A Bronx judge has ruled that former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn cannot claim diplomatic immunity in a civil case from a hotel maid. According the Post, Judge Douglas McKeon wrote, "Confronted with well-stated law that his voluntary resignation from the IMF terminated any immunity which he enjoyed… Mr. Strauss-Khan, threw [legally speaking that is] his own version of a Hail Mary pass."
Nearly a year ago, Nafissatou Diallo, a hotel maid at the Times Square Sofitel accused Strauss-Kahn of trying to rape her and forcing her to perform oral sex on him in his suite. Strauss-Kahn was removed from an Air France flight back to Paris, arrested, perp-walked to the Special Victims Unit, and incited an international incident. His lawyers claimed his innocence, insisting that his accuser had ulterior motives, and then it appeared the case against Strauss-Kahn was weak because the accuser had some inconsistencies in her story. Eventually, Diallo made herself public and insisted the attack was not a ploy for money—and the Manhattan DA's office dropped charges against Strauss-Kahn, much to the dismay of Diallo's lawyer.
Diallo's civil case claims a "violent, sadistic attack"; the Daily Beast reported last year that the lawsuit "Specifically...cites an injury to Diallo’s shoulder as well as 'redness' on her vagina where Strauss-Kahn is alleged to have groped her, ripping her pantyhose and forcing her to her knees." Strauss-Kahn's lawyers said, "We have maintained from the beginning that the motivation of [Diallo's lawyer Kenneth] Thompson and his client was to make money. The filing of this lawsuit ends any doubt on that question. The civil suit has no merit and Mr.Strauss-Kahn will defend it vigorously."
Judge McKeon also wrote in his decision today, "Mr. Strauss-Khan cannot eschew immunity in an effort to clear his name only to embrace it now in an effort to deny Ms. Diallo the opportunity to clear hers."
