Key developments today in the sexual assault case against former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn:
Update at 12:35 p.m. ET. Accuser's Account Of Actions Afterward Has Changed:
Though the accuser's attorney says her account of what happened at a Manhattan hotel in May has not changed, a letter sent by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance to Strauss-Kahn's lawyers indicates otherwise in one respect.
The New York Times has posted the letter here. In it, the DA's office writes that the accuser "told detectives and assistant district attorneys on numerous occasions that, after being sexually assaulted by the defendant on May 14, 2011, in Suite 2806, she fled to an area of the main hallway of the hotel's 28th floor and waited there until she observed the defendant leave."
It adds that she told investigators that she then reported the attack to her supervisor.
Now, the letter says, the accuser has "admitted that this account was false and that after the incident in Suite 2806, she proceeded to clean a nearby room and then returned to Suite 2806 and began to clean that suite before she reported the incident to her supervisor."
Update at 12:15 p.m. ET. Accuser's Lawyer Speaks:
Kenneth Thompson, attorney for the hotel maid who has accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault, is holding a news conference outside the courthouse during which he has spoken about the bruises on this client's vagina, the way she says she spit out her attacker's semen and an injury to her shoulder that she says occurred during the incident.
His client, Thompson said, has been consistent from the start in her descriptions about what happened. Any questions about her credibility, he said, stem from issues that are not related to the actual assault — such as lies she allegedly told in her application for asylum from Guinea. And it was his client, Thompson said, who told investigators about her past misstatements.
In Thompson's view, the district attorney is moving to drop the case despite what he says is evidence of an assault.
Update at 11:42 a.m. ET: He's Been Released.
While he can't have his passport back, Dominique Strass-Kahn has been released without bail and on his own recognizance, a judge in Manhattan just ruled. So, he's no longer under house arrest — but can't leave the country. And the charges have not been dropped.
Our original post:
Just as Dominique Strauss-Kahn arrived at a Manhattan federal court this hour for a hearing on the sexual assault charges against him, there was word from several media outlets (including The Associated Press and NPR) that sources with knowledge of the decision say prosecutors have agreed he can be released without bail.
As NPR's Carrie Johnson reported for us earlier, the case against the former head of the International Monetary Fund may be collapsing.
In May, a Manhattan hotel maid accused him of sexual assault. Now, "government officials themselves have uncovered inconsistencies and possible misstatements by the woman," Carrie reported.
Strauss-Kahn earlier posted a $1 million bail and had been under house arrest.
France 24 is live-blogging the court appearance. We'll update this post with news as the story develops.
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