New York prosecutors drop sex attack charges against Strauss-Kahn

Mike Gallagher

Aug 22, 2011 - 12:22

Aug 22, 2011 - 12:28

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New York prosecutors drop sex attack charges against Strauss-Kahn

Web of lies: Prosecutors filed a motion that included never-before-seen evidence about Nafitassou Diallo and her attempts to deceive investigators

The Manhattan district attoey's office has asked a judge to drop the sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

The news comes as the former IMF boss' accuser met with prosecutors about a 'bombshell' report with details of her alleged web of lies.

The motion will reportedly include never-before-seen evidence about Nafitassou Diallo and her attempts to deceive investigators.

Scot free? New York City Prosecutors have asked that the sexual assault charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn be dropped

A source told the New York Post: 'There are going to be bombshells.'

Mr Strauss-Kahn's next court date is tomorrow at 11:30am.

Among details expected in the document is evidence about shady deposits in her bank account, and personal dealings after the alleged attack.

Dismissal on Recommendation notices - which are generally granted straight away – asked Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus to dismiss the indictment.

He has handled the matter since Strauss-Kahn’s arraignment days after his arrest on May 14.

Prosecutors also allege that Miss Diallo, 32, lied about having consensual sex the night before the alleged assault that would explain redness her lawyers used as proof of Strauss-Kahn's guilt.

But the maid was not going down without a fight.

Miss Diallo's lawyer Kenneth Thompson petitioned the court Monday to drop the district attoey from the case.

Her attoeys allege that the Manhattan District Attoey's office has bungled the Strauss-Kahn case, and even kicked Miss Diallo out of the office when one of their meetings grew particularly heated.

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and wife Anne Sinclair were pictured taking a stroll around Tribeca over the weekend

All smiles: The saga is appearing to come to an end for Dominique Strauss-Kahn as prosecutors move to drop the case against the former IMF chief

Thompson has charged that Assistant DA Joan Illuzzi-Orbon told them: 'No one with half a brain would ever put her on the stand.'

Mr Strauss-Kahn, who resigned as IMF chief after his arrest, could still face a civil claim filed by Miss Diallo’s lawyers, alleging he carried out a 'senseless attack' on her.

She has faced criticism for a series of magazine and television interviews before the case went to trial.

The maid has also been accused of lying about her past in Guinea and being involved with criminal elements.

Maid in Manhattan: Nafissatou Diallo walks with her attoey Kenneth Thompson to a press conference following a short meeting with the Manhattan DA

It comes after prosecutors asked to meet Miss Diallo's lawyers on Monday, in a sign the case may be headed for dismissal.

Mr Thompson said Diallo will have to cancel a physical therapy appointment to meet with prosecutors.

He said she had suffered a shoulder injury during the alleged attack in May at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan.

He added: 'I believe the harsh tone of the letter is consistent with the unfair way the Manhattan District Attoey's office has treated with Ms. Diallo throughout this process.'

There has been widespread speculation that prosecutors would drop the case since late June when they revealed that Diallo had lied repeatedly in her statements and in her application for U.S. asylum, casting a shadow over her credibility.

Accused: Former Inteational Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn

Legal observers say the only way the case could be revived is if prosecutors tu up new evidence. That appears highly unlikely.

Commentators say the case-pitting a West African immigrant against a rich, white man who was in the running to become the next president of France could define the career of first-time prosecutor, Cyrus Vance Jr.

It will also be remembered as one where Vance stood in front of the world's media to vouch for the integrity of the arrest before completing the investigation and vetting the maid's credibility.

Observers say it may not have been wise to defend the case on the courthouse steps or to rush it into the grand jury before an investigation.

But most applauded Vance for revealing that the alleged victim, who has spoken publicly about the case, lied on her asylum application about being gang-raped and has ties to a jailed drug dealer.

'He took all the right steps, even if he may not be happy where they took him,' prominent defence lawyer Paul Shechtman said.

Others, like radical defence lawyer and frequent Vance critic, Ron Kuby, were less supportive.

'It's an unmitigated disaster,' he said.

Diallo filed a civil claim against Strauss-Kahn last week in New York.

Her lawyers had been exploring a deal to scuttle the criminal case in exchange for a monetary settlement in the civil lawsuit, according to The Wall Street Joual.

Mr Strauss-Kahn had been seen as a leading contender in next year's French presidential election when Diallo accused him of sexual assault on May 14 at the Sofitel Hotel in New York, forcing him to resign as head of Inteational Monetary Fund a few days later.