The World

Welcome to the live blog where we are covering developments in the case of Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK), the former head of the International Monetary Fund.

All times are London time; New York is five hours behind. By Peggy Hollinger and James Boxell in Paris, Esther Bintliff in London and Barney Jopson and Johanna Kassel in New York.

21.22: Barney Jopson says DSK  is still in New York and at lunch, apparently, at the TimeWarner Centre at Columbus Circle, which happens to be home to CNN.

Hang on, whispers that he’s now on his way back.

Saturday: 19.29 Where is DSK? Our reporter Alan Beattie in Washington says that as of lunchtime  no-one is answering the door at DSK’s house in Washington’s chi-chi Georgetown district. The blinds are down in all the windows.

23:45: That’s all from us. Watch Barney Jopson recap today’s events.

19:30: We are going to wind down the blog for the evening, but will keep an eye on any developments and update accordingly. Thanks for joining us.

19:20: Intrade, the online predictive market, has been tracking response to the DSK case and recent trades show a shift in belief in innocence.

Basically the market went from predicting that DSK stood a 75 per cent chance of being convicted of at least one charge to a 15 per cent chance in the space of a day, the FT’s Jeremy Lemer explains. For the chart of the trades, visit Intrade’s website.

18.50: Kara Scannell in New York says the apparent weakening of New York’s sexual assault case against DSK has put “an uncomfortable spotlight on Cyrus Vance junior”, the top prosecutor thrust into the international public eye for authorising the case – here’s the full story.

18.35: So far, President Nicolas Sarkozy hasn’t broken his silence on DSK – even though he could be one of the people most affected by the reversal in his old political rival’s fortunes.  It was left to Marine Le Pen to offer the sharpest criticism of DSK’s potential political resurrection. The head of the far right Front National party said the former IMF boss remained “discredited” despite the events in New York.

“Mr Strauss-Kahn in my opinion is someone who has a problematic relationship with women,” she told BFM TV. “This has been written and said on numerous occasions and I think this disqualifies him to be a candidate for highest office in our country.”

18.20: Cyrus Vance, the Manhattan District Attorney, has pledged that the D.A.’s office will “continue their investigation into these alleged crimes and will do so until we have uncovered all relevant facts”.

18.12: Benjamin Brafman and William Taylor – DSK’s lawyers – say that today’s disclosures “only further confirm that he will be fully exonerated“. Here’s their full statement:

“We appreciate the fact that the Manhattan District Attorney’s office has acknowledged that the complaining witness in this case told substantial lies about her own background and the facts of this case.

Those disclosures obviously required Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s release today from all bail conditions. The last six weeks have been trying for Mr. Strauss-Kahn and his wife Anne, and they are grateful that the restrictions on his movement have been lifted.

We have maintained from the outset that Mr. Strauss-Kahn did not commit the crimes of which he stands accused. Today’s disclosures only further confirm that he will be fully exonerated.”

18.06: A copy of the letter from the District Attorney’s office has been made available here. From which: [our emphasis]

“In the weeks following the incident… the complainant told detectives and assistant district attorneys on numerous occasions that, after being sexually assaulted by the defendant on May 14, 2011 in Suite 2806, she fled to an area of the main hallway of the hotel’s 28th floor and waited there until she observed the defendant leave Suite 2806 and the 28th floor by entering an elevator…

The complainant testified to this version of events when questioned in the Grand Jury about her actions… The complainant has since admitted that this account was false and that after the incident in Suite 2806, she proceeded to clean a nearby room and then returned to Suite 2806 and began to clean that suite before she reported the incident to her supervisor.”

17.50: Bloomberg has more details on the latest revelations about the maid’s account of what happened after the alleged incident involving DSK. Quoting a letter sent by the District Attorney’s office to DSK’s lawyers, Bloomberg reports:

“The letter says the accuser didn’t tell the truth to a grand jury when she said she remained in a hallway after the alleged incident and before reporting to her supervisor. Instead, she cleaned a nearby room and began to clean the suite where the incident was alleged to have occurred before reporting it.”

17.42: Reuters has issued a bulletin, stating that the woman who accused DSK of assault  “admitted she lied to grand jury about what happened following purported attack”.

