Strauss-Kahn lawyers see alibi in sex case: report

[woo me with science]

Source: reuters

Strauss-Kahn lawyers see alibi in sex case: report
Reuters

– Mon May 16, 11:02 am ET

PARIS (Reuters) – Lawyers for Dominique Strauss-Kahn have proof the IMF chief was at a restaurant having lunch with his daughter at the time he was alleged to be sexually assaulting a hotel maid, France's RMC radio reported on Monday.

RMC said the lawyers had pieced together Strauss-Kahn's movements and found that he left the hotel at midday, after paying his bill and handing in his key, then went to eat with his daughter and took a taxi to the airport.

The schedule meant he had already left the hotel at the time the maid alleged he chased her down a corridor, forced her into a room and assaulted her, RMC reported on its website, adding that the lawyers had material evidence and witnesses.

...

His lawyers have said he will plead not guilty to charges of a criminal sexual act, unlawful imprisonment and attempted rape, which threaten to bring a humiliating end to his career as International Monetary Fund managing director.

The radio did not cite its sources.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110516/us_nm/us_strausskahn_alibi_radio

[BeyondGeography]

1. So there was no encounter whatsoever? It's all a total fabrication?

Risky stuff there, mes freres.

[BetsysGhost]

3. more likely

money talks.

[BeyondGeography]

9. I was expecting a plea bargain with a payout on the side

[ClaireF]

73. No plea bargain....

this "alibi report" sounds like damage control to me...as a prelude to a large cash settlement with a non-disclosure agreement.

[Bragi]

11. Or someone else commited the rape after he left /nt

[alcibiades_mystery]

23. Indeed

It's probably a good idea to accept this as a possibility at this point.

Coming through with the straight-up "I wasn't even there" defense is risky indeed; one would think that something more along the lines of "It was all a big misunderstanding" would be the more likely angle here.

[jberryhill]

25. "I caught her stealing my wallet when I came out of the shower"

"We scuffled over it briefly, and I decided not to report her. Clearly, she then made the assault accusation in the event I did decide to report her."

Easy.

[former9thward]

31. Easy except DNA evidence in certain places.

[jberryhill]

41. The story thus far is that he attempted to force her to engage in oral sex

I'm not sure what DNA evidence is going to show up where from such an attempt.

[former9thward]

45. I certainly don't know the details but if he attempted to assault her

then there could be DNA underneath the fingernails. I did read the police had recovered DNA "at the scene" whatever that means.

[jberryhill]

48. Of course there is "DNA at the scene" it was his hotel room

DNA under the fingernails may indicate a fight.

See "I caught her stealing my wallet" below.

But, yes, if you stay in a hotel room then your DNA is most certainly "at the scene". Along with the ten previous guests in that room.

[LisaL]

66. I don't know why you keep talking about the wallet.

Where exactly did that come from? He certainly had not made any kind of allegations about any kind of wallets. His lawyers seem to claim he has an alibi so presumably their argument is "nothing happened."

[CTyankee]

71. it is a hypothetical. that's all. it came from nowhere. disregard. just a debating device.

We need to keep the eye on the ball here. DSK has a problem. Some people don't like him having a problem.

Figure it out...

[jberryhill]

83. Oh cool, am I part of a conspiracy now? Wow

I always wanted to be "in on it".

[CTyankee]

91. Aw, silly...I don't believe that for a minute. Let me get my tongue away from my cheek...

[jberryhill]

82. Well read the thread

The thread is about a purported alibi.

One of the ways to test a hypothesis is to determine whether some other hypothesis fits the facts.

In a criminal prosecution, the defense need not put on an alibi, but the point of the defense is to make the prosecution rule out any other reasonable explanation.

Evidence rumored to exist thus far seems to support a scuffle and chase in the hotel room and environs.

So the question becomes "what other events might explain the purported facts" in order to rule them out.

[muriel_volestrangler]

32. She did pick him out at a line-up

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/imf-chief-dominique-strauss-kahn-pleads-not-guilty-to-sex-attack-on-maid-denied-1m-bail/story-e6frf7lf-1226057208865

so mistaken identity seems very unlikely. Who would this someone else in his suite be?

[Bragi]

35. If so, that sinks that theory

Unless that is wrong, or she is mistaken, there is no mistaken identify, so that scotches my theory.

[Warren Stupidity]

36. lineups and mistaken identity go hand in hand.

