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发帖数: 29846 | 1 International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was ordered held
without bail Monday after Manhattan prosecutors charged him with seven
counts stemming from allegations he sexually assaulted a hotel housekeeper—
a decision that sends one of the towering figures of international finance
and French politics to a jail cell on New York's Rikers Island.
Mr. Strauss-Kahn appeared for Monday's hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court
wearing a black overcoat and slacks, looking haggard and unshaven, and stood
silently as prosecutors outlined accusations that he attempted to forcibly
rape a Manhattan hotel worker on Saturday.
Judge Melissa Jackson's decision to hold Mr. Strauss-Kahn without bail, as
he awaits his next court appearance, reflects the severity of the charges
against him and prosecutors' belief that the French politician posed a risk
to flee the U.S.
In France, Public Grapples With Strauss-Kahn's Plight
Defendant Is Facing 'Worst-Case' Charges
Metropolis: Strauss-Kahn's New York, From Suite to Cell
Brussels Blog: Europe Not Giving Up IMF Fight
Charges Leave IMF Job in Limbo
'Lightning Bolt' for French Politics
Controversies Keep IMF Chief in Spotlight
European Debt Talks Turn Murkier
French Stunned by News of Arrest
In NYC, French Wait to See Strauss-Kahn
Greece: Arrest Won't Change Reform Plans
Heard: IMF Boss's Arrest Risks Euro Fall-Out
Looking Back
IMF Finds Chief Didn't Abuse Power (10/27/2008)
Strauss-Kahn Goes on Offense (10/23/2008)
IMF Investigates Intern's Appointment (10/21/2008)
IMF Probes Chief Over Tie to Worker (10/18/2008)
The day's events were received with shock and some disbelief in France,
where Mr. Strauss-Kahn, a former finance minister and Socialist Party
stalwart, was until this weekend considered a top contender for the
presidency. It also set off a flurry of action around the world as top
finance officials sought to contain the fallout in troubled European
economies and even began proposing candidates to replace Mr. Strauss-Kahn.
The IMF's 24-person executive board convened in Washington to assess its
options in the absence of the fund's leader. The fund said Monday evening
that officials were briefed on the criminal charges and would "monitor
developments."
The fund's No. 2 official, American John Lipsky, has stepped into the role
of acting managing director. The board didn't discuss Mr. Strauss-Kahn's
future employment, say people familiar with the meeting.
Prosecutors charged Mr. Strauss-Kahn with two counts of criminal sexual act
in the first degree, one count of attempted rape in the first degree, one
count of sexual abuse in the first degree, one count of unlawful
imprisonment in the second degree, one count of forcible touching and one
count of sexual abuse in the third degree.
The top charge of criminal sexual act carries a maximum sentence of 25 years
in prison, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said. Additional
prison time could be added by a judge if a jury convicts him of the lesser
charges.
Mr. Strauss-Kahn didn't enter a plea at the hearing, but his attorneys have
said he will plead not guilty. He is expected to appear in court on Friday
when he will learn if a grand jury has voted to indict him.
He will await that appearance in jail at Rikers Island, in what city
officials expected to be a single cell or, given the high publicity
surrounding the case, protective custody.
The charges stemmed from an alleged attack Saturday afternoon inside a suite
at the Sofitel Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Mr. Strauss-Kahn was in New York
City on private business and had planned to fly to Europe late Saturday to
meet with euro-zone finance ministers and other government leaders. Law-
enforcement officers removed the French politician from a Europe-bound
flight at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Saturday evening.
In the criminal court Monday, Assistant District Attorney John McConnell
outlined the accusations against Mr. Strauss-Kahn, saying the case is still
in the "very early stages" of the investigation.
Strauss-Kahn in Court
Dominique Strauss-Kahn appeared for his arraignment in federal court Monday
in New York City.
Mr. McConnell said his office is also looking into allegations of another
case of "similar" conduct that took place outside the U.S. He was referring,
a law-enforcement official later said, to an alleged assault in 2002
involving French journalist Tristane Banon.
Neither Ms. Banon nor her lawyer responded to requests for comment. A lawyer
for Mr. Strauss-Kahn didn't respond to a request for comment about the
allegation.
Mr. McConnell characterized the charges against Mr. Strauss-Kahn as "severe.
