Strauss-Kahn lawyers meet prosecutors

Lawyers for the former leader of the International Monetary Fund called the session with Mr Vance and assistant prosecutors "constructive".

Mr Vance's office said only that it was continuing to investigate and that no decisions had been made about the case's future.

Hours later, the woman's lawyer asked Mr Vance to appoint a special prosecutor to take over the matter, citing questions about the way prosecutors have treated the accuser.

In a letter, Kenneth Thompson said he believed the DA's office was behind media reports that the 32-year-old woman referred to Strauss-Kahn's wealth in a recorded telephone call to an incarcerated friend.

Mr Thompson said he wanted to ensure her rights "are not further prejudiced by deliberate acts seeking to undermine her credibility".

A Vance spokeswoman said the request was baseless and mischaracterised the work of prosecutors.

Yesterday's discussion in Mr Vance's office came amid intensifying public debate over the allegations, with a police fraternal group and others pressing prosecutors not to drop the matter. Strauss-Kahn was represented by Benjamin Brafman and William Taylor.

Private meetings between prosecutors and defence lawyers are not unusual, but the stakes in the Strauss-Kahn case are especially high.

The defence has said it wants an outright dismissal, insisting that the encounter with a Manhattan hotel maid was not forced. Prosecutors must decide whether to forge ahead with a flawed case, seek a face-saving plea deal or cut their losses - a decision fraught with political peril for Mr Vance.

Meanwhile, Strauss-Kahn, who was a leading presidential contender in France before his arrest, faces a July 13 deadline to register in France's Socialist Party primary election - just five days before his next court date.

It's unclear whether he might be able to enter the race later and what French voters would think if he did. Recent polls in France have shown people divided over any potential return to politics.

Some legal experts have said the allegations would be difficult, if not impossible, for prosecutors to prove because the accuser's history of fabrications could make a jury reluctant to believe her. Mr Vance's office says it did the appropriate thing at every stage.

Meanwhile in Paris, the prosecutor's office said yesterday it had received a criminal complaint accusing Strauss-Kahn of attempting to rape a writer eight years ago.

He denies the latest allegation. His French lawyers have called the writer's account "imaginary" and say they plan to file a complaint accusing her of slander.

Just a few weeks ago, the New York case looked destined to be a long legal fight.

Strauss-Kahn was accused of chasing the hotel housekeeper in his luxury suite, forcing her to perform a sex act and trying to undress her. Her version of the May 14 events was unwavering, and police and prosecutors called her credible.

Prosecutors have not publicly questioned her account of the encounter itself, but they appear to have lost faith in the accuser's prospects of helping them prove it.

Amid the revelations about the accuser's past lies, "the details are a bit more in doubt", said a law enforcement official.

After the case developed, the maid acknowledged she had lied to prosecutors about being gang-raped in Guinea and had not given a grand jury an accurate account of what she did immediately after the alleged attack.

She initially described running into a hall and waiting until a supervisor arrived. Prosecutors now say she went on cleaning rooms before reporting the matter.

They said they also found she had cheated on taxes, including claiming someone else's child as her own.

In addition, prosecutors said, she alluded to Strauss-Kahn's wealth when talking to a friend who was locked up, and that other people had deposited tens of thousands of dollars in her bank account - money she said she knew little about but authorities suspect may be tied to drug dealing, another law enforcement official has said.

Mr Thompson, her lawyer, has said she has made mistakes in her life but is not involved in drug dealing and is telling the truth about her encounter with Strauss-Kahn.

Strauss-Kahn is free but cannot leave the United States. He is due back in a New York court on July 18.

In Paris, the official receipt of the complaint from novelist Tristane Banon means prosecutors must now decide whether there is enough evidence to charge Strauss-Kahn there.

Ms Banon claims Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her in an empty apartment during an interview for a book project, struggling with her on the floor as he tried to tear off her clothes.