However, suppose that this is in fact a frame up to destroy a high ranking politician. The use of a perp who has been arranged to look like the accused is a trivial task.

[muriel_volestrangler]

38. Yes, if the theory is that the assault victim is not in on the conspiracy

then that would make sense. But I'll invoke Occam's Razor for the moment; that would be getting very complicated. Having a victim who might struggle and cause physical evidence (eg blood of the lookalike) to be left would be highly risky; if someone did want to set him up, it'd be far safer just to get someone to claim the assault, at a time when Strauss-Kahn was alone in the suite.

[jberryhill]

43. Finding DNA evidence of any number of strangers in a hotel room would not be odd

Do you know what goes on in hotel rooms?

[muriel_volestrangler]

56. I said 'blood'

And you can tell whether blood is fresh, fairly easily. It would be very surprising to find fresh blood of anyone apart from the supposed occupant or any hotel staff who had worked in the room that day.

[jberryhill]

64. Hey OJ Simpson cut his hand on a hotel room glass....

I'm telling you... Your average hotel room has more blood in it than a Red Cross relief center.

[Bragi]

74. Bonus Points!

Extra points for referencing Occam's Razor.

[jberryhill]

39. A burglar in a dark room which she knew had been occupied by the suspect

That a hotel maid could identify the registered guest in a room from a lineup is not surprising.

One possibility is that she was attacked in the room by someone she assumed to be him.

That would be consistent with picking him out of the lineup as the attacker.

Obligatory disclaimer:

No, I'm not trying to make up excuses for anybody for anything. Just pointing out possibilities.

[LisaL]

67. Someone else who was naked in his bathroom?

Why would burglar be naked?

[jberryhill]

68. He was looking for clothes to steal

If you have no clothes and no money, well... there you are.

[LisaL]

76. So in your theory the burglar just walked through the hotel naked?

Until he got to $3,000 per night suite? And no one noticed?

[jberryhill]

85. Yes

It's a well known psychological phenomenon that people will ignore you if you are doing something embarrassing.

It turns out that, contrary to popular belief, if you walk around naked in public, you are effectively invisible. People will not see you or remember you.

Honest. Try it.

[alcibiades_mystery]

77. "That a hotel maid could identify the registered guest in a room from a lineup is not surprising"

Agreed.

[rug]

79. I can't wait to see the lineup photo.

[CTyankee]

2. I just emailed my son who is a prosecutor in NYC and asked him if he knows anything

about this report...

[Mz Pip]

5. Mine, too!

He's not talking, though he did say the streets were crawling with media trucks, tents, satellites.

[CTyankee]

6. Where's your son? Manhattan? Mine works for the Brooklyn DA

but he lives in Manhattan. Must be quite a scene down there...

[Mz Pip]

8. Manhattan.

He could see all the commotion from his office. Said it was a real media circus.

[CTyankee]

10. Can't wait to hear his report!

[Mz Pip]

12. He won't tell me anything.

I'll get more info from CNN than I will from him. :-(

[CTyankee]

16. Yep, I can only ask my son his "thoughts." He wouldn't be involved since he is

working Brooklyn...but he's a damn good prosecutor and may have an insight...we'll see...

[fedsron2us]

81. So many allegations and theories. So few facts

Has anyone in the press timelined this whole case from the original alleged assault through to Kahns arrest and the way the story was broken in the media ? How do the claims of all parties stack up ?

It seems from the evidence I have seen that the original suggestion that DSK was caught 'fleeing'' the country does not tally with the flight
being booked well in advance. Nor does it tally with his supposedly having lunch with his daughter an hour after the claimed attack.

The main impression I am getting from the MSM is that as much mud as possible, including old unproven sexual assault claims, are being chucked in advance of any trial. That suggests someone somewhere is keen for his political career to go down regardless of the outcome of the court case.

On edit - Reuters do have a timeline

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE74F0PU20110516?irpc=932

[CTyankee]

4. what if they have a DNA match?

[jberryhill]

19. To what?

Of course one sheds DNA bearing cells all over a hotel room one has been in.

Best case is if the "corridor" referenced in one report was a hotel corridor (as opposed to one in the suite) and there is videotape evidence.

The story of a leisurely exit does not square with personal items - including cellphone - left behind in the room.

Given her contemporaneous report and his apparent hasty exit, any further physical evidence - scratches, videotape, etc., will nail this puppy shut.