" He said the alleged victim has provided a detailed account of the alleged
assault that was corroborated by a sexual-assault examination. He said DNA
evidence recovered at the site was being tested and that the alleged victim
picked Mr. Strauss-Kahn out of a lineup.
"The defendant restrained a hotel employee inside of his room," the
prosecutor said. "He sexually assaulted her and attempted to forcibly rape
her. When he was unsuccessful, he forced her to perform oral sex on him."
Mr. McConnell said his office was still investigating whether Mr. Strauss-
Kahn was attempting to flee when he left the hotel for the airport, adding
that video surveillance shows "the defendant exiting the hotel minutes after
the incident—and he appeared to be a man who was in a hurry."
Mr. McConnell, noting that France and the U.S. have no extradition agreement
, asked that Mr. Strauss-Kahn not be released on bail. "He is a man of
tremendous and indeed global, political and economic means," he said. "He
has almost no incentive to stay in this country, and every incentive and
resource with which to leave."
Defense attorney Benjamin Brafman said Mr. Strauss-Kahn has a daughter who
lives in Manhattan with whom he could stay with if the judge decided to
grant bail, but restrict him to stay in New York City. He also said Mr.
Strauss-Kahn's wife was arriving in New York City on Monday afternoon and
had arranged to provide $1 million in cash bail.
He called his client "completely cooperative" during the police
investigation and denied that he had tried to flee the hotel, adding that
his client would stay in New York to "fight these charges" and clear his
name.
In denying bail, Judge Jackson said: "When I hear that your client was at
JFK airport, about to board a flight, that raises some concerns."
Outside court, Mr. Brafman said he was disappointed by the court's decision
to not grant bail. "We believe and we will prove in our judgment that Mr.
Strauss-Kahn is innocent of these charges," he said. "We think this case is
very defensible."
The arrest of IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has thrown into disarray the
fund's leadership. The Journal's Bob Davis and J.R. Whalen discuss.
On the day of the alleged assault, Mr. Strauss-Kahn was staying in a
multiroom suite on the second-highest floor of the Sofitel, a luxury hotel
popular with French travelers and owned by the France-based Accor Group. The
hotel's French restaurant, Gaby, serves a menu that includes a $25 lobster
salad. Guests sometimes greet strangers in the elevator with "Bonsoir" or "
Bonjour."
Mr. Strauss-Kahn's suite included a large living room, conference room and a
bedroom with a substantial back hallway with a bathroom off of it. A person
with knowledge of the investigation said the full rate for the room is $3,
000 a night but that Mr. Strauss-Kahn paid about $800 a night. The IMF said
he was responsible for the tab.
After being taken into custody Saturday evening, the French politician was
taken to a New York Police Department station on East 121st Street in Harlem
, where he refused to talk and requested a lawyer, a law-enforcement
official said.
Over the next day and a half, he stayed at that precinct house, which "is
far from luxurious," the official said. He spent most of the time in a
holding cell. He declined offers of food until Sunday morning, when he
agreed to a platter of scrambled eggs, homefries and toast detectives
brought from a nearby diner, according to NYPD spokesman Paul Browne. Later
Sunday evening, the detectives bought him a ham-and-cheese sandwich with
mustard from a nearby deli.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
The IMF chief has had a storied political career but also his share of
allegations of corruption and abuse of power.
1949: Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris
1971: Graduated from France's HEC business school
1977: Earned a Ph.D. in economics with a concentration on household
economics. Starts a career as an economics professor
1986: Elected as a Socialist candidate to France's National Assembly
1991-1993: Served as trade minister in the Socialist administration of
President François Mitterrand
1993: Set up a corporate law firm
1997-1999: Served as finance minister in the Socialist government of
Prime Minister Lionel Jospin
November 1999: Resigned as finance minister after being placed under
investigation in a corruption case related to his work as a corporate lawyer
. All preliminary charges were later dismissed
November 2006: Lost against Ségolène Royal in the Socialist Party
primaries
November 2007: Appointed managing director of the International Monetary
Fund
October 2008: The IMF commissioned a probe into harassment and abuse of
power after the Frenchman acknowledged to an extramarital relationship with
an IMF subordinate. Mr. Strauss-Kahn was later cleared and pledged to focus
on his job
May 13, 2011: Opinion polls suggested Mr. Strauss-Kahn would easily win
the Socialist Party primaries and beat French President Nicolas Sarkozy in a
run-off |
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