17.40: A quick update on events so far:

• Dominique Strauss-Kahn (referred to as DSK here for brevity) has been released without bail in a New York court.
• DSK is thus no longer under house arrest and will have his cash bond returned to him. However, he will not yet get back his passport. He will return to court for a hearing on July 18.
• The judge in the case, Justice Michael Obus, said: “I understand that the circumstances of this case have changed substantially and I agree the risk that [DSK] would not be here has receded quite a bit. I release Mr Strauss-Kahn at his own recognizance.” He added: “Of course the case is not over. There will be no rush to judgement … I expect the process will go on in a manner that is as fair as it can be to all parties.”
• Kenneth Thompson, the lawyer for the maid at the centre of the case, made a statement afterwards, saying she had “never once” changed her story about the events behind the allegations. He went into graphic detail on the physical and medical evidence which he said had supported the accuser’s account.
• Meanwhile, in France, the Socialist party is hoping that the doubts over the maid’s credibility could revive hopes of a presidential bid by DSK

17.25: Here are some early thoughts from Kara Scannell, our crime expert in New York:

Lawyers say that even if a witness has credibility problems it does not mean that a crime wasn’t committed. However, the maid’s motives for making the allegations will be scrutinized and provide a weapon for the defence as the case continues. If the suggestion that the maid lied to detectives is true, she could face obstruction of justice charges for interfering with the investigation – although any decision on what legal exposure she has is likely weeks away.

17.15: The maid’s lawyer, Kenneth Thompson, has gone into some graphic detail about the alleged assault on his client. Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, he said:

“The victim from Day One described a violent sexual assault… She never once changed a single thing about that account… The victim here may have made some mistakes, but that doesn’t mean she’s not a rape victim…”

He went on to say that pictures existed of the maid’s alleged injuries, claiming that there was “powerful physical evidence left behind from the assault.”

17.09: A photo of DSK leaving court this afternoon – that smile says a lot:

REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

17.00: DSK’s lawyer,  Benjamin Brafman, has told reporters that he “believed from the beginning that this case was not what it appeared to be”:

“We are absolutely convinced that while today is the first giant step in the right direction, the next step will need to be a complete dismissal of all the charges,” he said.

16.50: Well, that was over pretty quickly. Here’s a picture of DSK’s lawyers outside the courthouse – thanks to @lexinyt.

Jose Martinez, a court journalist for the New York Daily News tweeted:

Strauss-Kahn leaves with a big smile. He’ll be back July 18. But prosecutors concede need to “reassess the strength of the case.” #DSK

16.39: BREAKING - according to Reuters, DSK has indeed been released “on his own recognizance”. He will be back in court on July 18. The government is holding onto DSK’s passport, but is returning his cash bond.

16.35: All the lawyers have now arrived in court, according to Barney Jopson. While we wait for the case to begin, here are some thoughts from a lawyer at Reed Smith in Chicago, Steven A. Miller. He’s a former chief in Chicago’s Special Prosecutions Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and recently defended someone wrongfully accused of a sex crime:

“Among certain state prosecutors with limited professional upward mobility, celebrity defendants become their white whale. Their emotional needs cloud their professional judgment and they rush to judgment.

All cases like this should “go slow” in the investigative stage, but the opposite happened here. When dealing with a sole source complainant, their credibility should be carefully scrutinized before charges are filed. There was absolutely no reason to charge DSK so quickly — even if he went to France, his celebrity guaranteed he would be returned if charges were filed.

If charges are dropped because the accuser lied, he would deserve to get off scott free. However, other investigative agencies can investigate the other allegations that surfaced against him, subject to statute of limitations concerns.”

16.22: We’re hearing that DSK may give his first interview tonight at 8pm French time.

16.11: The latest from court:

Barney Jopson: The prosecutor who handled the first stage of the case, John “Artie” McConnell has arrived in court and taken a seat in the audience, as has Kenneth Thompson, the maid’s lawyer.

16.10: Here’s DSK and his wife Anne Sinclair arriving for the hearing at the New York State Supreme Courthouse about 20 minutes ago:

REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

16.08: You can read the AP story in full here, from which:

AP: The Manhattan district attorney’s office will agree to the release of Dominique-Strauss Kahn without bail at a hearing Friday… The Associated Press learned about the agreement shortly before the 62-year-old Strauss-Kahn arrived for the hearing amid a throng of reporters, cameras and onlookers. He is accused of crimes including attempted rape and denies the allegations.

15.57: There’s a picture here of DSK arriving at the courthouse. A journalist from Sky News, Hannah Thomas-Peter, just tweeted:

#dsk and wife just arrived in court. I was by security gate inside and asked them how they felt. They said nothing but both smiled at me.

