http://www.france24.com/en/20120428-strauss-kahn-accuses-sarkozy-allies-arrest-diallo-assault-new-york-presidential-election-imf-france
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/27/dsk-sex-scandal-political-opponents
AFP - Former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Friday accused his political enemies linked to French President Nicolas Sarkozy of destroying his bid for the presidency.
Strauss-Kahn told The Guardian that his highly public fall from grace was orchestrated by his opponents to prevent him from standing as the Socialist candidate in the French election that culminates next week.
The ex-International Monetary Fund boss had been favored to win the presidential election until May last year, when he was arrested in New York and accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid, Nafissatou Diallo.
Strauss-Kahn said that although he did not believe the incident with Diallo was a setup, the subsequent escalation of the event into a criminal investigation was "shaped by those with a political agenda."
Strauss-Kahn told The Guardian that his highly public fall from grace was orchestrated by his opponents to prevent him from standing as the Socialist candidate in the French election that culminates next week.
The ex-International Monetary Fund boss had been favored to win the presidential election until May last year, when he was arrested in New York and accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid, Nafissatou Diallo.
Strauss-Kahn said that although he did not believe the incident with Diallo was a setup, the subsequent escalation of the event into a criminal investigation was "shaped by those with a political agenda."
"Perhaps I was politically naive, but I simply did not believe that they would go that far -- I didn't think they could find anything that could stop me," Strauss-Kahn told the British newspaper.
The Guardian said it is clear that the "they" refers to people working for Sarkozy and his UMP party.
Strauss-Kahn accuses the agents of intercepting phone calls and ensuring that Diallo went to the police in New York to make her accusations.
He believes he was under surveillance in the days before the encounter, and had removed encryption from his phones because of technical problems, the interview said.
He has admitted a sexual encounter with Diallo but says it was consensual.
In New York, a lawyer representing Diallo in her civil lawsuit against Strauss-Kahn dismissed that there had been any political intrigue.
"Utter nonsense, that's all I would say," Douglas Wigdor told AFP.
Polls show that the man who scored a victory in the Socialist party's presidential nomination, Francois Hollande, is expected to win the election run-off against Sarkozy on May 6.
Strauss-Kahn said he was sure he would now be in Hollande's shoes had it not been for the events at the Sofitel hotel in New York on May 14 last year.
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Strauss-Kahn accuses the agents of intercepting phone calls and ensuring that Diallo went to the police in New York to make her accusations.
He believes he was under surveillance in the days before the encounter, and had removed encryption from his phones because of technical problems, the interview said.
He has admitted a sexual encounter with Diallo but says it was consensual.
In New York, a lawyer representing Diallo in her civil lawsuit against Strauss-Kahn dismissed that there had been any political intrigue.
"Utter nonsense, that's all I would say," Douglas Wigdor told AFP.
Polls show that the man who scored a victory in the Socialist party's presidential nomination, Francois Hollande, is expected to win the election run-off against Sarkozy on May 6.
Strauss-Kahn said he was sure he would now be in Hollande's shoes had it not been for the events at the Sofitel hotel in New York on May 14 last year.
"I planned to make my formal announcement on 15 June and I had no doubt I would be the candidate of the Socialist party," he said.
The interview was carried out by US journalist Edward Jay Epstein, whose ebook on the scandal, titled "Three Days in May," is due to be published on Monday.
Strauss-Kahn, 63, based his allegations about the New York incident on his own research into the hotel's CCTV footage and was aided by a private detective service, The Guardian said.
Following his arrest, Strauss-Kahn was paraded in handcuffs, held in prison and then forced to live under house arrest. He quit his job as IMF chief and did not put himself forward as Socialist candidate for the election.
New York prosecutors dropped criminal charges against him in August, saying that the maid's story was undermined by lies and inconsistencies.
A US judge is expected to rule next week on whether the civil lawsuit filed by Diallo, which accuses Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault, can go to court.
The Guardian said Strauss-Kahn had refused to discuss a separate sex scandal that has since erupted in France, saying he was under legal restrictions.
He has been charged over a French investigation into a network that imported sex workers from Belgian brothels to France for orgies in expensive hotels in Lille and Paris.
The interview was carried out by US journalist Edward Jay Epstein, whose ebook on the scandal, titled "Three Days in May," is due to be published on Monday.
Strauss-Kahn, 63, based his allegations about the New York incident on his own research into the hotel's CCTV footage and was aided by a private detective service, The Guardian said.
New York prosecutors dropped criminal charges against him in August, saying that the maid's story was undermined by lies and inconsistencies.
A US judge is expected to rule next week on whether the civil lawsuit filed by Diallo, which accuses Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault, can go to court.
The Guardian said Strauss-Kahn had refused to discuss a separate sex scandal that has since erupted in France, saying he was under legal restrictions.
