No Warranty
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New York (CNN) -- A indictment was filed Thursday against former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned Wednesday amid accusations that he sexually assaulted a maid in his upscale hotel suite in New York.
After hearing arguments for and against Strauss-Kahn's release on bail, New York Supreme Court Judge Michael Obus said he would consider the matter and return, possibly later in the day, with a decision.
As Strauss-Kahn entered the courtroom for the bail hearing, he looked at his wife, seated in the front row, and smiled.
The indictment was expected to be released later Thursday, the Manhattan district attorney said.
At his arraignment, Strauss-Kahn was charged with two counts of criminal sexual act in the first degree, one count of attempted rape in the first degree, one count of sexual abuse in the first degree, one count of Unlawful Imprisonment in the second degree, one count of forcible touching, and one count of sexual abuse in the third degree.
His lawyer told Obus that a security company has been recommended to monitor him if he were to be released.
The lawyer, Shawn Naunton, said Strauss-Kahn had been scheduled to leave New York and fly to Paris last Saturday using a ticket he had bought on May 11.
He said Strauss-Kahn had called the Sofitel hotel from John F. Kennedy International Airport to locate his cell phone, which he had left in the hotel, then called a second time as his plane was boarding to request that its delivery be hastened.
Naunton noted that his client resigned his position as IMF chief on Wednesday, and has surrendered his passport and a U.N.-issued travel document.
"In our view, no bail is required," the lawyer said. "He has one interest at this time and that is to clear his name."
Naunton added that Strauss-Kahn had agreed to live with his wife in an apartment in Manhattan after his release.
But Prosecutor John McConnell said the high-profile economist has no right to bail. "While there is presumption of innocence, the proof is substantial and it is growing every day," he said, adding that the forensic evidence is consistent with an attack and the alleged victim has identified Strauss-Kahn as her attacker.
He noted that the charges include violent felonies and that Strauss-Kahn has an incentive to flee and the money to do so.
McConnell noted that France does not extradite its own nationals, and said Strauss-Kahn's departure on Saturday from the hotel was in haste, suggesting "something went on in that hotel room."
For his part, Obus said he was solely concerned about ensuring Strauss-Kahn returns to face charges. "We don't want his money," he said. "We just want to make sure he comes back. He has resources to live comfortably in his own country."
As the courtroom recessed, Strauss-Kahn blew his wife a kiss.
Thursday's attempt to get released on bail was Strauss-Kahn's second. On Monday, a criminal court judge agreed with prosecutors' contention that Strauss-Kahn is a flight risk.
Meanwhile, Strauss-Kahn's alleged victim, a 32-year-old Guinean maid for the Sofitel hotel, testified before a grand jury for hours on Wednesday and was to continue her testimony Thursday, according to an attorney representing her.
f you've had any experience with someone who has been traumatized by sexual assault, reliving it in your mind is hard enough," attorney Jeffrey Shapiro said on CNN's "American Morning" Thursday. "Having to recount it, even to a therapist, is difficult, much less having to talk about it on the record in front of a grand jury. I mean, it's extremely difficult, and nonetheless she's making it through this."
The case has captured worldwide attention since Strauss-Kahn was pulled off an airplane and arrested Saturday, hours after the alleged attack.
His arrest has set French political circles abuzz, as the international economist was widely considered the French Socialist Party's best hope to unseat President Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's elections.
In a statement, Sarkozy called the resignation "inevitable" and called for an "open and transparent selection process" for Strauss-Kahn's replacement.
In a brief letter to the IMF executive board late Wednesday, Strauss-Kahn proclaimed his innocence.
He said he was stepping down to "protect this institution which I have served with honor and devotion, and especially -- especially -- I want to devote all my strength, all my time and all my energy to proving my innocence."
"To all, I want to say that I deny with the greatest possible firmness all of the allegations that have been made against me," he said.
The appeal to the state Supreme Court describes the accused as "a loving husband and father, and a highly regarded international diplomat, lawyer, politician, economist and professor, with no prior criminal record."
It also said Strauss-Kahn has been married for more than a decade and has four children from a prior marriage, one of whom is a graduate student at Columbia University in New York.
Calls for Strauss-Kahn's resignation had mounted in recent days. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he was "obviously not in a position to run the IMF."
Maria Fekter, Austria's finance minister, also urged him to step down. "He should think about whether he is damaging the institution," Fekter said.
In his letter, Strauss-Kahn said he felt compelled to resign.
"I think at this time first of my wife -- whom I love more than anything -- of my children, of my family, of my friends," he wrote.
"I think also of my colleagues at the Fund; together we have accomplished such great things over the last three years and more."
While the search begins to replace him, John Lipsky will continue as acting managing director of the fund, the IMF said in a statement.