[CTyankee]

21. To wherever in her body sexual molestation took place.

Otherwise, why did they take the DNA from under his fingernails in the first place? I am assuming that if they find HER DNA from the fingernail sample, that would be interesting...

[jberryhill]

24. They take samples from under fingernails...

...to try to determine whether one person may have scratched another person during a fight.

I was wondering what you meant by a "match", as there is no dispute that (a) she is a maid in the hotel and (b) he was in the hotel.

The video of the prosecutor running down the reasons why bail should be denied is a fun watch.

Depending on how the evidence shakes out, his best route might be to claim that he caught her trying to steal his wallet, and wrestled it away from her.

[CTyankee]

27. His reputation in the sexual harassment department is definitely

working against him.

Not sure about your suggestion that he might claim she was trying to steal his wallet...would a hotel maid actually put up a fight with a kind of large guy and really powerful? Or, if caught, wouldn't it make more sense that she'd try to talk her way out of it or just drop the wallet and run...hmmm

[jberryhill]

49. Okay....

"I came out of the shower and I saw her slip my wallet into the pocket of her apron. I demanded that she give me the wallet and she denied that she had it. I reached for the pocket of her apron and she fell back on the bed to get away. I moved forward to again get my wallet from the apron and she started yelling 'rape, rape' and hitting and kicking and scratching me. I got up, grabbed her by the arm, and forced her out of the room. I then realized I did not know where my cell phone was, so I chased after her to demand that she empty her pockets, but she got away."

DNA under fingernails - check

assorted injuries - check

misplaced cell phone - check

chase down the hallway - check

picked from a lineup - check

naked slob on top of hotel maid and any evidence associated therewith - check

Anything else?

I'll even give you this - "I had been masturbating in the bathroom and may have had semen on me."

His "reputation" absent prior convictions, doesn't come in.

[CTyankee]

55. Of course! Entirely believable!

I particularly like the "masturbating in the bathroom" scenario...how unfortunate that this terrible thing should happen at such a time...well, you know how this happens...

Now I don't. Neither do you. Sorry.

[jberryhill]

62. Which part?

Happens to me all the time.

No sooner do I check in to a hotel and rub one out and, bang, someone is stealing my stuff.

Or... It was all a big misunderstanding. He was masturbating in the bathroom and mistakenly believed she had stolen his wallet.

In fact,'"Give me back my wallet" in French, sounds just like "I want to have sex with you" in English. In fact, anything in French sounds that way.

[CTyankee]

70. Well, now, the French are strange but not that strange...

esp. since another French woman has now lodged a complaint against him. So I guess the "cultural mistake" defense doesn't quite work here...or maybe you were thinking since the victim was African that she is from the Mahgreb and has a cultural grudge...perhaps so, je ne sais quoi, but...

[jberryhill]

86. Lol

I'm shocked at how few people are offended by the fine art of alibi construction.

[CTyankee]

90. The French touch is just so precious.

So "out there" you can't help wonder if it could possibly be true!

My recent conversations with a French/Dutch guy on the cultural heritage of France were interesting. I was in Paris on the day the woman wearing a burqa was arrested (the first day the new law went into effect). He was defending the law, saying the French people had a "cultural right" (my term, for want of a better) to forbid the public wearing of the garment. We got into a discussion about the "Droit du l'homme," a document so revered by the French. He said that that document does not apply! As an American, I could say any number of ways it should apply (that is, to the woman's right to wear the burqa). She was arrested at the Louvre, just a few hours after I had been there, and I was struck by the fact that she was visiting the most powerful statement of French culture possible, her nod to the greatness of that culture...then arrested for essentially being "the other." We then had a discussion about France's colonial activities in the Mahgreb and how that can come back to haunt you...he did agree on that point!

[monmouth]

7. Ensign must be grateful for this little breather..LOL....n/t

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. You'd think as straight-forward an alibi as that would have already been checked by the police

I think it's not as simple as that. Here's the RMC page:

Selon nos informations ce lundi matin, les avocats de DSK auraient reconstitué son emploi du temps. Il aurait quitté l’hôtel vers midi, soit une heure avant l’heure de l’agression supposée de la femme de chambre. Il aurait à ce moment-là demandé sa note et rendu les clefs à la réception. D'après Le Monde, Dominique Strauss-Kahn aurait en fait son check-out de l'hôtel entre 12h28 et 12h38, et les policiers new-yorkais ont ramené l'heure de la présumée agression à 12h, et non plus 13h.

