Ex-IMF chief Strauss-Kahn pleads not guilty at arraignment
New York (CNN) -- Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former chief of the International Monetary Fund, pleaded not guilty Monday to seven charges involving a May 14 incident in which a housekeeping employee at New York＇s Sofitel hotel accused him of sexual assault.
Strauss-Kahn, who was considered a front-runner in France＇s next presidential race before his arrest, faces charges including criminal sexual acts and sexual abuse.
At the hearing, defense lawyers formally requested that Manhattan prosecutors provide discovery materials -- copies of scientific reports as well as police reports and formal statements made by the hotel employee.
The defense has said that some of that information has already been leaked to the media.
"Our client＇s right to a fair trial is being compromised by the public disclosure of prejudicial material even before these materials have been disclosed to counsel," Strauss-Kahn＇s attorneys wrote prior to the hearing in a letter to the judge presiding over the case.
They said if they chose to, they could "release substantial information that in our view would seriously undermine the quality of this prosecution and also gravely undermine the credibility of the complainant in this case."
In response, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon wrote in a letter that the request for the materials would be addressed if the request was made in writing.
Illuzzi-Orbon told the defense she agreed with the need to safeguard information from leaks, but was "troubled that you chose to inject into the public record your claim that you possess information that might negatively impact the case and ＇gravely＇ undermine the credibility of the victim."
If the defense does possess such information, it should be forwarded to prosecutors, she said.
Strauss-Kahn was released from jail on bond, but is under house arrest in a luxury townhouse in New York＇s Tribeca neighborhood, according to a source with knowledge of his whereabouts.
He is under court-ordered watch as part of the terms of his $6 million bail agreement, and must pay for 24-hour armed guards posted at the door, as well as electronic surveillance. |
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