"As acting managing director, John Lipsky will provide able and experienced leadership to the fund at this critical time for the global economy," Geithner said in a statement Thursday. "We want to see an open process that leads to a prompt succession for the fund's new managing director."
In statements, South Africa called for a candidate from a developing country to be named as Strauss-Kahn's successor, while Brazil called for establishing criteria and conducting a thorough search.
On Thursday, Lipsky urged policy makers to work together to strengthen the global economy.
"I deeply regret the circumstances that have made it necessary for me to substitute for the fund's managing director," Lipsky said in a speech at the annual meeting of the Bretton Woods Committee in Washington.
Prosecutors allege that a naked Strauss-Kahn, 62, chased the housekeeping employee through his suite at the Sofitel on Saturday and sexually assaulted her.
But defense attorney Benjamin Brafman disputed the allegation, saying "forensic evidence, we believe, will not be consistent with a forcible account, and we believe there is a very, very defensible case."
The IMF chief faces an array of charges, including two counts of first-degree criminal sexual act, one count of first-degree attempted rape, one count of first-degree sexual abuse, one count of second-degree unlawful imprisonment, one count of forcible touching and one count of third-degree sexual abuse.
"He grabbed the victim's chest without consent, attempted to remove her pantyhose" and forcibly grabbed her between her legs, the complaint against Strauss-Kahn says. He also forced her to perform oral sex on him, Assistant District Attorney John McConnell said at the arraignment.
Strauss-Kahn allegedly committed the offenses at noon, checked out of the hotel at 12:28 p.m. and went to a previously scheduled lunch about 12:45 p.m., according to a document supporting his motion to approve bail. The lunch was with his daughter, according to a source with knowledge of the case.
After lunch, he was driven to John F. Kennedy International Airport and boarded an Air France flight that was scheduled to depart at 4:45 p.m., the bail document says. It adds that he had bought the ticket the week before.
As he sat in first class awaiting takeoff and a planned meeting the next day with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, followed by a meeting with European finance ministers on Monday in Brussels, his world of luxury and power came crashing down.
Police, alerted by hotel staff to the employee's accusations, ordered him off the plane and placed him in custody.
Strauss-Kahn was examined for scratches and DNA samples were taken, and investigators searched for other evidence in the suite, including possible bodily fluids from both individuals, a law enforcement official told CNN.
He consented to the testing after investigators prepared a search warrant, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official was not authorized to release the information.
After hearing arguments for and against Strauss-Kahn's release on bail, New York Supreme Court Judge Michael Obus said he would consider the matter and return, possibly later in the day, with a decision.
As Strauss-Kahn entered the courtroom for the bail hearing, he looked at his wife, seated in the front row, and smiled.
The indictment was expected to be released later Thursday, the Manhattan district attorney said.
At his arraignment, Strauss-Kahn was charged with two counts of criminal sexual act in the first degree, one count of attempted rape in the first degree, one count of sexual abuse in the first degree, one count of Unlawful Imprisonment in the second degree, one count of forcible touching, and one count of sexual abuse in the third degree.
His lawyer told Obus that a security company has been recommended to monitor him if he were to be released.
The lawyer, Shawn Naunton, said Strauss-Kahn had been scheduled to leave New York and fly to Paris last Saturday using a ticket he had bought on May 11.
He said Strauss-Kahn had called the Sofitel hotel from John F. Kennedy International Airport to locate his cell phone, which he had left in the hotel, then called a second time as his plane was boarding to request that its delivery be hastened.
Naunton noted that his client resigned his position as IMF chief on Wednesday, and has surrendered his passport and a U.N.-issued travel document.
"In our view, no bail is required," the lawyer said. "He has one interest at this time and that is to clear his name."
Naunton added that Strauss-Kahn had agreed to live with his wife in an apartment in Manhattan after his release.
But Prosecutor John McConnell said the high-profile economist has no right to bail. "While there is presumption of innocence, the proof is substantial and it is growing every day," he said, adding that the forensic evidence is consistent with an attack and the alleged victim has identified Strauss-Kahn as her attacker.
He noted that the charges include violent felonies and that Strauss-Kahn has an incentive to flee and the money to do so.
McConnell noted that France does not extradite its own nationals, and said Strauss-Kahn's departure on Saturday from the hotel was in haste, suggesting "something went on in that hotel room."
For his part, Obus said he was solely concerned about ensuring Strauss-Kahn returns to face charges. "We don't want his money," he said. "We just want to make sure he comes back. He has resources to live comfortably in his own country."
As the courtroom recessed, Strauss-Kahn blew his wife a kiss.