He has been charged over a French investigation into a network that imported sex workers from Belgian brothels to France for orgies in expensive hotels in Lille and Paris.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/27/dsk-sex-scandal-political-opponents
DSK: New York sex scandal orchestrated by political opponents
Exclusive: Dominique Strauss-Kahn accuses enemies linked to Nicolas Sarkozy of destroying bid for French presidency
DSK interview: 'I didn't believe they'd go that far'
DSK interview: 'I didn't believe they'd go that far'
Dominique Strauss-Kahn: 'Perhaps I was politically naive, but I simply did not believe that they would go that far.' Photograph: Sipa Press/Rex Features
The former head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has accused political enemies linked to Nicolas Sarkozy and his ruling UMP party of destroying his bid for the French presidency by choreographing the scandal that erupted last year when he was accused of assaulting a New York hotel maid.
In an exclusive interview published by the Guardian, Strauss-Kahn stated that he believes the highly public undoing that followed his encounter with the housekeeper in the Sofitel hotel's presidential suite, and his imprisonment on charges of attempted rape, were orchestrated by his political opponents.
While he does not believe the incident with Nafissatou Diallo was a setup, he said the subsequent escalation of the events on 14 May into a criminal investigation that destroyed his chances of winning the presidency had been "shaped by those with a political agenda" and that "more was involved here than mere coincidence".
Strauss-Kahn, 63, alleges that he was put under surveillance by French intelligence weeks before he was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting Diallo. He accuses operatives linked to Sarkozy of intercepting phone calls and making sure Diallo went to the New York police, thus sparking an international scandal.
"Perhaps I was politically naive, but I simply did not believe that they would go that far … I didn't think they could find anything that could stop me," Strauss-Kahn told investigative journalist Edward Jay Epstein.
Epstein's ebook on his investigation of the scandal, Three Days in May, is published by Melville House on Monday.
Strauss-Kahn's accusations come at a highly sensitive moment in French politics, days before the final round of the presidential election, which until his downfall last year he had been tipped to win.
The vote will be held on 6 May, with polls showing the Socialist François Hollande beating the rightwing incumbent Sarkozy.
At the time of his arrest on 14 May last year, Strauss-Kahn was polling ahead of Hollande for the Socialist nomination, for which he planned to declare the following month, and was in the lead against Sarkozy for the presidency itself. He had no doubts, he told Epstein, that he would take occupancy of the Elysée Palace.
Strauss-Kahn's allegations are based on his own studies over the past 11 months – aided by a private detective service, Guidepost Solutions – of the Sofitel's CCTV footage, electronic key card and mobile phone records. The intensity of his research shows the extent of his belief that he was the victim of dirty tricks – though his critics would dismiss it as paranoia.
Strauss-Kahn remains in considerable difficulty over his sexual history. All charges against him were dropped by New York prosecutors in August 2011 after they found Diallo to be an unreliable witness, and he has consistently portrayed the encounter with her as consensual.
But Diallo continues to press her claim for damages in the civil courts, alleging that she was attacked by him as she went about her housekeeping duties. A judge in Manhattan is due to rule on Tuesday on whether or not Strauss-Kahn can claim diplomatic immunity in the case.
The scandal has also put the spotlight on Strauss-Kahn's lifestyle and attitude to women. In text messages sent to associates who participated in sex parties he attended – one of which was held in Washington just a day before he went to the Sofitel – he reportedly referred to women as "material".
The Sofitel incident has severely dented Strauss-Kahn's reputation in France, where he remains in total retreat from the political scene. When he returned to Paris after the charges were dropped, polls showed the majority of the country did not want him to return to politics.
Feminist groups led street protests about sexism in French society, furious at the language some French figures had used to describe the Strauss-Kahn case. His recent appearances at public events in Cambridge in the UK, and Brussels have been marked by protests from women's rights activists.
Sarkozy, who had been key in appointing Strauss-Kahn to the IMF, has repeatedly used his name to attack the Socialists. In a recent rally at Cyr-sur-Loire, he said: "I won't take lessons on morality, particularly not from a part of the left that wanted to put Mr Strauss-Kahn in the Elysée."
Last month, Strauss-Kahn's troubles deepened further when he was charged with "aggravated procurement in an organised gang" – the legal term for pimping – in relation to his alleged involvement in a prostitution ring. The case centres on allegations that his business associates organised prostitution at the Carlton hotel in Lille. He declined to talk to Epstein about the new allegations, saying he was under legal restrictions.
Strauss-Kahn's direct accusation that he was a victim of a trap are based on a complicated web of factors. He says that long before the Sofitel events, he became convinced that he was being tracked by French intelligence.
On the morning of the Sofitel incident, he told Epstein, he received a text message on the BlackBerry he used for IMF work and personal emails from a friend in Paris. She warned him that his communications were being intercepted and that an email he had sent to his wife, Anne Sinclair, had been discovered by a sympathiser inside the UMP party headquarters in Paris.
Such were his fears, he went to the length of encrypting all his seven phones to scramble his messages, though he removed the software shortly before the Sofitel events after he found that all the devices began to stop working. "I took the threat seriously," he said.
He also emphasised to Epstein a celebratory dance performed by a couple of Sofitel employees that was caught on the hotel's CCTV footagesoon after Diallo made a 911 call to New York police leading to Strauss-Kahn's arrest. It is not known why the men were rejoicing, though Strauss-Kahn said he did not believe the "victory dance was a coincidence".
The Sofitel said: "We have co-operated fully with authorities and have no further comment at this time."
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