000 law on the presumption of innocence, said she found the televised images of Strauss-Kahn prior to the preliminary bail proceedings absolutely disgusting and described the coverage as a pre-trial indictment.[117]Jack Lang, a former Minister of Culture and Minister of Education, described the published images of Strauss-Kahn as a lynching and wondered why Strauss-Kahn had not been granted bail at his first application since, according to Lang, the case was not that serious. He later apologised.[77][103]
Hugh Schofield of the BBC reported that Strauss-Kahn's arrest and incarceration had provoked a national trauma in France far deeper than anyone could have imagined: images of Strauss-Kahn's post-arrest perp walk had "reawakened an anti-Americanism that is latent in many French souls. ... such humiliating pictures would never be taken in France – indeed the French law on the presumption of innocence bans 'degrading photographs of prisoners awaiting trial.'"[118][119]Bernard-Henri Lévy, the French philosopher and media intellectual, declared that Strauss-Kahn had already been found guilty in the court of public opinion.[120]
Following his release from house arrest on 1 July, The New York Times, among other media, speculated as to whether he could revive his political career.[121][122] In France, Michèle Sabban asked that the ongoing French Socialist Party presidential primary be suspended to discuss the possibility of Strauss-Kahn's participation.[123][124]
Reactions to the dropping of all charges
In March 2012, students at Cambridge University in the UK protested against Strauss-Kahn being allowed to speak on campus. Because of the original charges and the maid's allegations, a campus women's group opposed his visit, with 750 students signing a petition to withdraw his invitation.[citation needed]
In defending their decision to invite him, the president of the Cambridge Union Society explained that "we can't engage in any kind of judgement on people," while a university spokesperson added that the university "respects academic freedom and freedom of speech." A student protester who was interviewed defended the protests, saying "... we wanted to exercise our own freedom of speech as individuals and let the union know what we think."[125]
Resignation and impact
Economic
Strauss-Kahn resigned from his position as head of the IMF on 18 May 2011. In his letter of resignation he denied "with the greatest possible firmness all of the allegations". He said he wanted to protect the IMF and devote all his energies to proving his innocence.[126] On June 14, the IMF announced two candidates had been shortlisted for the post of managing director of the IMF. These were Agustín Carstens, governor of the Mexican central bank, and Christine Lagarde, French finance minister.[127] On 28 June, the IMF announced they had selected Lagarde.[128]
His sudden resignation led the IMF to search for a replacement and created new political worries. According to The Washington Post, "Without Strauss-Kahn at the helm, Europe is at risk of losing a key source of financial support in its efforts to contain the debt crisis buffeting the continent", including potential financial bailouts for nations such as Greece and Portugal.[129] U.S. economist Joseph Stiglitz agreed, stressing that because Strauss-Kahn was "an impressive leader of the IMF and re-established the credibility of the institution," the choice of his replacement was important, otherwise "the gains of the institution could easily be lost."[130]
According to The Economist magazine, before Strauss-Kahn became head of the IMF, the fund's relevance to global finance was in question. However, his early endorsement of fiscal stimulus for the Eurozone during its financial crisis had been accepted and acted upon, with new contributions to the fund being tripled in size. "The Greeks trusted him", it notes, and he was "one of the few non-German policymakers to have had influence over Angela Merkel ... Whatever his personal failings, [he] was an outstanding head of the IMF."[131] In addition, he had championed the need to protect poor countries from the effects of fiscal austerity, helping the IMF become "kinder and gentler" to less developed countries.[77] As a result of his arrest, the IMF was in "turmoil", and the choice of his replacement became "more urgent and more complicated."[77]
Political
Though he had not officially declared his candidacy, Strauss-Kahn had been expected to be a leading candidate for the 2012 French Presidency for the Socialist Party.[132][133] Preliminary polling suggested he was favored to defeat the incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy,[134] but his arrest left the party unsure how to proceed.[135] On 28 June, party leader Martine Aubry announced her candidacy for the presidency, joining François Hollande and Ségolène Royal amongst party contenders.[136] Strauss-Kahn endorsed Aubry's candidacy. François Hollande was elected the Socialist Party presidential candidate on 16 October 2011.[137]
The 2013 short film, Aissa's Story, is based on Nafissatou Diallo's account of being raped by Strauss-Kahn. Aissa's Story is directed by Iquo Essien and has won numerous short/independent film awards.[139]
In December 2020, a 4-part documentary was released on Netflix, Room 2806: The Accusation, directed by Jalil Lespert.
Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn, also known as DSK, is a French economist and politician who served as the tenth managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and was a member of the French Socialist Party. He attained notoriety due to his involvement in several sex scandals.
Benjamin Brafman is an American criminal defense attorney and founder of the Manhattan-based law firm Brafman & Associates. Brafman is known for representing many high-profile defendants, including celebrities, accused Mafia members, and political figures.
A perp walk, walking the perp, is a practice in law enforcement of taking an arrested suspect, usually right after arrest, out in public, usually from the police station to the vehicle to the courthouse and then after the court hearing back to the vehicle, creating an opportunity for a media frenzy to take photographs and video of the event. The defendant is typically handcuffed or otherwise restrained, and is sometimes dressed in prison garb. Within the United States the perp walk is most closely associated with New York City. The practice rose in popularity in the 1980s under U.S. Attorney Rudolph Giuliani, when suspects charged with felonies were perp-walked.
Linda Fairstein is an American author, attorney, and former New York City prosecutor focusing on crimes of violence against women and children. She was the head of the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's office from 1976 until 2002.
Sofitel New York is a boutique hotel on West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, owned and managed by the Sofitel corporation. It is two blocks north of Bryant Park and the New York Public Library Main Branch and next to the New York Yacht Club Building. The hotel is inspired by French traditions in furnishings and theme, and the hotel staff are bilingual in French and English. Completed in 2000, the limestone and glass building is 358 feet (109 m) tall with 30 stories and 398 guest rooms.
Anne Sinclair is a French-American television and radio interviewer. She hosted one of the most popular political shows for more than thirteen years on TF1, the largest European private TV channel. She is heiress to much of the fortune of her maternal grandfather, art dealer Paul Rosenberg. She covered the 2008 US presidential campaign for the French Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche and the French TV channel Canal+. She married French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn in 1991 and divorced him in 2013 in the aftermath of the New York v. Strauss-Kahn case. She was portrayed in the 2014 feature film Welcome to New York.
Cyrus Roberts Vance Jr. is an American attorney and politician who served as the District Attorney of New York County, New York. He was previously a principal partner at the law firm of Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iason, Anello, & Bohrer, P.C. He is the son of Cyrus Vance Sr., former Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter. Vance did not seek reelection as District Attorney in the 2021 election, and was succeeded by Alvin Bragg. He is currently a partner at Baker McKenzie.
Tristane Banon is a French journalist and writer. She is the daughter of Anne Mansouret and Gabriel Banon. She is a regular contributor on youth affairs at the French news website Atlantico.
John Phillip Lipsky is an American economist. He was the acting managing director of the International Monetary Fund from May to July 2011. He assumed the post of acting managing director after Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested in May 2011 accused of sexual assault. After the appointment of Christine Lagarde he returned to his post as the first deputy managing director of the IMF. He retired from the IMF in November 2011 and is currently a distinguished visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Nafissatou Diallo may refer to:
The 2011 French Socialist Party presidential primary was the first open primary of the French Socialist Party and Radical Party of the Left for selecting their candidate for the 2012 presidential election. The filing deadline for primary nomination papers was fixed at 13 July 2011 and six candidates competed in the first round of the vote. On election day, 9 October 2011, no candidate won 50 percent of the vote, and the two candidates with the most votes contested a runoff election on 16 October 2011. François Hollande ultimately won the primary, defeating Martine Aubry.
