(Strauss)-KAAAAAAAAAHN!

[UPChip]

Head of the International Monetary Fund, candidate for the French presidency, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, gets pulled off a plane to deGaulle after being accused of a 'sex attack' on a maid at a Times Square hotel.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/nyregion/imf-head-is-arrested-and-accused-of-sexual-attack.html?_r=1&hp

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Doubt there are many European finance geeks out there, but hey, it was an easy thread title.

 

[Boom_70]

Qui Qui

Head of IMF and leading candidate to defeat Sarkozy in French Presidential race arrested in NYC for sexual assault.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/world/europe/16france.html?smid=tw-nytimes&seid=auto

 

[YankeeFan]

The "French Street" isn't buying it. Conspiracy theories abound.

What's French for "birther" or "truther"?

France struggled to digest the scandal around one of the country’s most prominent figures, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, on Monday, with his defenders questioning the initial New York police account and speculating about entrapment and many others characterizing the photos of the handcuffed suspect as insulting and unfair.

Mr. Strauss-Kahn, 62, was arrested on charges of attempted rape and illegal imprisonment of a chambermaid in a French-owned hotel in midtown Manhattan, the Sofitel, and was arraigned on Monday in New York.

The charges against a man thought to have the best chance of becoming France’s next president in elections only a year away, and who is the prominent managing director of the International Monetary Fund, have exploded most political assumptions here and caused some soul-searching, especially among the French press, about whether it had failed to dig deeply into Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s sexual history. But some of Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s supporters quickly rallied to his defense, raising questions about the American handling of the case and hinting at a role by his political opponents.

The blogosphere and the press, especially on the Internet, were busy trying to dissect Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s day before he boarded the Air France flight to Paris. Citing unnamed allies of Mr. Strauss-Kahn, they suggest that he had lunch with his daughter before boarding the plane to make a flight that had been reserved in advance, that he may have checked out of his hotel before lunch with his daughter, and that he may have had lunch after the alleged attempted rape took place. In other words, they suggested, he did not flee in haste, as the police suggested in their comments on the case.


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/world/europe/17france.html?hp=&pagewanted=all

 

[Batman]

The "French Street" isn't buying it. Conspiracy theories abound.

What's French for "birther" or "truther"?

"Orenthal"?

 

[wicked]

I don't know about that. This, like Sarkozy's newfound lust for war mongering, reeks.

 

[YankeeFan]

I don't know about that. This, like Sarkozy's newfound lust for war mongering, reeks.

Wicked's an "IMFer"!

Come on, you really think this is a set up?

Even if it's somehow a false claim, for it to lead all the way back to Sarkozy would take a level of planning greater than the raid on bin Laden's compound.

 

[wicked]

I don't know if it's a set-up. Nor do I care, particularly. But when you look at the circumstances ...

That being said, a bunch of French folk still think 9/11 was an inside job, so they love conspiracy theories.

 

[Armchair_QB]

They probably think Lance Armstrong set him up.

 

[waterytart]

From a $3,000/night hotel room to Rikers? That would cause vertigo.

The cops have to believe they've got the evidence locked down to be going after someone of his stature this hard.

 

[Boom_70]

Might not be a bad idea for Sofetel to move away from their housekeepers suggestive outfits:

 

[deskslave]

See, here's what I can't decide: It seems like something that even a horndog of Strauss-Kahn's stature wouldn't be dumb enough to do, which suggests that it has to be a set-up. But then, if you were going to set a guy up, surely you'd have a better, more believable plan than this.

It's all just so damn strange, that's for sure.

 

[YankeeFan]

See, here's what I can't decide: It seems like something that even a horndog of Strauss-Kahn's stature wouldn't be dumb enough to do, which suggests that it has to be a set-up. But then, if you were going to set a guy up, surely you'd have a better, more believable plan than this.

Can't underestimate the stupidity of some people -- especially if they've gotten away with similar actions in the past.

It looks like they're not going to deny that something took place, rather, they'll argue it was consensual:

France's leading presidential candidate may have pounced on a Manhattan hotel maid -- but she wanted it, his lawyer asserted in court yesterday, hinting at what could be an explosive defense.

"The evidence, we believe, will not be consistent with a forcible encounter," said Ben Brafman, the high-powered lawyer of IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, at the suspect's sensational arraignment in a packed criminal courtroom.

A source close to the defense later told The Post, "There may well have been consent."

http://m.nypost.com/;s=tSH4t2wlAl6q7s7J-aYAJ25/f/mobile/news/local/manhattan/seduced_and_she_said_oui_oui_Oj0Z4K8iFIheZa4gvTBUWN

Sorry DSK, but picking up the tip off of the side table is not the same as consenting to (violent) sex.

 

[deskslave]

Yeah ... it's possible, but you've got a hell of a task trying to convince a jury of something like that. It's the "my client's an ass, but he's not a criminal" defense. Risky, to say the least.

 

[waterytart]

Maybe there's DNA. At that point, consent is your only defense.

 

[waterytart]

See, here's what I can't decide: It seems like something that even a horndog of Strauss-Kahn's stature wouldn't be dumb enough to do, which suggests that it has to be a set-up. But then, if you were going to set a guy up, surely you'd have a better, more believable plan than this.

It's all just so damn strange, that's for sure.

Setting up the head of the IMF while the economies of Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Spain are still at risk would be an incredibly aggressive move. I think this is just the French enjoying complicating the story.

 

[YankeeFan]

Maybe he was counting on Sharia Law determining his guilt or innocence.

The brother of the maid who former IMF director Dominique Strauss-Kahn allegedly tried to rape has been speaking out to the press last night and today, and as reports go live, a portrait is emerging of his sister as a hard-working, religious mother from West Africa, living legally in the United States, who was distraught after what she described as an "attack."

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2011/05/dsk-accuser-shy-religious-mom-friends-say/37818/

 

[Ace]

Maybe in France if you pay $3,000 for a hotel room you expect some perks to go with it.

 

[wicked]

Maybe he was counting on Sharia Law determining his guilt or innocence.

Great wisecrack to try to introduce the lock.

 

[TrooperBari]

Maybe he was counting on Sharia Law determining his guilt or innocence.

As Jews so frequently do.

 

[D-3 Fan]

They probably think Lance Armstrong set him up.

"Like I said, ***** set me and DSK up."

-- Marion Barry