Strauss-Kahn 'may sue accuser'
Former International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn might take legal action in civil court against the hotel maid who accused him of sexually assaulting her in a now-dismissed criminal case and in her ongoing civil suit, one of his lawyers said.
Mr Strauss-Kahn, a former French presidential candidate, could file his own claims to counter housekeeper Nafissatou Diallo's lawsuit, "and that's certainly a consideration", lawyer Benjamin Brafman said.
"Because she did lie, and he has suffered enormous damages as a result of those lies."
A court dismissed the attempted-rape and other charges against Mr Strauss-Kahn, who resigned his IMF post, spent five days in jail and then spent about six weeks on high-priced house arrest before being freed from it on July 1.
The dismissal came after prosecutors said they could not pursue the case because of doubts about Ms Diallo's credibility and a lack of other evidence to prove a forced sexual encounter.
Ms Diallo was not truthful with prosecutors about several aspects of her life and changed her account of what she did right after when she claims she was attacked, prosecutors said.
Mr Strauss-Kahn's lawyers have long said the encounter at a luxurious Manhattan hotel, though brief, was consensual.
But while Ms Diallo's account of it has been recounted in interviews, in her lawsuit and in the now-defunct prosecution, the married Mr Strauss-Kahn does not want to detail his version of what happened, Mr Brafman said.
"What happened in that room, so long as we have now confirmed that it wasn't criminal, is really not something that needs to be discussed publicly," Mr Brafman said.
"You can engage in behaviour that you're not proud of, and maybe some people might consider it inappropriate - it doesn't mean that you committed a crime. And it's not something that you may want to discuss, at the end of the day."