15.52: AP has just issued the following news alert, quoting a source:

“AP source: NYC district attorney will agree to release Dominique Strauss-Kahn without bail”

15.47: TV channels are now showing images of DSK leaving the house where he’s been staying in Manhattan, for the court.

Barney Jopson in New York: Journalists are now being ushered into the wood-panelled court room, where the only official present is a woman shuffling papers. As it dawns on some reporters that there is not going to be enough space for them, police are being deployed to thwart a variety of queue jumping strategies. It is the same room where DSK made his previous two appearances. Above the chair where judge Michael Obus will sit hang the words “In God We Trust”.

15.30: The New Yorker has an interesting comment piece on the latest news: Judith Thurman asks, Is anyone innocent in the DSK case?

15.14: Reuters has apparently spoken by telephone to the brother of the hotel maid who accused DSK of sexual assault. He told the news agency that his sister has become the victim of a smear campaign. “These are lies that have been invented to discredit my sister,” the man said, speaking from his home in Guinea.

14.55: Bloomberg is now reporting that prosecutors have agreed to release DSK “on his own recognizance”, quoting two people familiar with the matter. The same sources told Bloomberg that DSK would still be subject to travel restrictions and would have his bail returned.

14.50: A bit of background: since his release from Rikers Island jail on May 20 – and following a brief stay in a temporary safe house – DSK has been living under house arrest in a 4-bedroom townhouse in Tribeca, on $1m bail.

As part of the conditions of his release, he’s been paying $200,000 a month to Stroz Friedberg, a private security company that has been guarding him. He must also wear an electronic monitoring device, and can only leave the building for visits to court, lawyers, doctors or a place of worship.

14.15: Here’s an update from New York, where our correspondent is at the courthouse:

Barney Jopson: DSK’s sudden court appearance has initiated what has become a familiar ritual for journalists at the Manhattan criminal court. TV cameras are again setting themselves up on the court steps. And inside, a line of a few dozen reporters has formed outside room 1324, where DSK is due to appear, a place with only a limited number of seats.

But the day is somehow lacking the edgy, sharp-elbowed intensity of previous appearances. For one thing, the late-breaking news of the court date last night meant many Paris-based reporters didn’t have enough time to jump on a plane. And for Americans, today is the first day of the July 4 long weekend. That said, DSK is not due to appear for another two and a half hours or so – leaving plenty of time for tempers to fray.

14.10: A quick recap of events so far:

• Sources told the New York Times that the sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn (referred to here as DSK for brevity) was “on the verge of collapse”, due to questions over the credibility of the alleged victim, a hotel maid
• DSK pleaded “not guilty” at a previous court appearance on June 6
• According to the NY Times, when a lawyer for the woman was contacted, he did not issue a “direct rebuttal to the allegations”, but said in an email: “Nothing changes one very important fact, namely, that Dominique Strauss-Kahn violently sexually assaulted the victim inside of that hotel room at the Sofitel”
• DSK  is due to appear in court today in New York, where his lawyers will apply to have his bail conditions removed. According to AP, the court appearance is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. EDT
• Allies of DSK are hopeful that the latest developments in the case could help revive his bid for the French presidency

13.45: The blog chats and tweets are flooding in on French media sites with some remarkable responses. Yannick Commenge, a biologist, comments on Nouvel Observateur, the news magazine website, comparing Mr Strauss-Kahn to Alfred Dreyfus, the Jewish military officer who was the victim of anti-semitic plot and whose plight divided late nineteenth century France.

“Like Dreyfus, he was pursued mercilessly by new ideologues. The hunt was on and no one wanted him as a nextdoor neighbour anymore…It was execution by image, against a single man. All this could be damaging to the political class, the IMF, the media and all those women who are victims of aggression. Like Dreyfus, perhaps DSK has to be rehabilitated at every level”.

13.35: Gideon Rachman, the FT’s chief foreign affairs commentator, has blogged here on DSK. He throws a splash of cold water on any hope that Mr Strauss-Kahn may be set to journey from Rikers Island to the Elysee – after all, he points out, in an online poll being run by Le Figaro on whether DSK could yet become president, the answer is no by roughly two-to-one…

13.19: While President Sarkozy is so far keeping schtum over the latest DSK developments, Martine Aubry, the leader of the opposition Socialist Party, is feeling less shy: she has expressed her “immense joy” at the news that US prosecutors were concerned about the credibility of the alleged victim (full story here).

