DSK Case File Said to be Dropped Behind Radiator, Ignored
We'll learn more this morning but apparently the case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn is to be dropped. According to the New York Post, this is because his accuser has had… "questionable personal relationships"? (Uh, me too?) And was a "liar." According to the Times, "One law enforcement official involved in the investigation said no single problematic detail about Ms. Diallo’s background, or even all of them put together, had undermined the prosecution’s faith in its ability to present a viable case"—but that the department felt they couldn't put her forward as a viable witness. If the motion the DA's office files today resembles this patchwork of weird character/witness issues—and it should contain something more substantial than all this—then I'm not really sure what the point in having a DA is? What a mess: this freakshow was mismanaged by all parties, except apparently the people whose full-time job it was to leak things to the press. Those people should get a raise!
There is no need for anything substantial to drop a case. Rather, you need very substantial evidence to bring a case. This case is a mess and should be dropped immediately, regardless of one's personal opinion of what may or may not have happened in that hotel room.
@Bryan Keller: Rebel rebel, this case is a mess. (for the interested Libyan)
@Bryan Keller: definitely agree with that take, but there's still something squicky about the way the whole thing is going down. Is DSK really a rapey creep? Or are we just that angry at old white men in power that we'd be willing to sign onto any attempt at comeuppance? Plus, is this case the perfect example of how the legal system wrongly treats rape cases, or is it an example of how our looky-loo media tendencies are no good in the first place? After all, I believe none of this is any of our business unless a jury convicts someone.
@brianvan Well, when people are arrested and detained it is our business, of course, as we don't have secret detentions in this country. And yes, there is something very rapey-creepy about DSK.
I actually think the legal system worked in this case. It just turned out that the accuser lacked credibility when put under the kind of scrutiny that is required when bringing rape charges.
@Bryan Keller "Is DSK really a rapey creep? Or are we just that angry at old white men in power that we'd be willing to sign onto any attempt at comeuppance?"
I think whenever an old white man in power is accused of something we ought to seriously consider whether or not he's being discriminated against by our unjust system.
There's this really great book I read about it once, it's called "The Fountainhead"
I think the DA's office are handling their payoffs very well — quite discreetly. It's interesting how money, power and social status can make a 'mess' when a mess is to the advantage of their possessors.
@Anarcissie You have zero evidence of pay-offs to the DA's office. The DA's office has every reason to prosecute this case as it would be a political coup to go after an evil French banker. The only "mess" here is the accuser's credibility.
@Lockheed Ventura: Or as the voice from the chicken shed said, 'Ain't nobody here but us chickens.'
The only problem in this case is how to bury it without causing a political stink and trouble among the lower, improperly pigmented orders.
I agree that the DA's office screwed up at the beginning by being so public and seeking a quick indictment under intense media pressure without taking the time to get the facts in order. That could have resolved their issues with the victim before they even happened. But now … hell, if the prosecutors believe their case is too weak to being to trial, they're ethically bound to drop it. A trial would probably do more harm than good: an acquittal would invoke double jeopardy, of course, and would probably endanger the victim's civil suit. At least she still has a good chance at extracting a measure of justice with the civil case (especially if that case goes to a jury, which would have a much lower proof threshold than a criminal one), and it's still possible, if unlikely, for the DA to re-file criminal charges against DSK if more evidence/better witnesses come to light.
Still: fuck Cy Vance.
We learned a few years ago that bankers can steal without retribution. I would not be surprised if rape (literal, not figurative) is a new skill they have picked up.
This doesn't pass the smell test. I don't know about bribery, but it would be interesting to see how the worlds of status and power in New York, as well as in Washington and other capitals, have intersected on this one.
@Smitros Look, the fact that the accuser had $100,000 dropped into her account somehow, together with all of inconsistencies in her story, destroyed the case on its own. No need for shady international conspiracies here.
Choire's right. The only legitimate response to this case's dismissal is to go take it out on Cyrus Vance during the next election cycle. He has all the discretion in the world to decide what people are prosecuted and what laws are enforced. You can't blame the NYT, NYP or any other reporter for the fuck ups. You can blame Vance for the way the case was handled and the extraordinary leaks coming out of his office about a highly sensitive criminal matter. There were in fact, so many institutional fuck ups that it's clear Vance's house was not in order and he should pay in the next election cycle.
The Rashomon narrative here is incomplete. I have no doubt that there were a hundred pieces of evidence that the world has not heard about but may hear some of during a civil case. This whole case sucks because the grand jury proceedings were supposed to keep this matter secret before the actual public trial. It now looks like both sides may have gotten a raw deal at some point in the case because of the misconduct by the prosecutor's office. It was Vance's duty to maintain the appearance of impartiality in the prosecution. That didn't happen because Cyrus Vance failed in his job. He and his employees are the only one to blame here.
@saythatscool I can still blame also the patriarchy and rape culture, right?
@cherrispryte Was I mansplaining again?
Oh well. I do have a pair.
@saythatscool Only a little.
Did anyone else hear that they have "substantial physical evidence" that a sexual encounter took place? Are they just riding the consensual train? I know it's innocent until proven guilty but come on…DSK has just as questionable past relationships/accounts…didn't he hook up with a french journalist AND her mom?