http://www.rmc.fr/editorial/161765/exclusif-lalibi-de-dsk-pour-sinnocenter/

And Google translate: http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rmc.fr%2Feditorial%2F161765%2Fexclusif-lalibi-de-dsk-pour-sinnocenter%2F&sl=fr&tl=en&hl=&ie=UTF-8

This says the police say it was around 12, not 1: http://www.agi.it/english-version/world/elenco-notizie/201105161711-cro-ren1077-police_strauss_kahn_s_sexual_assault_occurred_at_1pm (in the body, anyway; the headline says the opposite).
Which I think is saying the lawyers told RMC he checked out around 1200; Le Monde said he checked out between 1228 and 1238; and I think it claims the NYPD have changed the time of the alleged attack from 1300 to 1200.

[Ghost Dog]

58. Yes, the alleged time of attack appears to have been changed.

The New York Police Department's chief spokesperson Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne was quoted on Saturday as stating that the alleged attack took place "about 1 p.m." - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/nyregion/imf-head-is-arrested-and-accused-of-sexual-attack.html?_r=1&ref=europe .

The Financial Times now, however, publishes what they claim is the "Strauss-Kahn arraignment document" - with a link they date, strangely, at "May-03" (see image), in which the alleged time of attack is stated as "about 12:00 hours" - http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/1c3d0fde-7fde-11e0-b018-00144feabdc0.pdf (.pdf).


http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/78d7caac-7ffe-11e0-866d-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1MYQYPrnO

:shrug:

[Bragi]

75. Tin foil hat now humming like a drone /nt

[w4rma]

14. This is going to get crazy. Assuming there is a frame up, I hope it gets completely exposed. (nt)

[Bragi]

15. Maybe it's a case of overzealous arraignment syndrome /nt

[aquart]

20. But who is framing whom? And why?

And what about the other woman who has come forward, (from his own party, I think?) to say he's done it before? On cue or because it's true?

I can't wait to see the book. How about George Clooney or Anthony Hopkins for the film version?

[HankyDubs]

28. Thom Hartmann suggested today

that the fella here was a likely candidate to run against Sarkozy.

[makhno]

30. DSK is without doubt an entitled douche the PS could do without

But given some time to assess the situation and now this report, I might yet have to eat crow for my initial condemnation based on the man's past behavior.

Parts of the French media do appear to have come out with all kinds of background stories in the past couple of days, which only adds to the confusion surrounding the timing of this particular event. DSK's promiscuity was well known, but now allegations of a prior rape attempt are all over the place, which is a bit strange, since it's not like they hadn't been made public (and largely ignored) before.

On a lighter note, I see little of Clooney or Hopkins in DSK. A late-1970s Marlon Brando would have been a good candidate.

[CTyankee]

57. Clooney? I'm sorry, I just don't get this. What in the world are you talking about?

nt

[makhno]

61. See #20

A bit of lighthearted banter in otherwise deplorable circumstances.

[CTyankee]

63. Well, I am relieved! Thanks. I had bad thoughts...

Not my George! No way!...

[makhno]

60. Self-delete

Wrong place.

[Warren Stupidity]

34. uh - he was the leading candidate for president of france.

so the who and the why are manifest

[truthisfreedom]

17. I wonder if they used his cell phone to track him.

Could be useful for a law-abider.

[MrsBrady]

18. let's see how the evidence plays out

if he did it, i hope he goes to jail

and if he didn't I hope that he is exonerated.

she did pick him out of a line up. and people can be lying to protect him.
I tend to believe the maid. But we shall see.

[izquierdista]

42. Picked a public figure out of a lineup.........hmmmm

I bet if you put a public figure in a lineup, I could pick him out too! :think:

[jberryhill]

44. It's simpler than that

He was a guest in the most expensive suite in the hotel. She was the maid assigned to that suite.

It's a safe bet that she would be able to pick him out of a lineup even if he wasn't a public figure.

[MrsBrady]

80. um...i had never seen a picture of him before the news broke

it's possible that the woman had seen him before, at the hotel. she didn't necessarily know
who he was or knew he was a public figure.

like I said, let's see how the facts play out.

[jberryhill]

87. How many of the last couple of days did you clean his room?

In a decent hotel, if you are staying in a luxury suite, the staff knows who you are.

She was the maid for the luxury suite. Of course she'd seen him before. That's a $3000 per night suite. Servicing that suite is a lot more than just changing the sheets and putting in some fresh towels.

