Strauss-Kahn blames 'weak flesh' for scandal
Shamed former IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn has blamed his sex scandal downfall on the fact “the flesh is weak”.
A new book purports to give his version of events that unfolded with a maid in a New York hotel suite.
In “DSK Affairs: The Second Inquiry,” Strauss-Kahn’s biographer Michel Taubmann alleges Ms Diallo acted seductively upon bursting in on a naked Strauss-Kahn who was emerging from the shower.
Upon seeing the then IMF leader, she “started walking toward the exit. But she wasn’t in any hurry,” read key excerpts published in Paris Match magazine,.
The excerpt continues: “The flesh is weak. Dominique Strauss-Kahn saw a proposition. The situation amuses him. Rarely in his life has he refused a moment of pleasure."
The one-time French presidential contender has not spoken out on the May 14 encounter, which led US police to charge him with attempted rape, and the book is being marketed as his much-anticipated side of the story.
Lawyers for the maid, Nafissatou Diallo immediately dismissed the book as “complete fantasy.”
Ms Diallo’s version of event differs wildly from those described in the book.
She has alleged that Strauss-Kahn violently attacked her when she arrived to clean his suite, forcing her to perform oral sex on him before she quickly left the hotel. But the criminal case against Strauss-Kahn was dismissed when prosecutors said they had lost faith in her credibility.
The excerpts also suggest that Diallo might be behind the alleged theft of Strauss-Kahn’s work Blackberry. Taubmann says phone records show Strauss-Kahn last used the IMF Blackberry around the time the incident took place and suggests Ms Diallo was one of a handful of people who could have taken it.
The possible robbery of the phone, Taubmann suggests, might have been part of a political plot to bring down Strauss-Kahn – a Socialist who was then widely seen as the top contender in France’s upcoming presidential race in April and May.
The book’s excerpts do not contain any direct quotes from Strauss-Kahn, although the author said he has met the politician at least six times since the May 14 incident, and also had extensive email and phone contact with him.
After the criminal charges against him were dropped, Strauss-Kahn returned to France in September. In his single public appearance since his return – a live TV interview – he acknowledged “moral failings” but did not provide any details about what exactly happened behind the closed doors of the hotel suite.
Since his return, he has been plagued by other scandals, including allegations by a French writer that he sexually assaulted her during a 2003 interview and claims he was linked to a suspected hotel prostitution ring.
