Strauss-Kahn distances self from 'inaccurate' book
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Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has distanced himself from a new book suggesting he fell victim to a plot when he was accused of rape, saying its revelations were often inaccurate.
"Faced with the recent increase in interpretations of events concerning me, I want to say that I cannot be held either to the writings or to the declarations or testimony of whoever, which are often inaccurate," his lawyer Frederique Baulieu said in a statement.
The book by French journalist Michel Taubmann came out yesterday and suggests that the one-time contender for the French presidency was the victim of a plot when he was accused of sexually assaulting a New York hotel maid. The maid, Nafissatou Diallo, was accused of being part of a conspiracy to smear the French politician in May and insinuates that she may have stolen an IMF-issued Blackberry mobile phone.
Strauss-Kahn is frequently quoted in the book by Taubmann, one of his ardent defenders. "As my lawyers have already said, I save my explanations for the judiciary, whether French or American," the statement from Strauss-Kahn's lawyer said, without elaborating on what in the book was inaccurate. Strauss-Kahn, who had been expected to beat President Nicolas Sarkozy in France's 2012 presidential election, was taken off a plane to Paris by police after Diallo said he had attacked her.
He resigned as head of the International Monetary Fund after his arrest, but has always denied rape. The charges were later dropped after prosecutors said Diallo lied about some details of her allegations, but the case and subsequent claims of sexual misconduct in France were enough to end Strauss-Kahn's political ambitions.
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