Despite his accuser's libel suit against the New York Post, the revelations that the woman is a prostitute, associates with criminals and has previously lied to the government have shattered her credibility and the rape charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Today, Manhattan District Attorney (and friend of Gothamist) Cy Vance, Jr. and his team will meet with Strauss-Kahn's defense attorneys to discuss the possibility of a plea bargain and the future of the case.
As the Times reports, Strauss-Kahn's defense team signaled last week that their client wouldn't be pleading guilty to anything unless there is strong enough evidence. Before last weekend's revelations that evidence would be the semen found on the maid's clothing and in the room, but proving assault now appears extremely difficult. A possible deal "would involve a misdemeanor plea in which [Strauss-Kahn] would serve no jail time," but only if prosecutors have completely abandoned any thought of seeking a felony conviction.
In a news conference yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg praised his DA, saying, "He's taking on high-profile cases, and he's facing them." As to whether or not Vance should have acted so swiftly to detain Strauss-Kahn before leaving the country, the mayor defending him: "Because if the allegations were true, are true, he had a legitimate worry about somebody fleeing this country, and we'd never get them back."
When asked if Strauss-Kahn's accuser had ever engaged in prostitution, lead attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon, the lead prosecutor on the Strauss-Kahn case replied, “I do not have one scintilla of information in that regard.” If that is in fact true, why settle for a plea bargain?