Mahmoud Abdel Salam Omar is an Egyptian businessman. He is the Chairman of El-Mex Salines, an Egyptian salt production company, and was formerly Chairman of Egypt's Bank of Alexandria and head of the Egyptian Banks Federation. In May 2011, he was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a maid in his room at New York City's Pierre Hotel.
Lisa M. Friel is a New York City lawyer and prosecutor. She formerly served as chief of the sex crimes unit in the Manhattan District Attorney's office.
"Scorched Earth" is the thirteenth season premiere of the police procedural television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and the 273rd episode overall. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on September 21, 2011. In the episode, which was inspired by the Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexual assault case, an Italian diplomat is arrested when a hotel maid accuses him of rape. The District Attorney's office then brings the case to trial, which becomes increasingly complicated as the defense questions the maid's credibility. Meanwhile, Detective Olivia Benson struggles to cope with the aftermath of the squad room shooting.
Natasha's Justice Project (NJP) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks to end the nation's current rape kit backlog crisis and empower and assist survivors of sexual assault through travel grants to testify at their trials. NJP was founded by Natasha S. Alexenko, a victim and survivor of sexual assault, in hopes of exposing and eliminating the current rape kit backlog that exists in public municipalities throughout the United States. NJP empowers survivors of sexual assault by getting their rape kits off the shelves and tested so that their perpetrator(s) are brought to justice.
Kenneth P. Thompson was an American lawyer who served as the District Attorney of Kings County, New York, from 2014 until his death from cancer on October 9, 2016.
Welcome to New York is a 2014 drama film co-written and directed by Abel Ferrara. Inspired by the Dominique Strauss-Kahn affair when the prominent French politician was accused of sexual assaulting a hotel maid, the film was released on 17 May 2014 by VOD on the Internet as the film failed to secure a place on the Official Selection at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, nor was it picked up for theatrical distribution in France.
Men Explain Things to Me is a 2014 essay collection by the American writer Rebecca Solnit, published by Haymarket Books. The book originally contained seven essays, the main essay of which was cited in The New Republic as the piece that "launched the term mansplaining". But Solnit herself did not use the word in the original essay and has since rejected the term. The September 2015 expanded edition of the book included two new essays: "Cassandra Among the Creeps" and "#YesAllWomen: Feminists Rewrite the Story."
Nafissatou is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include:
Douglas Holden Wigdor is a founding partner of the law firm Wigdor LLP, and works as a litigator in New York City, specializing in anti-discrimination law. Wigdor is best known for representing seven victims of alleged sexual abuse by Harvey Weinstein, the hotel maid in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexual assault case, over twenty employees at Fox News in sexual harassment and discrimination cases, and NFL coaches Brian Flores, Steve Wilks, and Ray Horton in a 2022 class action lawsuit against the National Football League alleging racist and discriminatory practices against Black coaches.
References
↑ "Release order"(PDF). Courts.state.ny.us. May 20, 2011. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
1 2 "The People of the State of New York against Dominique Strauss-Kahn (Indictment No. 02526/2011): Recommendation for Dismissal". DocumentCloud. Archived from the original on May 27, 2013. Retrieved August 10, 2013. The prosecution has the burden at trial to prove the guilt of an accused beyond a reasonable doubt. For a host of reasons, including those set forth below, the complainant's untruthfulness makes it impossible to credit her. Because we cannot credit the complainant's testimony beyond a reasonable doubt, we cannot ask a jury to do so. The remaining evidence is insufficient to satisfy the elements of the charged crimes. We are therefore required, as both a legal and ethical matter, to move for dismissal of the indictment.