Thursday's attempt to get released on bail was Strauss-Kahn's second. On Monday, a criminal court judge agreed with prosecutors' contention that Strauss-Kahn is a flight risk.
Meanwhile, Strauss-Kahn's alleged victim, a 32-year-old Guinean maid for the Sofitel hotel, testified before a grand jury for hours on Wednesday and was to continue her testimony Thursday, according to an attorney representing her.
f you've had any experience with someone who has been traumatized by sexual assault, reliving it in your mind is hard enough," attorney Jeffrey Shapiro said on CNN's "American Morning" Thursday. "Having to recount it, even to a therapist, is difficult, much less having to talk about it on the record in front of a grand jury. I mean, it's extremely difficult, and nonetheless she's making it through this."
The case has captured worldwide attention since Strauss-Kahn was pulled off an airplane and arrested Saturday, hours after the alleged attack.
His arrest has set French political circles abuzz, as the international economist was widely considered the French Socialist Party's best hope to unseat President Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's elections.
In a statement, Sarkozy called the resignation "inevitable" and called for an "open and transparent selection process" for Strauss-Kahn's replacement.
In a brief letter to the IMF executive board late Wednesday, Strauss-Kahn proclaimed his innocence.
He said he was stepping down to "protect this institution which I have served with honor and devotion, and especially -- especially -- I want to devote all my strength, all my time and all my energy to proving my innocence."
"To all, I want to say that I deny with the greatest possible firmness all of the allegations that have been made against me," he said.
The appeal to the state Supreme Court describes the accused as "a loving husband and father, and a highly regarded international diplomat, lawyer, politician, economist and professor, with no prior criminal record."
It also said Strauss-Kahn has been married for more than a decade and has four children from a prior marriage, one of whom is a graduate student at Columbia University in New York.
Calls for Strauss-Kahn's resignation had mounted in recent days. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he was "obviously not in a position to run the IMF."
Maria Fekter, Austria's finance minister, also urged him to step down. "He should think about whether he is damaging the institution," Fekter said.
In his letter, Strauss-Kahn said he felt compelled to resign.
"I think at this time first of my wife -- whom I love more than anything -- of my children, of my family, of my friends," he wrote.
"I think also of my colleagues at the Fund; together we have accomplished such great things over the last three years and more."
While the search begins to replace him, John Lipsky will continue as acting managing director of the fund, the IMF said in a statement.
"As acting managing director, John Lipsky will provide able and experienced leadership to the fund at this critical time for the global economy," Geithner said in a statement Thursday. "We want to see an open process that leads to a prompt succession for the fund's new managing director."
In statements, South Africa called for a candidate from a developing country to be named as Strauss-Kahn's successor, while Brazil called for establishing criteria and conducting a thorough search.
On Thursday, Lipsky urged policy makers to work together to strengthen the global economy.
"I deeply regret the circumstances that have made it necessary for me to substitute for the fund's managing director," Lipsky said in a speech at the annual meeting of the Bretton Woods Committee in Washington.
Prosecutors allege that a naked Strauss-Kahn, 62, chased the housekeeping employee through his suite at the Sofitel on Saturday and sexually assaulted her.
But defense attorney Benjamin Brafman disputed the allegation, saying "forensic evidence, we believe, will not be consistent with a forcible account, and we believe there is a very, very defensible case."
The IMF chief faces an array of charges, including two counts of first-degree criminal sexual act, one count of first-degree attempted rape, one count of first-degree sexual abuse, one count of second-degree unlawful imprisonment, one count of forcible touching and one count of third-degree sexual abuse.
"He grabbed the victim's chest without consent, attempted to remove her pantyhose" and forcibly grabbed her between her legs, the complaint against Strauss-Kahn says. He also forced her to perform oral sex on him, Assistant District Attorney John McConnell said at the arraignment.
Strauss-Kahn allegedly committed the offenses at noon, checked out of the hotel at 12:28 p.m. and went to a previously scheduled lunch about 12:45 p.m., according to a document supporting his motion to approve bail. The lunch was with his daughter, according to a source with knowledge of the case.
After lunch, he was driven to John F. Kennedy International Airport and boarded an Air France flight that was scheduled to depart at 4:45 p.m., the bail document says. It adds that he had bought the ticket the week before.
As he sat in first class awaiting takeoff and a planned meeting the next day with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, followed by a meeting with European finance ministers on Monday in Brussels, his world of luxury and power came crashing down.
Police, alerted by hotel staff to the employee's accusations, ordered him off the plane and placed him in custody.
Strauss-Kahn was examined for scratches and DNA samples were taken, and investigators searched for other evidence in the suite, including possible bodily fluids from both individuals, a law enforcement official told CNN.
He consented to the testing after investigators prepared a search warrant, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official was not authorized to release the information.