Hollywood couldn't write this one...

One of the world's most powerful white guys vs. a black hotel maid. You know such things happen frequently (and are hushed with money afterward), but not this time.

So far, the NYPD and prosecutors are playing it straight.

There's little doubt he'll get out of it somehow, the question is exactly how? Care to speculate?

My guess is some UN international law specialist will unearth an 1822 statute referring to an obscure Naval treaty that supercedes a chattel provision in a contract that was upheld as constitutional in 1901, and a soon-to-be-secretly-rich US judge will agree that he cannot be held on US soil for trial on those grounds, yadda yadda. Then a midnight dash to the GulfStream and away he goes, a la Roman Polanski.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/nyregion/maid-picks-imf-chief-as-attacker-in-lineup.html

What? $3000 a night for a room and it doesn't come with a free maid?

Hermit wrote:

What? $3000 a night for a room and it doesn't come with a free maid?

That's what he said as the cops were taking him away.

Turns out that wasn't the first time, either.

http://www.businessinsider.com/dominique-strauss-kahn-attempted-rape-allegations-2011-5

Normal illuminatus behavior.

At least it wasn't a boy.

Here is a great picture of a "Perp Walk"
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/nyregion/maid-picks-imf-chief-as-attacker-in-lineup.html?hp

Angelique Chrisafis wrote:

Less than three weeks ago, Dominique Strauss-Kahn sat down in a Paris restaurant for an off-the-record lunch with two journalists from the daily Libération. The IMF chief outlined the three biggest personal hurdles in his relentless campaign to become president of France: "Money, women and being a Jew."

Everyone in French political and media circles knew Strauss-Kahn's achilles heel was his attitude to women. Even his closest political allies admitted he was an inveterate seducer, an unashamed libertine. But what makes the scandal new and unprecedented in a presidential race is the crossing of the line to sexual violence . . .

Consensual extramarital sex is a non-story in France, part of the right to a private life protected by fearsome libel and privacy laws. Having a mistress, philandering, even routinely propositioning journalists have been brushed aside for countless political figures. "How many senior male French politicians aren't either a groper, a cheater, a charmer or a serial seducer? And it goes right to the top of the political class," sighed one news editor. "France is still a kind of monarchy that kept the aristocratic morals of the 18th century. The lord of the manor has a right to the women; the king has his mistresses."

It seemed striking that when Strauss-Kahn left for the IMF in Washington in 2007, with many politicians privately wondering how he would cope in a puritan US which frowns upon sexual advances, only one journalist raised the issue . . .

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/16/dominique-strauss-khan-arrest-france

A hint of where this is most likely headed, since the legal case appears (so far) quite strong. Meaning his best way out is to make the case itself go away, not try to beat it in court.

At 62, even the lightest sentence for the several felony counts would be effectively a life sentence, so its all hands on deck. No point in holding anything in reserve. And he has unlimited resources, for all practical purposes.

Looks like the vic will soon have to choose between a continued maid's life with Justice Served, and winning the lottery.

(from an article in the Christian Science Monitor)

Quote :

.
.
.
“Unless there is a plea nothing will happen for six months to a year,” says James Cohen, associate professor of law at Fordham University in New York. “The prosecution will be finishing up all the forensics – only on ‘CSI’ do they give you a phone call after it’s finished – and will be re-interviewing witnesses.”

The defense will spend a lot of effort researching the background of the housekeeper who is alleging the assault, says Mr. Cohen.

“They will make it look like she’s lying, they will put her through a lot,” he says.

The housekeeper has apparently already hired her own lawyer who may file a civil lawsuit against Strauss-Kahn.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point one of her representatives reached out to see what kind of numbers are on the table,” says Cohen. If the sum were large enough, he says, then the housekeeper might suddenly decide that it was all some misunderstanding. “It sounds sinister, but money can do that,” he says.

LL wrote:

A hint of where this is most likely headed, since the legal case appears (so far) quite strong. Meaning his best way out is to make the case itself go away, not try to beat it in court.

At 62, even the lightest sentence for the several felony counts would be effectively a life sentence, so its all hands on deck. No point in holding anything in reserve. And he has unlimited resources, for all practical purposes.

Looks like the vic will soon have to choose between a continued maid's life with Justice Served, and winning the lottery.

(from an article in the Christian Science Monitor)

Quote :

.
.
.
“Unless there is a plea nothing will happen for six months to a year,” says James Cohen, associate professor of law at Fordham University in New York. “The prosecution will be finishing up all the forensics – only on ‘CSI’ do they give you a phone call after it’s finished – and will be re-interviewing witnesses.”

The defense will spend a lot of effort researching the background of the housekeeper who is alleging the assault, says Mr. Cohen.

“They will make it look like she’s lying, they will put her through a lot,” he says.

The housekeeper has apparently already hired her own lawyer who may file a civil lawsuit against Strauss-Kahn.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point one of her representatives reached out to see what kind of numbers are on the table,” says Cohen. If the sum were large enough, he says, then the housekeeper might suddenly decide that it was all some misunderstanding. “It sounds sinister, but money can do that,” he says.

Depending on her medical situation (HIV+), they may try to delay, stall, postpone, etc.
I would bet on a quick settlement. He's got the cash.