Strauss-Kahn trial: Maid's story now looks unconvincing

The sexual assault episode involving Dominique Strauss-Kahn is getting murkier by the day. Prosecutors have now stumbled upon evidence that the victim, a New York hotel maid, can be heard telling her boyfriend in Arizona about her entire plan to get money from the former IMF chief.

“She says words to the effect of, ‘Don’t worry, this guy has a lot of money. I know what I’m doing,’” an official told The New York Times. The phone conversation was translated this Wednesday from the Fulani dialect spoken in the maid’s native Guinea, the paper said.

This came as a stunning revelation which may well decide the fate of the case in coming days. Contradictions in the maid’s story cleared the way for Strauss-Kahn’s release from house arrest on Friday after prosecutors questioned her intention who they said lied to a grand jury and made other false statements.

But troubles are not over for Strauss-Kahn, 62, yet. He may have got a temporary relief, but still faces charges that he sexually assaulted the woman in New York. The most curious part now is that the credibility of the maid herself is being doubted and this appears to be tilting the scales in his favour, which in all probability may shake up French politics.

Strauss-Kahn’s body language said it all. He smiled, looking cheerful as he left court, wife Anne Sinclair at his side. Until his May 14 arrest, Strauss-Kahn was a strong potential challenger to Conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2012 election. Jubilant supporters in the French Socialist party feel they have been vindicated and hoped he might plunge into the presidential race. But some analysts feel his chances have been dented.

Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers are pushing hard to get the charges dropped. The judge said prosecutors will reexamine the evidence after they revealed the maid lied to a grand jury about her actions after the alleged attack and on tax and immigration documents. “I understand that the circumstances of this case have changed substantially and I agree the risk that he would not be here has receded quite a bit,” Justice Michael Obus told the court as he released Strauss-Kahn. “There will be no rush to judgment. The people will continue to investigate and reexamine the matter as appropriate.”

Strauss-Kahn, whose house arrest had included electronic monitoring and an armed guard, agreed to return to court as needed, including for a July 18 hearing. His bail payment of $1 million and bond of $5 million were returned to him, but his passport was not, meaning he can travel only within the United States.

With his resignation on May 19, Strauss-Kahn severed all his ties to the International Monetary Fund. Christine Lagarde, who has just stepped down as French finance minister, takes over the top IMF job on Tuesday.

Questions Emerge

The case has hinged on the accuser, a 32-year-old Guinean immigrant who cleaned the $3,000-a-night suite at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan where Strauss-Kahn was staying.

Prosecutors found issues with her asylum application, tax return and statements to the grand jury investigating the assault case, court documents showed.

Prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon told the court “the facts of the sexual encounter was and is corroborated” but some details appear to have changed. The woman initially said Strauss-Kahn assaulted her and she then cowered in the hallway outside his room until he left and she felt safe to seek help. Now, prosecutors say, she admits she cleaned a nearby room and then returned to Strauss-Kahn’s suite to start cleaning before reporting the incident.

After the dramatic revelations, Strauss-Kahn’s lawyer Benjamin Brafman said he wants the charges dropped. “We are absolutely convinced that while today is a first giant step in the right direction, the next step will lead to a complete dismissal of the charges,” Brafman said.

The woman’s brother told Reuters in Guinea that she was the victim of a smear campaign. Her lawyer, Kenneth Thompson, said after the hearing his client’s story had never wavered and that Strauss-Kahn had bruised her badly and tore a ligament in her shoulder. “The claim that this was consensual is a lie,” Thompson told reporters. “She made some mistakes but that doesn’t mean she is not a rape victim.”

The New York Times quoted law enforcement officials as saying prosecutors found possible links between the accuser and people involved in drug dealing and money laundering.

They also discovered the woman made a phone call to a jailed man within a day of her encounter with Strauss-Kahn in which she discussed the possible benefits of pursuing the charges against him, the paper said.

The conversation was recorded. The man was among a number of people who had made multiple cash deposits, totaling around $100,000, into the woman’s bank account over the last two years, The New York Times said.

Some commentators suggested that Strauss-Kahn, known as the “great seducer” of French politics, could have been set up. His arrest opened the field for several other Socialist candidates for next April’s presidential election, including party leader Martine Aubry, who trails colleague Francois Hollande in opinion polls.

Sarkozy, who nominated Strauss-Kahn for the IMF job, has not commented on the affair since his arrest. The case has prompted debate in France on gender equality and a media tradition of respecting the privacy of politicians’ sex lives.

Nina Mitz, a former senior adviser to Strauss-Kahn at the French Ministry of Finance, said: “Today’s stunning news can only make us regret that so much talent may have been wasted at a time when we all very much needed it.”

(With inputs from Reuters)