But that's all beside the point.

[MrsBrady]

88. well, it works both ways

it doesn't matter weather she saw him before or not.

she's claiming whoever she pointed out in the line up is the one who attacked her.

again, this is her claim, not mine.
again, I'd like to see the facts of a trial.
Which it looks like there will be.

[SoapBox]

22. But supposedly, the maid was taken to the hospital with minor injuries...

scrapes and scratches. So did she do those herself? Or like some have said, was there someone else around? Or was she in another room?

And she also picked him out of the police line up...

Looks like it is going to be a lot of she said/he said...with all of this money tossed in for good measure.

Facts do seem to indicate that he is some kind of sexually agressive type, hence the nickname the "seducer".

[jberryhill]

26. "So did she do those herself?"

Of course not. Those were incurred in the scuffle that ensued when he came out of the shower and found her stealing his wallet.

How much is he paying that lawyer?

[JVS]

29. Does this mean that some fiend was impersonating him and sexually assaulted a woman?

[Warren Stupidity]

33. If this holds up it would be a most interesting development. nt.

[JI7]

37. but wouldn't something like this be something that would be known earlier

when they first investigated. like couldn't they have easily checked this stuff out and then not charged him if he was able to back it up?

[sufrommich]

40. This should be easy enough to prove if true. The restaurant

bill will have a time stamp and no doubt the Hotel desk and lobby has security cameras. Isn't check out at hotels 11:00 am?

[jberryhill]

46. It's not a Motel 6

If you are staying in a $3000 a night suite in the Sofitel chain, check out time is when you damned well feel like checking out.

ACCOR is a French chain, and there is no doubt he is a few notches above the "preferred guest program" there.

[sufrommich]

50. Check out time is 12 pm according to their web page. nt

[jberryhill]

52. Yeah and....

...even at the lowly preferred level in the Holiday Inn chain, I get free late checkout.

This guy's relationship with the ACCOR chain is not governed by the terms on that web page.

When you are in a $3000 suite, they don't send the manager up to bang on the door at noon, I assure you.

[sufrommich]

53. I didn't say they did. I was actually saying that a restaurant alibi

should be easy to prove or disprove.

[jberryhill]

54. Agree

Which is why no "source" is associated with the floating alibi thus far.

At this level, a restaurant alibi is also easy to cook up.

[LisaL]

65. It's a hotel. There should be a video of when he left.

Also when the maid showed up in a lobby. Should be easy enough to check this out because of the cameras (which I presume the hotel has at least in the lobby).

[jberryhill]

69. It's a hotel of a very well connected French company, too

But, yes, the security video files should already have been locked down.

[alcibiades_mystery]

78. ROFL

I'm loving your contributions here!

:thumbsup:

[Gin]

47. just heard he gave an interview a week or so ago and mentioned

he could foresee a woman blackmailing him and ruining his presidency plans...(or something like that)..weird

[Lars39]

51. Conviction or no, he's gone as chief of the IMF.

If this was a set up, mission accomplished. If not, he's still been replaced. Hopefully this perv, if it *was* him, will be put away for a while at least.

[canetoad]

59. Story from 2007 emerges

DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN'S womanising has been an open secret in Paris for years but yesterday, as news of his arrest spread worldwide, he was accused of another sex attack against a young author.

A TV program aired in France in 2007, and shown again on Sunday, showed Tristane Banon, the god-daughter of Mr Strauss-Kahn's second wife, describe her escape from an attack by a man she likened to a ''rutting chimpanzee''.
http://www.theage.com.au/business/he-attacked-me-like-a-rutting-chimp-writer-20110516-1epz9.html

[Odin2005]

72. Of course, you don't think a member of the Elites will allow themselves to be convicted, do you?

[Prometheus Bound]

84. No, I don't.

Not for a minute.

[jberryhill]

89. Hey, he was denied bail

Which is awesome.

I'll bet he's not going to attack the maid in his new suite, courtesy of the City of New York.

Not even an ankle bracelet.

[CTyankee]

92. Love the fact that the judge was a woman...

she sure picked up the stench on this guy...

[jberryhill]

93. I doubt that has anything to do with it

The notion that judges rule on the basis of their personal predilections is insulting to judges.

[CTyankee]

94. You miss my point.

My point has to do with the reason it is a good idea to have gender diversity on the bench, something we didn't have until more recently.