Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been released from house arrest and had his $6m (£3.7m) cash bail and bond returned, reports say.
Prosecutors have raised credibility issues so grievous that incontrovertible DNA evidence of sexual contact recovered from Strauss-Kahn's hotel suite may not be enough to overcome them, a source familiar with the case told CNN. They were expected to notify the court Friday of the credibility issues which could collapse the felony case.
Prosecutors disclosed that the woman had admitted lying in her application for asylum from Guinea; according to the letter, she “fabricated the statement with the assistance of a male who provided her with a cassette recording” that she memorized. She also admitted that her claim that she had been the victim of a gang rape in Guinea was also a lie.
The woman also admitted to the prosecutors that she had misrepresented her income to qualify for her housing, and had declared a friend’s child — in addition to her own daughter — as a dependent on tax returns to increase her tax refund.
The housekeeper admitted that she lied about what happened after the episode on the 28th floor of the hotel. She had initially said that after being attacked, she had waited in a hallway until Mr. Strauss-Kahn left the room; she now admits that after the episode, she cleaned a nearby room, then returned to Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s suite to clean there. Only after that did she report to her supervisor that she had been attacked.
The woman’s lawyer, Kenneth Thompson, gave a lengthy retort outside the courtroom in which he conceded problems with her credibility, but insisted that she was still the victim of an attack, saying that her version of events has never wavered. He said some evidence, such as bruising she had suffered, was consistent with a nonconsensual encounter. And he said her decision to clean a room was consistent with someone who was confused and upset in the wake of an attack. Questions are sure to be raised about how swiftly and vigorously prosecutors proceeded with the case, as many in France questioned whether there was a rush to judgment with Mr. Strauss-Kahn.
Prosecutors may object to any request that allows for the return of Strauss-Kahn's passport to travel outside the United States, said the source familiar with the case.
The developments in the case come just ahead of the July 13 filing deadline for the French presidential primaries. If the case collapses, Strauss-Kahn theoretically has enough time to file.
His supporters would still like to see him run, though some Parisians interviewed on the streets Friday said even if Strauss-Kahn was cleared of wrongdoing, it was too late for him to seek office this go-around.
Still, many in France felt vindicated over concerns that New York prosecutors were perhaps over--zealous and that there had been a rush to judgment.
They were shocked by widely broadcast footage of Strauss-Kahn in handcuffs in May, since a French law passed in 2000 prohibits the publication of images of suspects in handcuffs or in court in order to protect defendants' presumption of innocence.
Jack Lang, France's former minister of culture and education, said he was very happy about the latest developments -- and hoped to see his fellow Socialst party politician make a comeback.
"If the prosecutor and the court decide to declare the innocence of DSK, it will be a good day -- a good day for Dominique himself, a good day for American justice, a good day for France and a good day for the Left," he said.
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