Strauss-Kahn Says There Was No Violence in His Encounter With Hotel Maid - Bloomberg
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, in his first interview since his May arrest in a sexual-assault case in Manhattan, said what happened in room 2806 in New York's Sofitel Hotel "involved no violence, no coercion, no aggression."
He said he committed a "moral fault" and apologized to his family, friends, and to "the French people." The case was thrown out last month, even though police determined there had been a sexual encounter between Strauss-Kahn and his accuser.
The former head of the International Monetary Fund and a one-time leading potential Socialist Party contender for the French presidency returned to France on Sept. 4 and was interviewed on TF1 television today by Claire Chazal, a friend and former colleague of his wife, Anne Sinclair.
"I was frightened," DSK, as he is known in France, said in the 20-minute-long interview when asked about his nights in a New York prison and his handcuffed "perp" walk. "When you're in the jaws of that machine you feel it can chew you up. I was humiliated before I could even say a word in my defense."
Strauss-Kahn, 62, was charged of attempting to rape and sexually assault a chambermaid at the Sofitel Hotel in Manhattan. New York prosecutors decided not to pursue a criminal case after they determined that his accuser had lied repeatedly to them and others. Strauss-Kahn still faces a civil suit by the New York maid, Nafissatou Diallo. Investigators in France are also probing allegations that he tried to rape writer Tristane Banon eight years ago, a claim he has denied.
'Complete Lie'
He said that Diallo's story "was a complete lie" and that their encounter didn't involve the payment of any money. He said that what happened with Banon also "didn't involve any aggression, any violence" and that her accusations are "imaginary."
He was questioned on Sept. 12 by Paris police in relation to the attempted rape complaint filed by Banon. In her July criminal complaint, she said that Strauss-Kahn assaulted her while she tried to interview him in 2003.
Strauss-Kahn told the police he tried to "kiss'' Banon and that he let her leave once he realized his advances were unwelcome, L'Express.fr reported on Sept. 15, citing police sources. He declined to comment on the case today.
Strauss-Kahn, a former French finance minister, has filed a complaint with Paris prosecutors accusing Banon of slander.
Strauss-Kahn was greeted at TF1's studios today by a group of women protestors, Agence France-Presse reported. Some of them carried a banner that said, "When a woman says no, it's no."
'Respect Women'
"I respect women," Strauss-Kahn said as Chazal questioned him on whether he had problems in his dealings with the opposite sex. "I reject that, though I understand the reaction."
He also paid tribute to his wife for standing by him. "I wouldn't have been able to face this without her," he said. "She's an exceptional woman. I hurt her, I know." Sinclair, who inherited a major art collection from her parents, paid Strauss-Kahn's New York legal bills.
Before he was charged in New York, Strauss-Kahn had been planning to run in the primaries for the Socialist Party nomination for the 2012 presidential vote, he confirmed tonight.
"I had thought I could be useful and bring some answers to the problems facing France," he said. "Obviously all that is behind me."
Stay Out
He said it was "important" that the left's candidate win France's next presidential elections, although adding that he had no intention of backing a candidate in this month's Socialist Party primary.
"My whole life I've tried to work for the public good," he said, when asked what he'd do next. "First I want to rest, then I'll see." He said he was "fascinated" by issues such as the demographic challenges facing Europe.
A majority of French people want him to stay out of politics, an Ifop poll for Le Journal du Dimanche today showed.
Fifty-three percent of those polled want Strauss-Kahn to leave politics, the poll said, according to the newspaper. Sixty-four percent of those asked want Strauss-Kahn to give his views and solutions to the economic crisis.
Ifop surveyed 956 people aged 18 or more between Sept. 9 and Sept. 16 through phone interviews. No margin of error was given.
Other Socialist Party candidates have tried to distance themselves from him. One of them, Martine Aubry, this month criticized what she called "the attitude of DSK vis-à-vis women."
"I feel the same way as a lot of women about his attitude toward women," she said on Canal Plus TV.
To contact the reporter on this story: Gregory Viscusi in Paris at gviscusi@bloomberg.net; Helene Fouquet in Paris at hfouquet1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net
19 Sep, 2011--
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