↑ Rushe, Dominic (June 6, 2011). "Dominique Strauss-Kahn denies attempted rape and sexual assault". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on September 30, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2011. Strauss-Kahn's lawyers say forensic evidence does not support a forcible encounter. "In our judgment, once the evidence has been cleared, it will be clear that there was no element of forcible compulsion in this case whatsoever. Any suggestion to the contrary is simply not credible," said Ben Brafman, his lawyer. Thompson said: "The victim wants you to know that all of Dominique Strauss-Kahn's power, money and influence throughout the world do not keep the truth about what he did to her in that hotel room from coming out. And that despite the smear campaign that is being committed against her, she is standing up for her dignity as a woman. "She's standing up for her self-respect as a woman. And she is standing up for all women and children around the world who have been sexually assaulted or sexually abused and are too afraid to say something."
↑ "Un million de dollars pour Nafissatou Diallo". Le Journal du Dimanche (in French). January 19, 2013. Archived from the original on July 29, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2013. "I want a better life for my child" ("Je veux une meilleure vie pour mon enfant.") Lundi 10 décembre, dans le secret de la salle des négociations du tribunal du Bronx, Nafissatou Diallo n'a pas trouvé d'autres mots pour commenter le contrat qui lui était soumis
↑ Buetnner, Russ (May 1, 2012). "Judge in Civil Case Rejects Immunity for Strauss-Kahn". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2013. Justice Douglas E. McKeon of State Supreme Court in the Bronx characterized Mr. Strauss-Kahn's attempt to claim diplomatic immunity as "his own version of a Hail Mary pass," noting that he had resigned from his position as the head of the International Monetary Fund before the suit was filed.
↑ Steven Erlanger; Maïa de la Baume (September 18, 2011). "Strauss-Kahn Concedes 'Error' in Sexual Encounter With Maid". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved August 10, 2013. Dominique Strauss-Kahn said Sunday that his sexual encounter with a New York City hotel chambermaid was "an error" and "a moral failure" he would regret his whole life, but not a criminal act.
↑ Harris, Paul (November 26, 2011). "New questions raised over Dominique-Strauss Kahn case". The Guardian. Retrieved August 9, 2013. In passages sure to delight Strauss-Kahn supporters and conspiracy theorists, Epstein's lengthy article studied hotel door key and phone records and traced links to Strauss-Kahn's potential political rivals, appearing to suggest the possibility that he had been set up.
↑ Epstein, Edward Jay (April 27, 2012). "Strauss-Kahn affair: 'Perhaps I was naive. I didn't believe they'd go that far'". The Guardian. Retrieved August 9, 2013. In the more than two hours we speak, it becomes clear that Strauss-Kahn is convinced that his downfall was choreographed by his political enemies. They may not have gone so far as to set up the encounter with Diallo, he now accepts, but he believes they did play a role, through intercepted phone calls, in making sure that the hotel maid went to the police and thus turned a private tryst into a public scandal.
↑ Desnos, Marie (May 17, 2011). "Nafissatou Diallo, celle qui a fait tomber DSK". Paris Match (in French). Archived from the original on June 13, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2013. Physiquement, les témoignages divergent. Les avocats de DSK auraient déclaré avoir été surpris de découvrir le visage «très peu séduisant» de l'accusatrice, à la comparution au cours de laquelle elle a formellement identifié celui qu'elle désigne comme étant son agresseur, rapporte RMC... Dans les colonnes de «France Soir», un chauffeur de taxi indien appelé Sony indique au contraire que le voiturier de l'hôtel lui aurait «dit que cette femme de ménage était une trentenaire très jolie, qu'elle avait de gros seins et de belles fesses.» Un des informateurs d'Europe 1 évoque aussi une femme «plutôt jolie». D'habitude, précise Mark Gangadeen, cette musulmane portait un pantalon de couleur foncée, un foulard sur la tête avec un imprimé tribal, et des chaussures plates.
↑ John Lichfield in Paris and David Usborne in New York. "Strauss-Kahn could yet be French PM". The Independent. London, UK. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2011.
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