The important thing to remember is that until his arrest, DSK was the French left’s favourite to defeat Sarkozy in next year’s presidential election. Jack Lang, the former culture minister, said that if the charges are dropped against Mr Strauss-Kahn, the former IMF boss still had a part to play in the left’s electoral challenge.

“It is clear that if he wants to, Dominique must come to France and play a major political role,” Mr Lang said on BFM radio. “Whatever his status, his presence with us would be decisive for our success in (next year’s) presidential election.”

13.07: Could the latest developments in the Strauss-Kahn affair justify initial French anger over the media frenzy that surrounded his troubles?

Many in France were offended by the televised “perp walk” when a tired and disshevelled Mr Struass-Kahn was paraded before the cameras en route to a New York court to be charged. In France it is illegal to publish such photos, while a person is still presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Lionel Jospin, the former Socialist Prime Minister, on Friday suggested that the questions over the credibility of the case against the former IMF boss proved that France’s judicial practices were perhaps better than those in the US.

12.54: The press and the public may be chattering about the latest developments in the DSK case, but some French politicians are taking a more considered stance. President Nicolas Sarkozy today maintained his studied silence on the DSK affair, although many expect that will change should the former IMF boss return to the political fray and run against him in the presidential election.

“The Elysée still has the same position on the DSK affair: to not make any comment,” one of the president’s entourage told Le Figaro.

François Fillon, the prime minister, who is visiting Jakarta, told reporters there: “We need to wait calmly for the US justice system to do its work. It is the only course of action in this matter.”

12.45: The Associated Press has been speaking to prosecutors about the case, and, like the NY Times, has been told that the credibility of the maid is in doubt. According to AP, investigators have come to believe that the woman lied about some of her activities in the hours around the alleged attack, and about her own background. In particular, prosecutors think she lied about details on her application for asylum in the US, a law enforcement official told AP.

“She actually recounted the entire story to prosecutors and later said it was false,” the official told AP.

12.30: An update from James Boxell in Paris – Ségolène Royal, a candidate in the forth-coming French socialist primary, told a press conference on Friday that she was “very happy” for Mr Strauss-Kahn – if the reports of his expected acquittal were true. But she added that it was “too hasty” to predict a political comeback for the former IMF chief:

“We are heading in to the summer period so he has time to reflect and then tell us what he wants. Let him catch his breath… because the ordeal he has been subjected to is absolutely appalling… What seems incredible is that the US justice system did not verify these elements before throwing a man as food to the world.”

12.20: In France, the apparent turnaround in Mr Strauss-Kahn’s case has elicited a huge response. French TV stations have already begun clearing the schedules for Friday afternoon to make way for specials covering the Strauss-Kahn affair blow-by-blow, with TF1 and France 2 due to follow the hearing live from 17.20pm. Here’s an update from our Paris bureau:

Peggy Hollinger: The mood at Socialist Party headquarters just a few steps away from the National Assembly on Paris’s left bank is one of huge relief. Though the party had appeared to survive intact the loss of its most popular presidential candidate the real electoral challenge has not yet started. Moreover the campaign would have been conducted in parallel with a trial, which was almost certain to tarnish the left’s credibility, even though Mr Strauss-Kahn has always denied any wrong-doing. Harlem Désir, who has stepped in to run the party after leader Martine Aubry launched her bid for the Socialist nomination this week, said “all socialists and surely a lot of French people feel an immense relief after this latest information which has sparked an intense hope for good news for Dominique Strauss-Kahn. I want all possible light shed on the facts, the truth to be revealed, and Dominique Strauss-Kahn to win his honour back.”

12 midday: It’s still early morning in New York, but it’s going to be a big day for Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former IMF chief, whose court case is at the centre of a fresh media storm. Back in May, Mr Strauss-Kahn was charged with sexually assaulting a hotel maid in New York – leading to his resignation from the IMF, and the apparent end to his chances of running for the presidency in France.

Now the case against him looks in jeopardy, after questions were raised about the maid’s credibility. Last night, the New York Times said the case against the former IMF chief was “on the verge of collapse”, citing unnamed law enforcement officials who said the maid’s credibility and the consistency of her testimony were in doubt.

Mr Strauss-Kahn is due to appear in court today where his lawyers will apply to have his bail conditions removed.

Further reading:

• That New York Times article
• An interactive timeline looking at DSK’s career.